Quick Answer: Frndly TV streams about 50 live channels for $8.99 a month on Basic, $10.99 on Classic or $12.99 on Premium, and every plan gets the same channels. The list leans hard on family movies, classic TV and true crime: the three Hallmark channels, A&E, Lifetime, The HISTORY Channel, MeTV, INSP, Game Show Network, ION and The Weather Channel are all there. What you will not find is local ABC, CBS, NBC or Fox, any sports network, or cable news. The plan you choose only changes picture quality, how many screens can watch at once, and how long recordings are kept.
Prices and plan details below were checked against Frndly TV’s own plans page (last updated by Frndly on 16 September 2026) on 1 October 2026.
The Full Frndly TV Channel List, Grouped by What You Watch
An A to Z list is fine for checking one name, but it hides what kind of service this is. Grouped by type, the pattern is obvious: Frndly is built for people who watch movies on Sunday afternoons, reruns in the evening and a crime documentary before bed.
| What you watch | Frndly TV channels |
|---|---|
| Hallmark and feel-good movies | Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Mystery, Hallmark Family, Great American Family, Great American Living, UPtv, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network (LMN), Dove Channel |
| Classic TV reruns | MeTV, MeTV+, MeTV Toons, Catchy Comedy, Heroes & Icons, Start TV, FETV, StoryTV |
| Older movies and westerns | Movies!, FMC, MovieSphere Gold, Pixl, Grit, West, Western Bound, REELZ |
| Crime and mystery | Court TV, Crime & Investigation, ION, ION Mystery, ION Plus, JusticeCENTRAL.TV |
| History, lifestyle and reality | A&E, The HISTORY Channel, Military HISTORY, FYI, VICE TV, Tastemade, Dabl |
| Comedy and game shows | Game Show Network, LAFF, Bounce TV, Cleo TV, aspireTV |
| Faith and family | INSP, BYUtv |
| Outdoors | Outdoor Channel, Pursuit |
| Weather, local info and shopping | The Weather Channel, Local Now, QVC |
That is 50 channels. Frndly’s own page also lists a couple of smaller faith and family feeds, and the service has been adding channels steadily since Roku bought it in 2025 (REELZ, Cleo TV and WEST all arrived in 2025), so the live guide in the app can run slightly longer than any published list, including this one.
Note: Frndly TV is a streaming service, so there are no cable-style channel numbers to look up. You find a channel by name in its live guide.
What Frndly TV Does Not Carry
This is the part most channel lists skip, and it is the part that decides whether Frndly can replace cable for you or only sit beside it.
| Missing | Examples | Cheapest way to fill the gap |
|---|---|---|
| Local broadcast networks | ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS, local news | An indoor or attic antenna, a one-time purchase, picks these up free in most areas |
| Sports | ESPN, FS1, TNT, NFL Network, regional sports | A full live TV service such as YouTube TV, or a single sports app |
| Cable news | CNN, Fox News, MSNBC (now MS NOW) | Free news apps and your local stations through an antenna |
| Discovery and Food networks | HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Discovery | Philo or a Discovery streaming plan |
| AMC, Disney and Warner cable channels | AMC, Disney Channel, TBS, TNT, USA Network | A full live TV service |
If your evening is local news, a Hallmark movie and a few episodes of an old western, Frndly plus an antenna covers it. If anyone in the house watches live football, Frndly can only ever be a second service.
Basic, Classic or Premium: What Changes Between the Plans?
The channel list is identical on all three plans. You are paying for picture quality, screens and recordings.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Annual works out to | Screens at once | Picture | DVR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $8.99 | $83.88 | $6.99 a month | 1 | Standard definition | None |
| Classic | $10.99 | $95.88 | $7.99 a month | 2 | HD | Unlimited, kept 3 months |
| Premium | $12.99 | $119.88 | $9.99 a month | 4 | HD | Unlimited, kept 9 months |
Two of those columns matter more than they look.
- Basic is standard definition. On a phone that is fine. On a 55-inch living room TV, standard definition looks noticeably soft, and that alone is a reason most households should skip Basic.
- Basic has no DVR at all. Many Frndly channels run their movies once and move on, so without recording you watch on the channel’s schedule or not at all. Frndly does have an on-demand library, but it does not cover everything that airs live.
Which Frndly Plan Is Worth Paying For?
Here is the arithmetic, because the answer is not the cheapest plan.
Classic costs $2 a month more than Basic. For that $2 you get HD, a second screen and unlimited recordings. There is no other $2 upgrade in streaming that changes the experience this much, so for a TV-watching household Classic is the plan to pick.
Premium adds another $2 a month for two more screens and nine months of recording storage instead of three. That only pays off if four people really do watch at the same time, or if you record whole seasons and let them pile up. A couple sharing one TV will not notice the difference.
