Chapter 9
Checking Out Paid Streaming Services
IN THIS CHAPTER
Seeing what you get with a paid streaming subscription
Understanding the different types of paid streaming services
Reviewing a few on-demand services
Eyeballing some cable-replacement services
Taking a look at a few premium channels
Once you've cut the cord and have washed your hands of the cable company, you're left with a gaping primetime void that needs to be filled with, well, something. Huge numbers of cord cutters have cobbled together a satisfying TV watching experience from over-the-air channels (see Chapters 3 through 5), free streaming services (see Chapter 8), and YouTube cat videos. It's entertaining, there's no shortage of content, and it's cheaper than dirt.
The problem with that approach, however, is that you miss out on a ton of the biggest and most popular shows, from Game of Thrones and The Crown to Better Call Saul and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. These shows and others that have become cultural touchstones are available only on streaming channels and services that require a paid subscription, such as HBO, Netflix, Showtime, and Amazon Prime Video.
Paid services, which are the mainstream (so to speak) of online TV and movie watching, are the subject of this chapter. In the pages that follow, you delve into the riches available via paid streaming apps. You learn how these services work and what types of paid services are available. You also get a long list of the best and most popular apps, what content they offer, how much they cost, what devices they support, and more. It's a veritable streaming feast, so let's dig in.
What to Expect from Paid Streaming Services
One of the nice things about the free streaming apps that I talk about in Chapter 8 is that when you sign up with one of these services, you go in with low expectations. After all, it's free, so how great can it be? If it's not that good, you can say, “See? I told you!” and if it turns out to be pretty decent (as some are) you can say, “See? I told you!”
But when we pay for something, we go in expecting a lot. After all, you're spending your hard-earned money, so the service better deliver, am I right?
Fortunately, most big-time streaming media services offer a decent product for the money. In the end, you'll almost certainly wind up with lots of great content to watch and a monthly bill that's heartwarmingly less than what you were paying for cable.
But life in the fast streaming lane isn't all beer and Skittles. Here are some gotchas to watch out for when you're doing your research:
- Commercials: Some services show ads in exchange for a lower monthly rate.
- Availability: All streaming services support a wide array of platforms on which you can watch their content, including the web, mobile devices, streamers, smart TVs, and gaming consoles. However, no service supports every possible platform, so make sure the service you're interested in is available for your devices.
- Add-ons: The major streaming services offer a huge amount of content, but lots of popular stuff — I'm looking at you, HBO Max — is available only as an extra-cost add-on feature.
- Simultaneous streams: You might think that once you've started paying for a streaming service, everyone in your household can now watch content on any device at the same time. This is called simultaneous streaming. Most services are cool with it, but usually the number of simultaneous streams depends on the subscription plan. (The more expensive the plan, the more streams you can view at the same time.)
- Free trials: You'd think that every streaming service would offer a free trial of at least a few days so you can test-drive the service before committing. Nope. Most services have a trial period, but a few don't. (I'm looking at you again, HBO Max.)
What Types of Paid Streaming Services Are Available?
When deciding where you should spend your no-longer-going-to-the-cable-company money for online entertainment, your first decision involves choosing the type of service. There are three main types:
- On demand: These services offer a library of content that you can demand (that is, watch) any time you feel like it. The main players here are Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Netflix.
- Cable replacement: These services aim to provide you with a cable-like experience, which means offering both on-demand TV shows and movies as well as live TV feeds (plus a cloud-based DVR to record live TV). The big-time cable-replacement services are Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and YouTube TV.
- Premium channels: These services are mostly focused on providing content from a single channel, although they usually also offer other content. The premium channel services of note are Disney+, HBO Max, and Showtime.
You're not restricted to choosing just one of these categories. For example, many cord cutters choose one on-demand service (such as Netflix or Hulu) and then augment that service with a couple of premium channels (such as Disney+ and HBO Max).
It's a sad fact that many of the services I discuss in this chapter are available only to folks who live in the United States.
On-Demand Streaming Services
Lots of streaming services provide on-demand TV shows, movies, and other content, but most — the vast majority, in fact — offer a limited number of titles or are brow-furrowingly niche. Awesome as some of these are, I ignore them in this section and instead present the six biggest and most popular on-demand streaming services.
For simplicity throughout this chapter, all subscription prices are listed in U.S. dollars.
