Do you love true crime and investigation television? Then Investigation Discovery (ID) is perfect for you. You can watch some of the most shocking TV with stories pulled right from the headlines. And cord-cutters don’t need to worry because ID is widely available from streaming services.
In a hurry? If you just want to start watching ID and not go through all the pros and cons of your options, here are our three favorite options:
- Fubo: With 150+ channels, it offers something for everyone. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial!
- Philo: Super inexpensive live TV streaming service with 7-day free trial.
- Sling TV: Probably the best streaming service in terms of customization with a 50% discount your first month.
If you can’t watch your favorite sports, TV and movies because of your location, try ExpressVPN to get access to the content you deserve. Signup now.
Table Of Contents
Investigation Discovery, or ID, as it goes by these days, is Discovery’s foray into the true crime genre. It’s not hard to understand why true crime stories are so popular: they’re real-life mystery stories that beg for resolution.
True crime’s roots go back to Jack the Ripper and beyond, but the current surge in popularity is widely credited to the runaway success of the 2014 podcast Serial, the 2015 HBO documentary miniseries The Jinx, and the 2015 Netflix series Making a Murderer. Since 2016, ID’s ratings have soared and it’s become one of the most popular cable channels.
Read on to find out how you can catch the next episode of Detective Diaries and not get (financially) murdered by your cable bill.
How to Watch Investigation Discovery Live Without Cable
ID, as its name implies, is owned by Discovery Inc, which also owns Animal Planet, Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), TLC, Travel Channel, Cooking Channel, Destination America, Discovery Life, Discovery Family, and DIY Network.
ID fans may also be interested in several other channels dedicated to crime, true or fictional: A&E’s Crime + Investigation, Law & Crime, Oxygen, and Start TV.
Although the term “cable channels” has stuck, you don’t need a cable company anymore to watch these channels. Several services stream the same channels over the internet, which you can watch just like a cable service.
Unlike a cable service, however, streaming services require no contracts, no installation visits, and no long-term commitments. And they generally cost less. Which services carry ID? Take a look below.
Unblock Your Favorite Movies and Shows With a VPN
If you can’t watch your favorite movies and shows because of your location, a VPN will allow you to get the access you are entitled to, plus extra security and unequalled privacy. Check out our VPN Guide for everything you need to know, including our top pick ExpressVPN.
Other brands worth checking out include Hotspot Shield and CyberGhost.
Streaming Services with Investigation Discovery
All the major streaming services carry ID, so you’ve got options. Discovery either makes its channels irresistibly low-cost to license, or makes a lot of deals, because every service also carries the core Discovery brands — Discovery, Food Network, HGTV, and TLC — in its base package.
Read on to see what other channels might interest you.
Fubo
Fubo (formerly FuboTV) is a great service for the hard-core sports fan, but it’s got a lot more than just sports. Fubo’s Pro plan provides well over 130 channels for $79.99/mo. This includes ID and Discovery, all your local networks, Animal Planet, OWN, Oxygen, and Travel Channel.
Go for the Elite plan for $89.99/mo and you’ll get 170+ total channels including Discovery Life, Discovery Family, Cooking Channel, Destination America, DIY Network, and Dan Abrams’s Law & Crime Trial Network.
All plans come with 1000 hours of cloud DVR storage and simultaneous streaming on up to 10 devices.
Read our Fubo review for more information.
Philo
Philo is only $25/mo, but it saves money by passing on expensive affiliate markets (your local broadcast networks), WarnerMedia channels (HBO, former Turner channels), and NBCUniversal networks (E!, Bravo, Oxygen). It’s light on news channels and has no sports networks at all. But if it has what you’re looking for, it’s a great deal.
Philo’s 60+ channels include ID and the core Discovery channels, Animal Planet, Cooking Channel, Crime + Investigation, Destination America, DIY Network, Law & Crime, OWN, and Travel Channel. It features unlimited cloud DVR storage and streaming on up to 3 screens at a time.
For more information see our Philo review.
