UPtv Without Cable: Stream Family TV Together Cheaply & Online With These Options

As someone looking for television that my whole family can enjoy, I’ve found UPtv to be a great choice. Better yet, I don’t need a cable or satellite subscription to access it.

In a hurry? UPtv isn’t available from the biggest streaming services like Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV. But you still have a number of choices. Check out these:

• DIRECTV STREAM: This full-cable replacement service will make you think you never left cable. A 5-day free trial is now available for DIRECTV STREAM.
• Philo: This low-cost streaming service gives you 60+ channels for a fraction of what other services charge. Try Philo free for 7 days.

Watching TV with your family is hard these days. Cuss words are all over prime time, couples tumble into bed left and right, and there’s blood and gore everywhere. Even the Hallmark Channel isn’t safe from social agendas. And this can be an issue even in Netflix Kids mode, which has been known to let questionable content through.

Whether you’re a conservative parent or you just want to avoid awkward conversations with your kids, it can be a relief to know that there are still a few channels that offer 100% clean family-friendly programming.

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One of these channels is UPtv, which chooses to focus on positive, life-affirming messages while still displaying all the relatable complexity of family life.

What Is UPtv

UPtv was founded in 2004 as the Gospel Music Channel (later GMC TV) by Charles Humbard. As the name implies, it presented gospel music along with Christian contemporary, Southern Gospel, Christian metal, and other Christian music styles.

Over the next ten years, the network began to mix in original programming and Christian music awards, and later, popular family-friendly syndicated series and movies. In 2013, it was rebranded as UPtv, embodying the uplifting nature of its content.

The channel’s core demographic is exactly who you’d expect: Christian conservative families, often homeschoolers. This group is looking for TV that’s in line with their values while also remaining entertaining for kids and adults.

But UPtv is also a welcome safe space for parents who

• Want to let their teens or tweens watch TV on their own
• Don’t want to have to answer delicate questions in the middle of family movie night
• Don’t want to deal with weeks of entrail- and brain-splattered nightmares
• Don’t want to hear the latest naughty word gleefully repeated at the most embarrassing times.

It’s also good for adults who just don’t care for that kind of language or content.

UPtv, along with BYU-TV, FETV, and INSP lean toward the Christian side of family programming. They feature faith-based inspirational stories or outright religious programming (usually televangelist in nature) mixed in with classic TV and movies and ultra-wholesome originals.

There are, of course, alternatives (or compliments) for UPtv. For the religion without the classic TV, you can tune to BET Gospel or the Dove Channel. And for the classic TV without the religion, there’s Classic Reruns, getTV, Heroes & Icons, and PixL.

Other family channels include Aspire TV (UPtv’s sister station for African-American programming), Discovery Family, Freeform, Great American Family, Great American Faith & Living, Game Show Network, and the Hallmark channels (original, Movies & Mysteries, and Drama).

UPtv Shows

UPtv’s programming is a mix of original series, original (mostly romantic) movies, imported family shows (Heartland), and popular syndicated classics (Gilmore Girls, Reba, and Little House on the Prairie).

UPtv Original Series

• Bringing Up Bates
• Date My Dad
• Design Twins
• Growing Up McGhee
• Jo Frost: Nanny on Tour
• Morgan Family Strong
• Our Wedding Story
• Small Town, Big Mayor.

UPtv Movies

• Betting on the Bride
• A Bridesmaid in Love
• A Honeymoon to Remember (Coming Soon)
• In-Lawfully Yours
• Love’s Last Resort
• Overcomer
• A Picture Perfect Wedding
• Run the Race (Coming Soon)
• The Song to my Heart
• The Wedding Fix (Coming Soon)
• A Wedding to Remember.

Stream UPtv

If you think current entertainment shows are shocking, have you seen your cable bill recently? The truth is that you don’t need to pay an arm and a leg for clean entertainment. The following live TV streaming services bring you the same channels as your cable company, but at a fraction of the price.

