Basic Info About Live TV on Plex
Do I need special hardware or a Plex Pass subscription?
Our free streaming does not require any special hardware. All you need is your supported Plex player app. As mentioned, it is a free service, available to any user in a supported region, and does not require any Plex Pass subscription.
How is this different from the Live TV/DVR premium feature?
Our Plex Pass subscribers can optionally connect a compatible tuner device and antenna to their Plex Media Server to watch and record over-the-air broadcasts available at their location. That is not required for this free streaming, though.
They’re two different features, even though both are related to accessing “live TV” broadcasts.
Related Page: Live TV & DVR
Can I pause or rewind/fast forward live channels?
Unfortunately, due to licensing restrictions, we are not able to offer pausing, rewinding, or fast forwarding of Live TV channels.
Can I schedule DVR recordings?
Sorry, no. Again, due to licensing restrictions, our free live TV channels cannot be used with our DVR feature.
Do I need a Plex Media Server? Do these stream through my server?
No, this service is independent of any Plex Media Server. You don’t need to run your own server or have one shared with you. The content streams from online and does not go “through” any Plex Media Server you have installed or shared with you.
Channel Information
Are the live channels available in my country?
Pretty much, yes! Over 80% of our channels are available worldwide, with a minority of channels licensed only to specific countries. There’s lots of awesome content for everyone!
However, due to local regulations in a few regions, Live TV on Plex will not be available for users located in the following countries:
- Bahrain
- Cuba
- Egypt
- Iran
- North Korea
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Sudan
- Syria
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- United Arab Emirates
Will more channels get added?
Yes! We are actively expanding our collection of channels to bring more variety and more genres to our Live TV lineup. You’ll see more channels get added over time.
Where is the [big brand name] channel?
Traditional broadcast and cable television channels continue to be largely exclusive to legacy forms of delivery, such as free over-the-air broadcasts, as part of a bundled television subscription, or more recently, direct-to-consumer via a dedicated app.
Channels for this newer generation of free, ad-supported TV streaming are growing and evolving quickly, with many of the biggest names in television looking to create their own new channels from their vast catalogs of content. Plex will continue to evaluate potential channels that are available to us in an effort bring our users diverse and engaging television content.
Why ads? Will having a Plex Pass remove them?
Our goal is to bring a wide assortment of channels—from kids shows, anime, sports, movies, and more—from around the globe to you for free. In exchange, we’re asking for a bit of your time to watch some ads.
Since ad revenue is how the studios and distributors get paid, having a Plex Pass will not remove ads or reduce their frequency.
Are you putting ads into my personal content?
Absolutely not! That would be a really terrible idea for many, many reasons. Your personal media collection—including your recorded movies and TV shows, home videos, photos, music collection, and more—will continue to stream to all of your devices ad-free.
Why am I seeing the same ad so many times?
Due to the way that the ad industry works, it’s fairly likely that you may see the same ad more than once during a viewing session, and it’s likely a phenomenon you’ve noticed on other streaming platforms as well. As people start watching content from around the world, a wider variety of advertisers will come on board, which means a much broader pool of possible ads (and thus a much lower likelihood of seeing the same ad multiple times).
Accessing or Restricting the Content
Can my family watch this content?
Absolutely. Our ad-supported Live TV streaming is available to all users for free. If your family members already have their own, regular Plex account, then they’ll have access directly, or they can choose to enable/disable the media source for themselves, as desired.
You can also create a managed user for a family member and add them to your Plex Home for fast user switching.
Related Page: Managed Accounts
Related Page: Plex Home
How do I turn Live TV off so I don’t see it?
If you simply don’t want it in the sidebar of your app, you can unpin it via normal customization. You’d still be able to access it (when desired) under the More sidebar entry.
Alternatively, if you’re simply not interested in the service at all, you can disable it for your account altogether. Instructions are available in our “Free Live TV Streaming on Plex Overview” article.
Related Page: Free Live TV Streaming on Plex Overview