Sling TV
The Sling Blue package is $40.00/mo for 40+ channels, streamable on up to 3 screens at one time with 50 hours of cloud DVR. It includes ID, Discovery, and Travel Channel. You can find Destination America in the Heartland Extra, Law & Crime and Newsmax in the News Extra, and Start TV in the Hollywood Extra — each for $6/mo or less if you get a bundle.
Sling TV has, by far, the fewest Discovery channels of any of the streaming services; it doesn’t carry Animal Planet, Discovery Life, Discovery Family, or OWN at all. But it does offer a great channel selection for a very low price.
Our Sling TV review lays out all your options.
DIRECTV STREAM
DIRECTV STREAM (formerly AT&T TV) is a good “gateway” service for people who want the benefits of streaming but with as little major change to their setup as possible. It’s the only service that offers its own proprietary device, similar to a cable box, complete with voice-activated remote control.
Its base Entertainment plan is $79.99/mo for roughly 80 channels, including ID and Discovery plus Animal Planet and your local broadcast channels and comes with unlimited DVR as long as you sign-up online. The next tier, Choice, is $108.99/mo and you get all the Entertainment channels and Cooking Channel, Oprah Winfrey Network, Travel Channel, and regional sports networks.
Destination America, Discovery Life, Discovery Family, DIY Network, and Oxygen are all on the Ultimate tier ($119.99/mo). Crime + Investigation is available as an add-on.
To see all your options, read our DIRECTV STREAM review.
Get DIRECTV STREAM Free for 5 Days
Hulu + Live TV
Hulu’s on-demand library is arguably the best because of its next-day availability of many of your favorite shows. Hulu + Live TV adds over 85 live channels to that for $76.99/mo. This includes ID and Discovery, all your local broadcast network affiliates, Animal Planet, ESPN+, Disney+, Oxygen, Start TV, and Travel Channel.
Sign up for Hulu Live’s Entertainment Add-on for $7.99/mo and you’ll also enjoy Cooking Channel, Crime + Investigation, Destination America, Discovery Life, Discovery Family, and DIY Network.
Hulu offers unlimited cloud DVR (9 months of storage) and streaming on up to 2 devices at the same time. See our Hulu + Live TV review for details.
Vidgo
Vidgo is a two-tiered service aimed at families and college sports fans. Their base plan, Vidgo Plus, is $69.99/mo for over 100 channels, including ID, Discovery, Animal Planet, DIY Network, Law & Crime, OWN, and Travel Channel. Vidgo Premium is $84.99/mo and adds Discovery Family, Discovery Life, Cooking Channel, and Destination America, among others.
You can stream on up to 3 screens at a time, but there is no DVR functionality or on-demand content. Broadcast networks are limited to Fox and ABC.
Check out our Vidgo review for more information.
Other Ways to Stream Investigation Discovery
There are other ways to get the ID live stream or just the on-demand content:
- Hulu: The base on-demand plan for $7.99/mo has back seasons of a half-dozen ID shows, most notably Homicide Hunter and Deadly Women. (Black Friday details)
- YouTube TV: Similar to Hulu + Live TV, features 85+ channels for $72.99/mo, including ID and Discovery.
- ID Website: Some shows/episodes require a TV provider login (eg, streaming service), like the most recent episodes of On the Case with Paula Zahn. But there’s a lot to watch for free, like the entire seven-season run of American Monster.
- Discovery+: Discovery’s on-demand streaming subscription service, with exclusive series as well as classic shows and specials from across all the Discovery brands. Plans start at $4.99/mo with a 7-day free trial.
Superpower Your Live TV Streaming With a VPN
You can’t beat a VPN for privacy, security, and access. We have used them for years as an important part of our streaming toolkit and we recommend ExpressVPN. Other brands worth checking out include Hotspot Shield and CyberGhost.
| i | See our VPN Buyer’s Guide for complete information on how to choose the best VPN for your needs. |
TVs and Devices to Live Stream ID
You’ll need a streaming device to watch ID. Fortunately, the streaming services we’ve discussed support most that are currently in use. For example, they all support the “stick” devices: Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Roku.
Android and iOS mobile devices are similarly supported. And you can use them (and some web browsers) to cast ID to your TV via Chromecast.
