How to Watch Live News on Fire TV Stick

Live news on Fire TV comes from three places: Amazon’s own free live channels, free streaming apps that feed into the Fire TV channel guide, and apps from the networks themselves. You’ll find most news through the Live tab and its guide, and you can search for any network’s app with Find. In the US, a lot of national and local news is free. In the UK, BBC News and other broadcaster channels show up in the guide once you install the right app. This guide gives the exact steps for each and explains how to set up your Fire TV Stick for news.

Where live news lives on Fire TV

Amazon has built live TV into the Fire TV interface rather than leaving it inside individual apps. That means channels from different apps can show up together in one guide.

Line-ups depend on your country and change often. As of October 2026, check the Live tab on your own device for what’s actually on.

What you need before you start

You need a Fire TV device connected to the internet and signed in to an Amazon account. A standard Amazon account works for the free apps, and Prime isn’t required. If you plan to watch live news in HD for hours at a time, a wired Ethernet adapter or a strong Wi-Fi signal near the TV keeps streams from buffering. Live channels are more sensitive to a weak connection than on-demand video.

How to install a news app on a Fire TV Stick

Amazon’s help page describes a short process. It’s the same on a Fire TV Stick, a Fire TV Cube and Fire TV smart TVs.

1. From the home screen, go to Find and choose Search. You can also hold the Alexa button on the remote and say the app’s name, such as “Pluto TV” or “France 24.”
2. Select the app in the results.
3. Select Get, or the shopping cart icon, to download it. Amazon may ask you to verify your account first.
4. Open the app. Some apps add their channels to the Fire TV guide on their own the first time they run.

Search for the network’s exact name and check the developer name on the app’s page. Apps that bundle “world news” from many networks aren’t always authorized, and their feeds tend to stop working. An app from the broadcaster itself is a safer choice.

How to use the Live tab and channel guide

Open the guide

1. Press Home and move to the Live tab in the top menu.
2. Select Guide (some versions say “Guide and On Now”) to see a grid of channels and what’s on now.
3. Newer Alexa Voice Remotes have a dedicated guide button that goes straight to this grid.

Add or hide channel sources

The guide can get crowded. Amazon added a way to choose which apps feed it:

1. Open the channel guide.
2. Press the Menu button (three lines) on the remote and select Add Channels.
3. Apps you’ve installed appear at the top. Toggle a source on or off to show or hide all of its channels at once.
4. Scroll down to see more apps that can feed the guide. Each one is labeled free or subscription.

You can also hide individual channels under Settings > Live TV > Manage Channels. A good trick is to switch off everything but news to get a short guide that’s easy to flip through.

Free news you can get on Fire TV in the US

Amazon’s News app

Amazon launched its free News app for Fire TV in 2019. It comes preinstalled on US devices. Tech site AFTVnews has followed it as it grew: local news reached more than 150 US cities by late 2021, and in May 2023 Amazon added free local channels from NBC and Telemundo. National partners have included CBS News, ABC News, Bloomberg and USA Today, along with FOX LiveNOW and FOX Weather.

Open the app and pick your city to add a local newscast to your news line-up. Not every local station streams live. Some offer only on-demand clips.

Pluto TV, Tubi and other FAST apps

FAST services carry many news channels, and on Fire TV their line-ups show up in the main guide once you install the app. AFTVnews reported that Pluto TV’s news channels were added to the guide as early as 2018. For specific networks such as CBS News 24/7 or ABC News Live, our channel guides list the free services that carry each one.

Cable news networks

Fox News, CNN and MS NOW usually need a pay-TV login or a live TV subscription for the full live channel. When you subscribe to a service such as YouTube TV, Sling TV or Hulu + Live TV, its Fire TV app can add its channels to the same guide. Some readers report that certain services only open their own app rather than playing inside the guide. Our guide to watching news without cable compares the main options.

International and UK news on Fire TV

In the UK, the BBC iPlayer app now puts BBC channels, including BBC News and BBC Parliament, into the Fire TV Live tab and channel guide. AFTVnews reported this in March 2025 and noted that ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 live channels were integrated earlier. You need to install BBC iPlayer first, and watching live BBC channels in the UK requires a TV Licence.

Several international broadcasters also release their own Fire TV apps. France 24 confirmed in 2018 that its app ran on Amazon Fire TV, along with Roku, Apple TV and Android TV. For DW, Al Jazeera English, TRT World or Euronews, search their names in Find. If no app shows up in your country, check the broadcaster’s official YouTube channel. The YouTube app on Fire TV plays live streams that the networks publish there. Our guide to European news channels in English lists the official feeds for each network.

Five setup tips for a news-first Fire TV

• Pin your news apps. Open Your Apps & Channels, highlight an app, press the Menu button and choose Move to put it near the front.
• Trim the guide. Use Add Channels to turn off sources you never watch so news channels are easier to find.
• Use Alexa. Saying the name of a channel you’ve already added often jumps straight to it.
• Turn on captions. Most news apps support subtitles, which help with accented speech or a noisy room.
• Update the device. If the guide doesn’t show a source, check for a system update under Settings > My Fire TV > About.

Frequently asked questions

Is live news free on Fire TV Stick?

Much of it is. Amazon’s News app, Fire TV Channels and FAST apps like Pluto TV and Tubi are free with ads. Cable news networks usually need a live TV subscription or a pay-TV login.

How do I find the channel guide on Fire TV?

Press Home, go to the Live tab and select Guide. If your remote has a guide button, it takes you there directly.

Can I watch BBC News on Fire TV?

In the UK, yes. Install BBC iPlayer, and BBC News appears in the Live tab and channel guide alongside other BBC channels. You need a TV Licence to watch live. Outside the UK, see our guide to watching BBC News abroad.

Why don’t I see the News app on my Fire TV?

Amazon’s News app was built for the US market. If you’re in another country, you may not see it. Use broadcaster apps, BBC iPlayer in the UK, or the Live tab’s other sources instead.

Do I need an Amazon Prime membership to watch news?

No. Free apps and Fire TV’s free live channels work with a regular Amazon account. Prime only matters for Prime Video content and add-on channels.

Is a Fire TV Stick better than Roku for news?

Both get the main free apps. Fire TV puts channels from several apps into one guide and has Amazon’s own News app in the US. Roku has a similar setup through The Roku Channel. Our Roku news guide covers that side.

Sources

• Amazon Help: Download Apps on Your Fire TV
• Android Central: How to use Amazon Fire TV’s Live tab
• AFTVnews: Fire TV revamps how to add live TV sources to the channel guide
• AFTVnews: Amazon News app coverage
• AFTVnews: BBC channels integrated into the Fire TV Live tab (March 2025)
• Tom’s Guide: Amazon Fire TV is adding free TV channels
• dotscreen: France 24 completes the roll-out of its OTT apps