Then there is the annual option. Paying for a year up front cuts the price by about a quarter:
| Plan | 12 months paid monthly | Paid annually | You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $107.88 | $83.88 | $24.00 |
| Classic | $131.88 | $95.88 | $36.00 |
| Premium | $155.88 | $119.88 | $36.00 |
Worth knowing: Classic paid annually ($7.99 a month) costs less than Basic paid monthly ($8.99) and gets you HD, two screens and a DVR. If you already know you will keep Frndly for a year, that is the best value on the menu. If you are not sure, use the 7-day free trial and the monthly plan first, then switch.
How Does Frndly Compare With Philo and a Full Live TV Service?
Frndly is usually compared with Philo, the other low-cost service that skips sports and local channels. They overlap more than you might expect: both carry the Hallmark channels, A&E, Lifetime and The HISTORY Channel. The difference is in what sits around those channels.
| Service | Starting price | Channels | Locals and sports | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frndly TV Classic | $10.99 a month | About 50 | No | Hallmark, classic TV, westerns and crime on a tight budget |
| Philo Essential | $25 a month | 70+ | No | Adding AMC, HGTV, Food Network and other Discovery and Paramount channels |
| YouTube TV Base Plan | $82.99 a month | 100+ | Yes | Households that need local channels, news and live sports in one place |
Our Philo channel lineup lists everything Philo carries, so you can check whether the extra $14 a month buys channels you would actually watch. At the other end, the YouTube TV channel lineup shows what a full replacement for cable includes, and why it costs about eight times as much.
The combination many cord-cutters land on is Frndly Classic plus an antenna for local channels, one of the routes in our guide to watching TV for free. That covers the Hallmark and classic TV side and the network news and primetime side for about $11 a month after the antenna is paid for.
Frndly TV Add-Ons
Frndly sells several extra subscriptions that play inside the same app: Hallmark+, Lifetime Movie Club, A&E Crime Central, HISTORY Vault, UP Faith & Family and Great American Pure Flix. These are on-demand libraries, not extra live channels. Frndly lists them on its plans page but prices can change and differ for monthly and annual billing, so check the current price in the app before adding one. Hallmark+ is the one most Frndly subscribers consider, because it adds Hallmark’s full movie and series catalog on top of the three live Hallmark channels already in every plan.
Where Can You Watch Frndly TV?
Frndly has apps for Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google TV and Android TV devices, Chromecast, Samsung and Vizio smart TVs, and iPhone and Android phones and tablets. Since Roku bought Frndly in 2025, the app has become one of the default apps on Roku devices, so if you have a Roku you may already see it on your home screen.
To get started:
- Open the Frndly TV app on your TV device, or go to Frndly’s website on a computer or phone.
- Choose a plan. The 7-day free trial applies to new subscribers.
- Create an account with your email and a password, and enter a payment card. The trial converts to a paid plan unless you cancel before it ends.
- Sign in on your TV with the same account. Recording is available on Classic and Premium only.
Common Frndly TV Problems and What Usually Fixes Them
| Problem | Likely fix |
|---|---|
| Picture looks blurry on a big TV | You are probably on Basic, which streams in standard definition. Classic and Premium are HD. |
| “Too many streams” message | Basic allows 1 screen, Classic 2, Premium 4. Stop playback on another device or move up a plan. |
| No record button | Basic has no DVR. Upgrade to Classic or Premium. |
| An old recording has disappeared | Classic keeps recordings for 3 months and Premium for 9. After that they are removed automatically. |
| Can’t find CBS, NBC or ESPN | Frndly does not carry local networks or sports. Use an antenna for locals. |
| A channel you expected is missing | Check the list above. Discovery channels (HGTV, Food Network, TLC) and AMC are not on Frndly. |
If you are trying to find where one of the missing channels sits on cable or satellite instead, the Channel Finder looks up channel numbers by provider.
Is Frndly TV Right for You?
Frndly is not a cable replacement, and it does not pretend to be. It is the cheapest legal way to keep the Hallmark channels, A&E, Lifetime, HISTORY and a deep bench of classic TV networks after you cancel cable. If those are the channels you were really paying cable for, Classic at $10.99 a month (or $7.99 billed yearly) with an antenna for local news will feel like very little has changed, apart from the bill. If you need live sports or cable news every week, start with a full live TV service instead and treat Frndly as an optional extra for the movies.
The author specializes in U.S. cable, satellite, and streaming TV services, with hands-on experience analyzing channel lineups, regional restrictions, equipment requirements, and contract terms. All the content is written with clear, easy-to-understand explanations to help readers compare services accurately and make informed decisions.