Other than DIRECTV STREAM, all services support smart TVs that are based on Android TV.
Other than Philo and Vidgo, the services support Samsung smart TVs. Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, and Sling TV support LG and Vizio smart TVs. Fubo also supports Hisense TVs. Fubo, Hulu, and Sling support the Xbox One. Hulu also supports the PlayStation.
These are just the most popular devices. Our streaming reviews have complete lists.
Today’s Investigation Discovery Schedule
Here is today’s schedule in Eastern Time:
| Dead Silent – Open 24 Hours Donna Ferres, 24, takes a job working the overnight shift at a convenience store; however, when a familiar face walks into the store one night, her routine shift ends in a heinous crime. |
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| Dead Silent – Strange Passenger Friends Liz Reiser and Brandi Hicks go to a video store where they give a ride to a stranger in the parking lot, turning their plans for a movie night into a real-life horror film. |
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| Dead Silent – Taken for a Ride Reeling from a recent breakup, 23-year-old Jacey McWilliams is down in the dumps until she meets a hot, new man; just as they're about to take their relationship to the next level, it takes a horrific turn. |
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| Welcome to Murdertown – One Hot Summer Fourteen-year-old Christie Mullins is murdered in Clintonville, Ohio; the murder goes unsolved for 40 years until a young woman comes forward to identify her uncle as the killer. |
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| Welcome to Murdertown – Out of the Ashes In Goliad, Texas, Patricia Mills is killed in a house fire that her sister deems to be suspicious; it will take 10 years to break the silence surrounding this case, but Mills' killer is eventually brought to justice. |
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| Welcome to Murdertown – A Killing in Kendrick Donna Fontaine and her boyfriend, Fred Palahniuk, are found shot dead in a burning building in remote Kendrick, Idaho; a conspiracy of silence protects the killer until his lovers crack and confess the damning evidence needed to convict him. |
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| Late Night Lockup – You're Being Recorded In Ohio, an entitled CEO goes wild when officers pull him over on a suspected DUI; an angry driver crashes through the entrance of a police station; in Washington, a drunken partygoer bites an officer when he escorts her out of a nightclub. |
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| Late Night Lockup – I Did It! Police catch a woman, literally red-handed, after spray-painting a neighbor's garage; an Indiana mayor tries to avoid arrest after drinking and driving; a man puts on a bizarre show for the camera inside his jail cell. |
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| Late Night Lockup – Confessions of an Honest Thief In Florida, officers are stunned when a young man confesses to one crime after another; in Ohio, a man racing home for Christmas fights with cops and spends the holiday in jail; in New Mexico, a woman flirts with her attractive arresting officer. |
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| Late Night Lockup – I Don't Need a License! After a sobriety test, a man runs away, leading to a breathless foot chase across town; in Albuquerque, a drunk man refuses treatment after his friend stabs him; in Florida, a woman claims she doesn't need a license to drive. |
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| Late Night Lockup – Just One Beer A young man hilariously misunderstands his arresting officers; a DUI suspect tries to prove his sobriety by performing a backflip; a man steals an officer's gun, which leads to a high-speed chase; an entitled woman condescends to an officer. |
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| Late Night Lockup – Drunk at Drag Queen Bingo A Michigan woman falls asleep behind the wheel after getting drunk at drag queen bingo; in Georgia, a shoplifting suspect makes a run for it; in Georgia, a reckless driver begins acting bizarrely in the hospital. |
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| Web of Lies – New Year's Retribution Bursting with confidence after losing 200 pounds, a newly single 33-year-old woman spends her time flirting with men online, then she fails to turn up for work one day. |
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| Web of Lies – Playing Doctor Twenty-four-year-old Jessika Rovell falls for Jeffrey Marsalis' charm and good looks but when she discovers his secret online life as Dr. Jeff, she realizes she's been dating a monster who stalks dating sites. |
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| Web of Lies – With Friends Like These Fifteen-year-old Audrie Pott has no recollection of what happened at a friend's house party, then lewd photographs of her are shared through text messages, turning her world upside down and pushing her to the edge. |
