Live TV on PS5 Launches in the US With Over 100 Free Channels and No PS Plus Needed

Sony switched on Live TV on PS5 today, a free ad-supported streaming service built into the console itself rather than delivered as a separate app download. It is live in the United States only, on PS5, and it carries more than 100 live channels alongside a rotating on-demand library.

There is no subscription attached. PlayStation Plus is not required, and neither is a cable login or a trial that converts to a paid tier later. You sign in with the PlayStation Network account you already use on the console, and the channels play.

What Live TV on PS5 actually gives you

The lineup spans news, sports, movies, TV shows, anime and creator programming. Sony named Amazon MGM Studios, Crunchyroll, FOX, NBCUniversal, the NFL Channel and UFC among the launch partners, which is a wider spread than the anime-and-movies mix these free services usually open with. Sony says programming will refresh regularly, so the channel count is a floor rather than a ceiling.

The on-demand side sits alongside the live channels instead of replacing them. Live channels run on a fixed schedule the way broadcast TV does — you tune in to whatever is playing, you do not pick an episode.

How to find it on your console

It lives in the Media tab, not the Games tab, which is where most people will miss it. From the PS5 home screen:

• Scroll to the Media tab at the top of the home screen
• Select the Live TV on PS5 icon
• Sign in with your PlayStation Network account
• Pick a channel from the guide

If the icon has not appeared yet, the rollout is staged rather than instant, so it is worth checking again over the next day before assuming something is wrong with your console.

Which regions and consoles get it

The United States is the only launch region. Sony has confirmed Canada as the next market but has not given a date for it, and says other regions are under consideration — which is not the same as promised. Players outside the US will not see the icon at all.

This is a PS5 feature. Sony's announcement covers PS5 consoles and makes no mention of PS4 support, so owners of the older console should not expect it. Note that "PS5" in Sony's language covers the console family rather than one specific SKU.

The timing is not accidental. Sony has a State of Play scheduled for September 3, and dropping a platform feature the week before a showcase keeps the console in front of players who might otherwise only check in for game announcements.

Why Sony is giving away television

Free ad-supported streaming is now a mainstream business, and the PS5 is a device already connected to a television with a signed-in account attached to it. Sony sells ads against that. For players, the trade is straightforward: you watch commercials instead of paying, in the same way the free tiers on other platforms work.

It also fills the dead time on a console that otherwise sits idle between sessions. Sony has spent the year pushing value into the platform rather than the hardware — the August PS Plus wave that added Kingdom Come: Deliverance II was part of the same pattern, giving existing owners more reason to keep the console as the box under the TV.

What it does not do

Live TV on PS5 is not a replacement for the streaming apps already on the console. Netflix, Disney+ and the rest stay where they are, and nothing about this launch changes those subscriptions. It also does not carry live sports rights wholesale — the NFL Channel and UFC are channels of programming, not a route to watching every game.

Ad-supported services of this type typically run unskippable breaks, and Sony has not published details of ad load or break frequency. Treat that as unconfirmed until players report back after a few days of use.

For anyone weighing whether the PS5 stays the main box under the television, it is a real addition at no cost. And it lands in a week that has already been busy for console owners — EA shut down the NHL 22 and NHL 23 online servers today across PS5, PS4 and Xbox, so the platform giveth and the publisher taketh away. If you are playing on the move instead, our list of Android games with full gamepad support covers what your DualSense will actually work with on a phone.