Navigating Streaming Services

Watching TV through streaming services is very common place now, but it wasn’t that long ago that it was still a very unique – and in some instances not all that legal – way to watch programming online.

In early 2005, YouTube was launched, allowing users to share illegally posted TV shows. Also in 2005, Apple’s iTunes began offering select TV shows available for download after a direct payment. Amazon Video began in the US as Amazon Unbox in 2006, but it didn’t launch worldwide until 2016. Netflix, which was originally created for DVD rentals and sales, began streaming content in 2007. Hulu came along in 2008 followed by tv.com in 2009. It was around this time that TV networks and other independent services began creating sites where their shows could be streamed online. It was around this time (roughly) that digital media players began to become available. In 2007, the first generation of Apple TV was released and then in 2008, the first generation Roku streaming device was announced. In 2010, Smart TVs took over the market with Amazon Fire TV becoming available in 2014.

Here are details on the top services:

Netflix – They provide the kitchen sink of programming options, ranging from comedies like The Good Place and The Office to dramas like Grey’s Anatomy, Jane the Virgin to Supernatural in addition to their own shows, like The Witcher, Emily in Paris and Away along with movies like Enola Holmes to The Boys in the Band. The basic plan costs $8.99 with higher tier plans going up from there.

Amazon Prime Video – They don’t have as many originals as Netflix, but they still have a decent selection of first run shows like The Man in the High Castle, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Jack Ryan, The Boys and Fleabag. They have a bigger collection of acquired movies and TV shows than Netflix, especially programming from the 1970s and 1980s. They are also rapidly adding to their first-run movie slate. The prime video membership is $8.99 a month.

Apple TV+ – They don’t have a large library of older shows as they are one of the few major services focusing on original content such as The Morning Show, Dickinson, Servant, Defending Jacob and Little Voice. They also have a few original movies like The Banker. The monthly subscription is $4.99 a month.

Hulu – This Disney-owned service has next-day access to most prime-time shows from ABC, NBC, FX, Freeform and FOX as well as its own slate of original programs such as The Handmaid’s Tale, Little Fires Everywhere and Mrs. America). It also has the occasional first-run feature film. The basic subscription costs $5.99.

CBS All Access (which will be renamed Paramount Plus next year) – Subscribers get access to the live feed of their local CBS station (which includes all NFL games) as well as their own programming such as the reboot of The Twilight Zone, The Good Fight and Star Trek: Picard. The monthly fee is $5.99.

Disney+ – The focus is, of course, on Disney brands like Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and National Geographic. They have original content, too, that is in the works (like the numerous series based around many of the Marvel characters) as well as The Mandalorian [among others]. The monthly subscription cost is $6.99.

HBO Max and HBO Now – HBO Now provides the full line-up of current and past HBO series, movies and feature films while HBO Max not only offers all the same as HBO Now in addition to thousands of class movies (think Casablanca and The Wizard of Oz) and TV shows such as Friends and The Big Bang Theory) as well as some original projects like Love Life and the Gossip Girl reboot. Both services are $14.99 a month.

Peacock – The streaming service may be part of the Comcast corporate family like NBC (that includes E!, Bravo and Oxygen), but it is trying to be a bit more like Hulu. They offer the Comcast content libraries as well as shows like Yellowstone (from Paramount Network) and a decent selection of blockbuster movies. They also have a small collection of original shows like Brave New World and Departure. The basic version is free, however, you can’t watch the original programs and some of the big library titles without paying the fee of $4.99 a month.

Here are details on some (but not all) of the other streaming services:

Quibi – This service is for your cell-phones only, featuring short-form content with all episodes under ten minutes in length. They have original shows like the reboot of The Fugitive, Survive and the feature-film-esque thriller Most Dangerous Game. The basic monthly cost is $4.99.

Acorn – This service caters to audiences who watch British programming like what you find on PBS and BBC America, featuring shows from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and France and exclusives like Miss Fischer’s Murder Mysteries and Agatha Raisin. The basic fee is $5.99.

DC Universe – As the name states, this service is the home of the DC-branded world (but it doesn’t include the CW’s modern interpretations of the DC characters), but it does have the original series Doom Patrol, The Titans and Harley Quinn. The monthly subscription is $7.99.

BET+ – BET has teamed up with Tyler Perry to provide a service that offers both ad-free versions of the network’s TV line-up but also a lot of Perry’s movies as well as a handful of exclusive shows like the reboot of First Wives Club. The monthly fee is $9.99.

Sundance Now – This service has an assortment of international shows, true-crime documentaries and feature films. The subscription fee is $6.99 a month.

Broadway HD – This service is for all those theatre-lovers out there. They don’t have a gigantic selection, but they do have dozens of plays, musicals, concerts and documentaries; and they are all commercial-free. They do have some modern hits too. The monthly fee is $8.99.

What streaming services do you use? Please share in our comments section below.

Source: Vulture

Photo Credit: Primetimer