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| Web of Lies – Tortured Hero When a young Army veteran returns from war, his family is relieved to have him out of harm's way finally. But danger lurks closer to home when a brief encounter on a dating app leads to a devastating tragedy. |
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| Mean Girl Murders – Clash of the Coeds College junior Tina Stewart and freshman Shanterrica Madden couldn't be more different, but when the roommates channel their inner mean girls, things get out of hand and only one girl is left standing. |
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| Mean Girl Murders – Showgirl Showdown In the cutthroat world of Vegas showgirls, Debbie Flores Narvaez isn't afraid to ruffle feathers as she climbs to the top; when Debbie goes missing, investigators must wonder if a jealous dancer or a romantic rival took her out. |
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| Mean Girl Murders – Queen vs. Princess In the agrarian world of Marathon County, Wisc., the only girl more popular than a homecoming queen might be a 'dairy princess'; when one is found murdered, investigators dive deep into a pool of suspects, from strangers to frenemies. |
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| Mean Girl Murders – Straight A Killer The smart, ambitious kids rule a Warren, Mich., high school, and two of the best and brightest are seniors Danyna Gibson and Tanaya Lewis; when these straight-A students compete for more than just grades, the results turn deadly. |
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| Mean Girl Murders – Showgirl Showdown In the cutthroat world of Vegas showgirls, Debbie Flores Narvaez isn't afraid to ruffle feathers as she climbs to the top; when Debbie goes missing, investigators must wonder if a jealous dancer or a romantic rival took her out. |
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| Mean Girl Murders – Queen vs. Princess In the agrarian world of Marathon County, Wisc., the only girl more popular than a homecoming queen might be a 'dairy princess'; when one is found murdered, investigators dive deep into a pool of suspects, from strangers to frenemies. |
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| Mean Girl Murders – Straight A Killer The smart, ambitious kids rule a Warren, Mich., high school, and two of the best and brightest are seniors Danyna Gibson and Tanaya Lewis; when these straight-A students compete for more than just grades, the results turn deadly. |
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| Mean Girl Murders – Clash of the Coeds College junior Tina Stewart and freshman Shanterrica Madden couldn't be more different, but when the roommates channel their inner mean girls, things get out of hand and only one girl is left standing. |
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| 20/20 on ID – Five Weddings and a Murder Las Vegas realtor Ron Rudin is found dead in the Nevada desert; as the investigation heats up, his wife, Margaret, who is the prime suspect, goes on the run. |
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| 20/20 on ID – Five Weddings and a Murder Las Vegas realtor Ron Rudin is found dead in the Nevada desert, and the prime suspect goes on the run. |
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| Mother, May I Murder? – Nine Bullet "Suicide" Police reveal a suspected suicide as a brutal nine-shot execution with only two suspects, the victim's ex-wife and their son; that son, Radley Horwitz, recalls the toxic series of events, which he says triggered his mother's murderous act of rage. |
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| Mother, May I Murder? – Blood Feud The heir-apparent to a Colorado ranch, Jake Millison, suddenly disappears, which shocks his friends, but his family doesn't seem to care; when a worker discovers human remains, an unexpected confession destroys the bond between mother and child. |
Wrapping Up
As you can see by this list, there is no need to live in terror from your cable bill. And you don’t need Paula Zahn to close this case!
Just sign up for one of the streaming services discussed in this article and you can enjoy ID while making sure your predatory cable bill never targets you again!
FAQ
Where did Investigation Discovery come from?
ID launched back in 1996 with the ridiculously cumbersome name “Discovery Civilization Network: The World History and Geography Channel.” It was part of a four-channel bundle together with what would become Destination America, Science, and Discovery Family. From 2002 to 2006, The New York Times and Discovery ran the channel together, first as Discovery Civilization Channel and then as Discovery Times. They experimented with focusing on current events and modern history, then on US culture.
The Times left the venture in 2006, but the name didn’t change until the 2008 relaunch as Investigation Discovery with a newly appointed focus on true crime stories. The now-popular network rebranded as simply ID in 2020, with a brand new logo.
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