Smart TVs are now smarter than any other smart devices available. You can watch all your favorite movies, TV shows, web series, and much more on the TV without cable or DTH. All smart TVs are in-built to support Wifi connectivity which makes it easier to stream your favorite content over the internet. Apart from the internet charges, you will have to pay for an app subscription to stream as well. If you are looking to stream content without paying any subscription fee, then this article will help you. Here are the best free TV apps for Smart TV that will definitely entertain you.
Note: A few application mentioned below might be geo-restricted. Therefore, choose the app which is available in your location and stream it for free.
Best Free TV Apps for Smart TV
Here are the best free TV apps for your Smart TV:
YouTube
YouTube is the first app that comes to our mind when we are thinking about streaming. It has a billion of videos available to stream for free. You can subscribe to your favorite channel and start watching their videos. YouTube is available across all parts of the world and you can easily sign in to your app with your Google account. This is one of the best free TV apps available on almost all Smart TV brands. You can also purchase the premium membership to stream ad-free. Most Smart TVs come with YouTube pre-installed as well.
Crackle
A subsidy of Sony, Crackle stays at the top of the best free streaming app for smart TV. This free streaming service comes with various contents from TV shows to series etc. It does have its original contents classified under various genres as well. But it is not the best choice when you consider the video quality as your first priority. In America and Australia, it is a completely free service whereas in other countries you would need a subscription. In addition, it has an attractive UI and navigation feature.
PBS Kids
With Crackle, Parents can enjoy the free content on the TV. Youtube entertains both parents and kids. If you are looking for a dedicated free app for kids, then PBS Kids will be the best choice. It streams free content 24X7. This channel is not only for entertainment, you can also make your Kids learn from the channel. Besides this, the app has a colorful and flashy interface that would attract the child. The UI is more child-friendly and it offers various contents including educational programming, Live TVs, and on-demand streaming.
Pluto TV
It is merely a service provider. You can enjoy various entertainment channels, sports channels, and much more with the Pluto TV app. You can get hundreds of live TV channels and 1000s of shows on-demand. The channel displays ads in between the streams. You can unlock content by watching ads in the application as well. The contents are classified under various sections that include kids, News, music, horror, entertainment, and more. Pluto TV also has its own commercial ads. This app could be one of the best options if you love watching Live TVs.
NEWS On
If you are looking for a free News service, then News On will be the best choice. It allows us to get an update on the current happenings as well. It offers various broadcasting channels and live contents in association with 250+ NEWS affiliates in 160+ regions. If you are not able to see Live News, then you can see it later as the content will be available for the next 48 hours. The NEWS is classified into various sections including current, sports, business, educational, weather, etc. News On is free to stream with ads in the middle while streaming.
IMDB TV
It is now becoming the coolest free streaming service which is formerly known as IMBD Freedive. It is a free ad-supporting streaming service. If you are in the US, then this channel is for you. IMDB TV can be downloaded as an application or you can also use it on a browser. You can enjoy various episodes of your favorite ongoing TV shows and movies. This is free because it is ad-supported. This is a product of Amazon and comes in-built on Fire TVs and Fire TV Sticks.
Twitch
If you are more into games and game streaming, then Twitch will serve your needs. It is another free streaming service that lets you watch game streaming. You can either stream your game or watch others stream as well. It allows streamers to create their own streaming channel and stream the games. Twitch does have a built-in chat feature so the users can chat with each other while enjoying the streams. It also has a premium plan that charges you monthly yet various streams are still available for free. It is not a child-safe one so parents need to show some extra care on their children who are using Twitch. Like YouTube, Twitch allows you to earn money and Twitch bits by streaming various content.
Tubi TV
It is a division of Fox entertainment and it is similar to Crackle. It doesn’t have any original content but you have 7000+ hours of movies, TV shows, reality shows, anime, and old sitcoms. This is a legal app and ad-supported. You got to wait through commercial breaks like IMDB TV. With a wide range of enriched libraries, this is the best app for streaming. It is updated every week. You can enjoy various Fox TV contents on this app as well.
Crunchyroll
Are you a fan of anime and manga? Crunchyroll is the best app to stream Anime and Manga. It is a free application that runs with ads. You can enjoy various animations for free including currently airing ones. It mainly focuses on Japanese contents and also streams contents from around the world. There is a premium service that you have to pay if you would like to explore more into it. It does provide child-support. This is also supported on devices like Chromecast, Apple TV, Xbox, Roku, Firestick etc.
