How to Watch A&E Online Without Cable

I know that A&E is essential for getting my reality show fix.

In a hurry? Several of the top streaming services offer A&E. These are the best:

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IMPORTANT: Once you’ve installed your VPN and connected to a US server, you’ll still need to subscribe separately to access premium streaming services.

A&E is the flagship cable TV channel of A+E Networks, LLC, which also encompasses History, Lifetime, Crime + Investigation, and Spike Jonze’s Vice.

You can stream pay TV channels like A&E through the internet at a fraction of the price of cable or satellite, with no contracts or inconvenient installation appointments.

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How to Stream A&E

A&E’s sister channels at A+E Networks are FYI, History, Military History, Lifetime, LMN (Lifetime Movie Network), and Crime + Investigation. You can watch similar content — unscripted reality and documentaries — on Discovery’s TLC, NBCUniversal’s Bravo, and AMC Networks’ WE tv.

Most of the major streaming services offer the A&E channel. The two major exceptions are Fubo and YouTube TV.

Service	Price	Channels	Reviews
	$28.00/month	70+	Philo
	$6.99/month	50+	Frndly
	$40.00/month	30+	Sling
	$114.99/month	125+	DIRECTV
	$82.99/month	95+	Hulu

All of these services offer a cloud DVR (most unlimited). And they all allow you to stream on multiple devices at once. (Note that it depends on the plan you get with Sling TV and Frndly TV.)

All these services support the vast majority of streaming devices in use today. These include Amazon Fire TV, Android mobile devices, Android TV smart TVs, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS devices (eg, iPad, iPhone), Roku devices and TVs, Samsung smart TVs, and web browsers. Sling TV and Hulu + Live TV offer support for most other devices.

Other Ways to Stream A&E

None of those grab you? Don’t worry, there are more ways to stream The Art of Entertainment:

• A&E Crime Central: A&E’s on-demand collection of 900+ true crime and justice system series and specials curated from A&E, History, and Lifetime/LMN. Featured shows include Dog the Bounty Hunter, After the First 48, 60 Days In, and Female Forces.
• Hulu: Hulu’s on-demand library starts at only $7.99/month and contains over a dozen of A&E’s juiciest true crime and legal documentaries and series, as well as Storage Wars and Duck Dynasty.
• A&E App: Most devices allow you to watch A&E live and on-demand with this app. It requires that you have a TV provider to use it via TV Everywhere. You can similarly watch right on the A&E website.

What’s on A&E now?

Our Choice

So don’t miss out on any of your favorite A&E programs. Sign up for one of the services above, and you can go ahead and sweep your cable bill right under the rug without missing any episodes of WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures or Extreme Unboxing.

Our top recommendation to watch A&E is Philo. Try Philo free for 7 days.

What Is A&E

Once the Arts & Entertainment Network, the A&E channel used to be up there with PBS as a source of cultural, academic, intellectual programming — such as its Emmy- and Peabody-award-winning series, Biography and British co-productions and imports.

Over the years, it has succumbed to the same channel drift that claimed its sister channel History and most of the Discovery channels. Now, its content is largely a mixture of reality shows like Storage Wars and true crime documentaries like Killer Cases.

A&E was riding high as the #8 cable channel in ratings in 2020 when George Floyd was killed, prompting the network to put its top-rated show Live PD on indefinite hiatus.

With the controversy around the Austin, TX police department’s handling of Javier Ambler’s death while in custody while filming the show, A&E decided to make the hiatus permanent. Given it was many viewers’ favorite show, half its audience left overnight and the network dropped to #20.

It didn’t help that the show occupied multiple primetime evenings, giving A&E channel a giant hole in its programming schedule that they had to scramble to fill.

It’s not the first time A&E has canceled a show amid political controversy and experienced a viewer backlash. In 2013, after one year on the air, Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson was first put on hiatus, then reinstated, ticking off viewers on both sides of the controversy.

The network announced previously that it was going to focus on “total-audience metrics” versus the traditionally coveted 18-54-year-old group. According to entertainment analysts, this means they’re going to be focusing on the 55-and-over crowd.

However, a recent documentary on Janet Jackson that aired on both A&E and Lifetime did very well across all age groups, so things could be looking up again.

A&E Shows

The top TV shows on A&E include:

FAQs

Are A&E shows available on-demand?

A&E shows certainly are available on-demand. All of the services above have at least some on-demand content, which generally contains at least recent episodes of current shows. In addition, Hulu has a number of A&E series available and Amazon Prime Video has some included as well (and some you have to buy).

You could also subscribe to A&E Crime Central, A+E Networks’ on-demand library of true crime-related programming from across its major channels, either by itself directly through A+E or through Amazon Prime Channels, Apple TV Channels, or Roku Channels.

What is the cheapest way to get A&E?

That would be Frndly TV at $6.99/month. It’s a mix of on-demand and live channels including Local Now, UPtv, Outdoor Channel, Game Show Network — basically a lineup of cable TV’s Most Inoffensive Channels, ranging from completely neutral (The Weather Channel) to religious-tinged (Dove Channel, BYU TV) to determinedly wholesome (Hallmark, INSP). They just acquired the A+E Networks channels, including A&E.

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Alanna Baker

Alanna Baker was the Streaming Content Editor at Hotdog.com, specializing in comprehensive streaming coverage across various genres, with a particular focus on sports and Sling TV offerings. With a background in literature and education, coupled with extensive experience in media and law, Alanna brings a unique perspective to the streaming industry.

Her expertise stems from being an early adopter of various entertainment technologies, from mail-order Netflix to modern streaming platforms. Alanna's in-depth knowledge of Sling TV's modular service and her ability to cover diverse streaming content make her a key expert in navigating the complex landscape of modern streaming options, especially in sports and entertainment.

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