Amazon Prime Video
Website: www.primevideo.com
Free trial: 30 days
Subscription: $8.99 per month or included with Amazon Prime membership ($12.99 per month or $119 per year)
Amazon's Prime Video service (see Figure 9-1) offers unlimited streaming of classic and recent movies and lots of TV shows. Prime Video is also home to some of the best original shows online, including The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Fleabag, Jack Ryan, and One Night in Miami. You can watch streams on up to three devices simultaneously and many shows are streamed in 4K. Are all these features worth $8.99 a month? Almost certainly. However, the big news about Prime Video is that you get everything I just mentioned for no extra cost if you already have an Amazon Prime membership. How awesome is that?
FIGURE 9-1: Prime Video offers great original content and a large collection of movies and TV shows.
Prime Video also offers rentals and purchases of newly released movies, as well as Amazon Channels, where you can subscribe to big-time streaming channels such as HBO, Showtime, and Starz.
You can watch Prime Video streams either on the web or by using the Prime Video app on Android and iOS mobile devices, on most streaming media players (particular Amazon's own Fire TV streamers), on most smart TVs, and on the Xbox and PlayStation gaming consoles.
Apple TV+
Website: https://tv.apple.com/
Free trial: 7 days
Subscription: $4.99 per month
Apple's on-demand service is unusual in that it offers only original Apple programming (see Figure 9-2). That's right: No classic movies, droll British sitcoms, or kids' favorites here. If that sounds limiting, well, let's just say you're unlikely to subscribe to Apple TV+ as your sole form of streaming content. That said, Apple TV+ is producing some fantastic shows, including The Morning Show, Ted Lasso, Tiny World, and On the Rocks. You can watch streams on up to six devices simultaneously, and many shows are streamed in 4K.
FIGURE 9-2: Apple TV+ offers only original content on-demand, but some of that content is very good.
Apple TV+ also offers purchases of TV show episodes and seasons, rentals and purchases of new movies, as well as Apple TV Channels, where you can subscribe to major streaming channels such as HBO, Paramount+, Showtime, and Starz.
You can watch Apple TV+ anywhere you can get the Apple TV app, which means iOS mobile devices, Macs, Roku and Fire TV streamers, and many smart TVs.
Hulu
Website: www.hulu.com
Free trial: 30 days
Subscription plans:
Feature |
Hulu |
Hulu (no ads) |
|---|---|---|
Price per month |
$5.99 |
$11.99 |
Price per year |
$59.99 |
n/a |
Simultaneous screens |
2 |
2 |
Downloads? |
No |
Yes |
Commercials? |
Yes |
No |
Live TV? |
No |
No |
Are you a college student? If so, you can subscribe to the ad-supported version of Hulu for a mere $1.99 a month.
Hulu (see Figure 9-3) is one of the top streaming services because it provides a huge amount of content for a decent price (particularly if you don't mind watching commercials). Hulu offers access to most network TV shows as well as some cable channel shows, where in both cases you can see new episodes the day after they originally air. Hulu also produces quite a bit of original content, including The Handmaid's Tale, Little Fires Everywhere, and High Fidelity.
FIGURE 9-3: Hulu offers great access to network and cable shows, as well as lots of original programming.
Hulu also offers several so-called Premium Add-ons: Cinemax ($9.99 per month), HBO Max ($14.99), Showtime ($10.99), and Starz ($8.99). The service also offers a bundle that includes Disney+ and ESPN+ for $13.99 a month with ads or $19.99 monthly without ads.
You can watch Hulu content either on the web or by using the Hulu app on Android and iOS mobile devices, on most streaming media players, on LG, Samsung, and Vizio smart TVs, and on the Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation gaming consoles.
Netflix
Website: www.netflix.com
Free trial: None
Subscription plans:
Feature |
Basic |
Standard |
Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
Price per month |
$8.99 |
$13.99 |
$17.99 |
Simultaneous screens |
1 |
2 |
4 |
Mobile devices that can have downloads |
1 |
2 |
4 |
Stream resolution |
480p |
1080p |
4K |
If someone came up to you and said, “Quick, name a streaming video service!” I'd bet the proverbial dollars to doughnuts that your off-the-top-of-your-head answer would be “Netflix!” (followed no doubt by “Who are you and why are you asking me this?”). Netflix is the quintessential streaming service and the only one with its own pop culture catchphrase (“Netflix and chill”). Even folks who don't know what a streaming media service is know the name Netflix.
What has Netflix done to earn its place in our hearts and minds? First, it's been around for a long time, beginning its corporate life as an online DVD-rental outfit way back in 1997 and offering on-demand videos starting in 2007. But over 200 million people rely on Netflix for some or all of their screen-based entertainment because the service has a ton of content (see Figure 9-4), including some of the best original shows around, including The Crown, Bridgerton, The Queen's Gambit, and Stranger Things.
FIGURE 9-4: Netflix isn't cheap, but it offers lots of movies, TV, shows, and original content.