There’s also no contract. Your spouse deserves your long-term commitment, not your TV provider. And more good news: the services that carry UPtv tend to be on the cheaper side. Let’s get into details.

DIRECTV STREAM

DIRECTV STREAM (formerly AT&T TV) has lots of different channels, big and small. It’s the service on this list most like a traditional cable company in its lineup. Unfortunately, it’s also the most cable-like in its price tag, too: $114.99/month for UPtv, Great American Family, Game Show Network, Heroes & Icons, Freeform, The Hallmark Channel, and the 100+ other channels in the Choice Package. On the plus side, you’ll also get your regional sports networks, which feature almost all the home team games in MLB, NBA, NHL, and MLS.

Get DIRECTV STREAM Free Trial

You also have many options for premium channels including HBO Max, Showtime, Cinemax, MGM+, and Starz.

All plans come with unlimited cloud DVR (online subscriptions only) and the ability to stream on unlimited devices at once. See our DIRECTV STREAM review for all the details.

Philo

Philo is the anti-DIRECTV STREAM. Just $28.00/month gets you over 60 channels, including UPtv, Aspire TV, INSP, Discovery Family, Game Show Network, getTV, 3 Hallmark channels, 2 GAC Networks, and the Game Show Network. You also get lots of kids programing like Nickelodeon and Pocket.Watch. Try Philo free for 7 days.

Try Philo for Free

Be aware that it doesn’t get you any NBCUniversal channels (Syfy, USA, Bravo), WarnerMedia channels (Cartoon Network, TNT, TBS, CNN), Disney channels (ABC, Disney, ESPN, FX), news channels (aside from BBC World News), sports channels, or local channels (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC).

Philo also offers the premium channels MGM+ and Starz for an extra fee. (Note that Starz Kids & Family is included in its base plan.)

You can stream it on up to 3 screens at once and you get unlimited DVR. There are even a few premium movie channels such as Starz and MGM+. For more information, see our Philo review.

Other Ways To Stream UPtv

But those aren’t the only ways to stream UPtv. Check out these skinny services:

• UP Faith & Family: UP Entertainment’s own commercial-free on-demand streaming service contains both UPtv’s and Aspire TV’s series, specials, and movies. Subscribers also get first access to new seasons of Heartland in the US. It costs $5.99/mo after a 14-day free trial, or $53.99/yr (save 25%). You can subscribe directly on UP Entertainment’s website, or through Amazon Prime Video Channels, Sling TV, Apple TV+, Roku, or YouTube TV.
• FreeCast: FreeCast is mainly an aggregator of streaming service content — you enter your subscriptions, and it collects them together with any free services you want to follow and lets you search and browse them all in one place. This basic helpful service is $3.99/mo, but bump it up to $6.99 and you also get a dozen and a half live channels, including UPtv, FETV, RFD-TV, and Outside TV.
• Frndly TV: Frndly TV is 30+ channels of low-priced family fun. Hallmark channels, Heartland TV, Game Show Network, The Weather Channel, History, BYU TV, Curiosity Stream — from the informative to the heartwarming, Frndly’s got all your essentials starting at $6.99/mo. (Frndly TV review)

Streaming Devices for UPtv

Just because you are streaming UPtv doesn’t mean you need to watch in front of a computer. The streaming services that offer it support the most popular devices. These include:

DIRECTV STREAM also allows you to use its own device, which you can purchase from it. It also supports Samsung smart TVs. Philo also supports Android TV-based devices. And Philo supports the Amazon Fire tablet.

UP Faith & Family also supports Xbox gaming consoles.

Wrapping Up

So if you and your family love your TV time but you don’t love what’s sometimes on the screen, check out UPtv, and never lack for family-friendly viewing again. Then sign up for one of the services above, because saving money is one value every family can get behind. We recommend Philo for most viewers.

Stream Other Family and Kids Channels

Here are our alternatives for watching other family and kids channels:

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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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