What Local Channels Does Sling TV Have + Where?

Sling TV offers three local channels: ABC, Fox, and NBC. Some of its coverage can seem limited, but I found Sling’s integration with antennas an easy and cheap way to get free local channels into my TV guide.

In a hurry? Sling provides ABC, NBC, and Fox in select markets with its Blue plan. Or you can integrate it with an antenna. Save 50% on your first month of Sling TV.

How To Stream Local Channels with Sling TV

Sling TV provides three local channels: ABC, Fox, and NBC. These are available with its Blue plan (and the Sling Orange + Blue plan), though this depends on where you live.

ABC

ABC is available with Sling Blue in the following areas:

If you live in one of these areas, Sling Blue’s price of $40.00/month increases to $45.00/month. You can’t opt out of this, even if you don’t want ABC.

This doesn’t make complete sense to me, as almost everything on ABC Sports is available on ESPN3 — which is included in the Sling Orange plan for the regular $40.00/month (without the extra ABC fee). So if you mainly want ABC for sports, I suggest that option first.

Fox

Local Fox affiliates are available with Sling Blue in these locations:

NBC

Sling Blue provides NBC coverage to a few select regions:

Note that the Sling Blue plan offers both Fox and NBC in just seven cities: Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, DC.

Can You Watch CBS on Sling TV?

No, Sling doesn’t offer CBS. If you want all four major local channels (ABC, Fox, NBC, and CBS), you could supplement Sling Blue with Paramount+. The Paramount+ premium plan at $12.99/month comes with your local CBS live stream — this combined with Sling Blue’s $45.00/month (and that’s with the ABC fee) is one of the cheapest ways to get all four main local channels.

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Sling’s Local Channels Compared To Other Streaming Services

Most local channels are available on major streaming services, depending on the affiliate networks in your area. The following shows how Sling TV compares:

I should point out that Sling is the cheapest of all these services, and it integrates with an antenna — so you might be able to get all your local channels for free.

Sling TV With HD Antenna

Sling is the only streaming service I know that integrates with an antenna: any local over-the-air (OTA) channels you pick up with an antenna will show up in your Sling TV guide. Since watching local channels through an antenna is free (minus the cost of the antenna itself) this could be the cheapest way to get all the local channels in your area, regardless of whether Sling offers them or not.

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I did find a small catch when I tried to test this out. To link your antenna to your Sling TV guide, you need either an indoor antenna plugged into a smart TV from 2020 (or newer) or any OTA antenna paired with an AirTV device.

Sling used to offer a free antenna if you prepaid for two months, but this no longer seems an option. Instead, Sling will send you a free AirTV Mini streaming device (worth $79.99).

Either way, you still need to set up an antenna. But if you do, it’s the cheapest way to get local channels.

About Sling TV

Sling TV is one of the most popular cable TV alternatives for streaming live TV. It has two base plans — Sling Orange or Sling Blue — both offering a different range of sports, entertainment, and family channels. If you can’t decide, you can combine them into the Orange + Blue plan for $55.00/month.

All Sling plans come with at least 50 hours of cloud DVR storage (you can pay for more) and work on almost any streaming device, including Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast, Android or iOS mobile devices, smart TVs, Xbox, and even the Oculus headset.

Our full Sling TV review has complete details.

Our Choice

While Sling doesn’t offer as many local channels as other live TV streaming service, I still think it’s useful for local channels — especially if you’re on a budget. And if you’re happy to set up an antenna, I recommend Sling over any of the others because of the way it integrates free OTA channels straight into your TV guide.

Save 50% on Sling TV Now

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Frank Moraes

I am a Senior Content Editor at Hotdog.com, specializing in sports streaming and regional programming issues. With a PhD in Atmospheric Physics from the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and extensive experience in remote sensing technology, including early video streaming, I bring a unique technical perspective to the streaming industry.

My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.

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