Netflix also offers ad-free streaming, offline downloads on mobile devices, and separate user profiles. On the negative side, Netflix is expensive (especially that $17.99 a month for up to four devices and 4K streaming), and it does not offer a free trial in most countries.
You can watch Netflix streams either on the web or by using the Netflix app on Android and iOS mobile devices, on most streaming media players, on most smart TVs, and on the Xbox and PlayStation gaming consoles.
Paramount+
Website: www.paramountplus.com
Free trial: One week
Subscription plans:
Feature |
Limited commercials |
Commercial free |
|---|---|---|
Price per month |
$4.99 |
$9.99 |
Price per year |
$59.99 |
$99.99 |
Simultaneous screens |
3 |
3 |
Mobile downloads? |
No |
Yes |
Live CBS TV feed? |
No |
Yes |
Stream resolution |
Some 4K |
Some 4K |
Paramount+ (formerly known as CBS All Access) offers more than 30,000 TV show episodes and movies from the likes of CBS, BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, and more. Paramount+ also produces new content, such as The Good Fight, Star Trek: Discovery, and the immortal The SpongeBob Movie: SpongeBob on the Run. With the Commercial Free plan, you also get live TV shows, news, and sports via your local CBS affiliate.
The Commercial Free plan should really be named Commercial Free (Sort Of), because you see tons of commercials when you watch the CBS live TV feed.
You can watch Paramount+ content either on the web at www.cbs.com or by using the Paramount+ app on Android and iOS mobile devices, on streaming media players from Amazon and Apple, and on Android TV devices.
Peacock
Website: www.peacocktv.com
Free trial: One week for the Premium plans
Subscription plans:
Feature |
Free |
Premium (with ads) |
Premium (without ads) |
|---|---|---|---|
Price per month |
Free |
$4.99 |
$9.99 |
Simultaneous screens |
3 |
3 |
|
Mobile downloads? |
No |
No |
No |
Stream resolution |
Some 4K |
Some 4K |
Peacock (see Figure 9-5) is the streaming service of NBCUniversal (and named after NBC's iconic peacock logo). Peacock Free offers no-charge access to over 13,000 hours of programming, while the two Premium plans bump up the content available to more than 20,000 hours. This content includes classic NBC shows such as 30 Rock, Cheers, Parks and Recreation, and The Office. What? No Seinfeld? No Friends? Alas not, dear reader. Peacock also has a decent collection of old and recent movies, original shows such as Brave New World and The Capture, and some live NBC news and sports programs.
FIGURE 9-5: Peacock is NBCUniversal's entry into the online streaming game.
You can watch Peacock shows by using the Peacock app on Android and iOS mobile devices, on streaming media players from Apple, Google, and Roku (but not Amazon), on certain smart TVs, and on the Xbox and PlayStation gaming consoles.
Cable-Replacement Services
Some people cut the cable cord but then find that although they're happy to be rid of the cord, they kind of miss the cable. That is, they miss having all their entertainment options — TV shows, movies, live TV — in one convenient place. If that describes you, not to worry: A bunch of online services have as their mission the replacement of cable TV in your home. The next few sections take a look at the four best cable-replacement services.
Are you in Canada? If so, a worthwhile cable-replacement service to check into is Crave (www.crave.ca).
fuboTV
Free trial: One week for the Family plan only
Subscription plans:
Feature |
Family |
Elite |
Latino Quarterly |
|---|---|---|---|
Price per month |
$64.99 |
$79.99 |
$99.99 (three months) |
Simultaneous screens |
3 |
8 |
2 |
DVR hours |
250 |
1,000 |
250 |
Stream resolution |
Some 4K |
Some 4K |
Some 4K |
fuboTV offers a mix of on-demand and live channels, more than 160 in all. You get all the US broadcast networks; cable channels such as A&E, Bravo, CNN, and Discovery; and lots of sports, including ESPN, NBA TV, NFL Network, and Golf Channel. fuboTV also offers a cloud-based DVR to record live TV.
If you have the Family plan, you can add the Family Share Max add-on to stream fuboTV on up to five devices on your home network, plus another two devices not on your network. You can add fuboTV's Cloud DVR Plus service, which bumps up the storage hours from 250 to 500. fuboTV also offers several add-on packages that bring you even more channels, including Showtime, Starz, and regional sports coverage.
You can watch fuboTV content by using the service's website or the fuboTV app on Android and iOS mobile devices, on streaming media players from Amazon, Apple, Google, and Roku, on smart TVs from Android, Hisense, and Samsung, and on the Xbox gaming console.