Funny or Die
The names stand for itself. If you are a fan of comedy shows and sitcoms then Funny or Die will be the best option. It was launched as a brainchild of comedy giants Will Ferrari and Adam Mckay. Now it has become a production house that features the original contents. You cannot download the contents but you can stream it on the various devices. The UI is very user friendly and you can really enjoy laughing with the hilarious contents. In addition, you can view contents under various classifications like originals, celebs, etc.
Xumo
It offers various Live TVs and on-demand contents like Pluto TV. You can get a TV watching experience with Xumo. With 160+ free TV channels, you will never miss your cable TV experience. The irony is that you can also get various above-mentioned channels like Funny or Die here as well. Like Pluto, you can get a collection of various TV channels including NEWS channels. You can enjoy the application in iOS, Android, smart TVs, and Roku devices.
Hotstar
Are you a fan of Star Network? Then Hotstar would be your go-to. In India, it is Disney + Hotstar. It does offer movies, TV shows, and live sports. In free membership, you don’t get various benefits like live TVs or watching the show before it is telecasted on the TV. There are a few advertisements between the streams is you are using the free version. Apart from Star channels and shows, you can enjoy HBO, IPL live matches, ICC live matches, National Geographics, Marvel, and Disney movies. It has various shows to keep you entertained as well.
Hoopla Digital
It is like Tubi Tv where you can get all in one experience. Hoopla TV is absolutely free. It accesses the local library and also gives you various content for free. The enriched library includes contents like movies, TV shows, E-books, music, and comic books. Adding on, it does provide native support to Android devices and Chromecast. You have to make your local library as a part of the Hoople network.
Kodi
This is a media player app for various devices. Kodi, unlike other apps, is something different. It takes control of all your local library contents. It gives an attractive UI to access those contents. You can add addon plugins and those plugins will provide you free content. There are plenty of Kodi plugins available and you can install it either directly or sideloading it as a third-party app.
Plex
It streams contents from your server. Plex is a media server platform and it has a premium service but still, you can access it for free. You can watch various movies and shows including Hollywood blockbusters, independent films, etc. It does have 1000s of contents to stream and offers various channels to watch as well. Above all, this will be a better option to stream your content from the computer to the TV.
Yidio
This is not a streaming app and doesn’t deliver content. Yidio is a streaming guide. It can help you to find the content and where actually you can get those from. You can search for content using the name or genre. The app will find the content availability in 300+ streaming services and let you know where you can get it for free. So basically it will redirect or suggest the streaming service. But still, the advertisements and the high number of suggestions will make you go mad over.
Popcorn Flix
It is one of the Best Free TV Apps for Smart TV. Popcorn Flix is specially designed to stream movie content. It has more than 700 movies and newly released are added every now and then. There are a lot more classifications and it streams international pictures as well. You can download this application on iOS, Android devices, Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV, etc.
Redbox Free Live TV
They were initially famous for its DVD rental kiosks and on-demand streaming movies. You can now enjoy live TVs on the Redbox app and website. They added this feature recently. It is an ad-supported service and you will get commercial breaks as you get on your cable TVs. The contents are categorized under Movies, TV, News, Kids, and Entertainment. It has more than 30+ Live TV channels to stream.
Roku channel
Many set up box or streaming devices will have their own channel to stream various free online contents. If you are using a Roku TV, then the Roku channel will best suit you. The Roku channel offers various free movies and TV shows to stream. You can install this app on your Roku connected TV or Roku TV and start streaming it.
Nosey
This would be the best option for those who stay at home during the daytime. It offers a variety of TV shows and movies. If you want to make your lazy daytime more entertaining, you can go for this option. You can install this application on your Smart TV and start streaming the contents for free,
Cartoon Network
Who wouldn’t like Tom and Jerry? I, as a child, grew up watching Cartoon Network. Now don’t have to miss this channel on your smart TV as an app. As always, this is the greatest family-friendly channel. Other than the normal cartoon network TV shows and episodes, you can enjoy the app-exclusive content. Just remember this app offers premium contents which will be indicated with Key icon.
Other Best Free TV Apps for Smart TV
The above are legal applications which stream contents for free. There are few apps which is free but streams copyrighted content.
- Showbox
- Mobdro
- Terrarium TV
- Titanium TV
- ThopTV
- Oreo TV
- Cyberflix
- Popcorn Time
- Cotomovies
- Cinema HD
The above apps are the best free TV apps for smart TVs. You can install the legal apps officially from play store or app store and start streaming on your TV. Other 10 apps which fall under copyrighted contents are risky to stream. If you are using any of the below 10 apps, then use a VPN to protect your data as well.