Hulu + Live TV
Website: www.hulu.com/live-tv
Free trial: 7 days
Subscription plans:
Feature |
Hulu + Live TV |
Hulu + Live TV (no ads) |
|---|---|---|
Price per month |
$64.99 |
$70.99 |
Simultaneous screens |
2 |
2 |
Downloads? |
No |
No |
Commercials? |
Yes |
No |
Live TV? |
Yes |
Yes |
Hulu + Live TV offers just what the name says: The full on-demand Hulu streaming service (with or without commercials) that I describe earlier in the chapter (see “Hulu”) plus over 60 live channels. The latter include local affiliates of national networks such as ABC, CBS, the CW, Fox, and NBC; news channels such as CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC; and cable channels such as Bravo, E!, TBS, Disney Channel, and National Geographic.
You can also sign up for a couple of add-on features:
- Unlimited screens: Stream to any number of devices connected to your home network, and up to three mobile devices not connected to your network.
- Enhanced cloud DVR: Offers 200 hours of cloud DVR storage and fast-forwarding through ads.
These add-ons are $9.99 per month each, or $14.99 monthly if you get both.
Sling TV
Website: www.sling.com
Free trial: 3 days
Subscription plans:
Feature |
Sling Orange |
Sling Blue |
|---|---|---|
Price per month |
$35 |
$35 |
Simultaneous screens |
1 |
3 |
Channels |
45+ |
30+ |
DVR storage hours |
50 |
50 |
Live TV? |
Yes |
Yes |
Sling TV (see Figure 9-6) offers both on-demand content and live TV. The Orange plan is geared towards news (for example, CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC) and entertainment (for example, A&E, AMC, Bravo, and HGTV), while the Blue plan focuses more on sports (for example, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN3) and families (for example, Disney Channel, Food Network, and Nick Jr.). A plan that combines both Orange and Blue is available for $50 per month.
FIGURE 9-6: Sling TV replaces your cable service by offering live and on-demand channels.
The basic Sling approach to streaming is to offer a relatively cheap basic plan and then enable you to customize that plan with extras such as DVR Plus (200 hours of storage for $5 per month) and channel bundles such as Sports Extra ($11 monthly), News Extra ($6 monthly), and Kids Extra ($6 monthly). You can also add premium bundles for channels such as ShowTime ($10 per month) and Starz ($9 monthly).
You can watch Sling TV channels by using the Sling TV app on Android and iOS mobile devices, on streaming media players from Amazon, Apple, Google, and Roku, on smart TVs from Android, LG, and Samsung, and on the Xbox gaming console.
YouTube TV
Website: https://tv.youtube.com/
Free trial: 14 days
Subscription: $65 per month
YouTube TV (see Figure 9-7) offers more than 85 channels of on-demand and live TV. These channels include all the major US networks and a good collection of cable content (including AMC, Bravo, Disney Channel, and ESPN). Perhaps best of all, you also get a cloud-based DVR that offers unlimited storage. Sweet! You can add premium channels such as HBO Max, Cinemax, Showtime, and Starz for a few extra dollars per month.
FIGURE 9-7: YouTube TV offers lots of channels and unlimited cloud DVR storage.
You can watch YouTube TV on the website or by using the app on Android and iOS mobile devices, on streaming media players from Amazon, Apple, Google, and Roku, on smart TVs from Android, Hisense, LG, Samsung, and Vizio, and on the Xbox and PlayStation 4 gaming consoles.
Checking Out Premium Channels
Most of the on-demand and cable-replacement services that I talk about in this chapter also enable you to add on one or more premium channels. (The adjective premium is defined as “Containing one or more shows that you can't live without, therefore we can charge a fortune per month and you'll pay it. Bwaa ha ha ha!”) The monthly cost depends on the channel, but it ranges from $6 to a whopping $15 (yes, I'm looking at you yet again, HBO Max).
Most streaming devices — particularly Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, and most smart TVs — also enable you to subscribe to multiple premium channels from the convenience of your TV.
Table 9-1 lists the six major premium channels, gives you a bit of info on each one, and shows you where to get them.
TABLE 9-1 The Major Premium Streaming Channels
Channel |
Standalone Price per Month |
Free Trial |
Example Content |
Also Available On |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cinemax Go |
$9.99 |
Depends on how you subscribe, but usually 7 days |
Banshee, The Knick, Outcast |
Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Hulu, YouTube TV, streaming devices |
Disney+ |
$11.99 ($119.99 per year) |
None |
Most Disney movies, Star Wars, Marvel, The Mandalorian, The Simpsons |
Most streaming devices |
Epix |
$5.99 |
Depends on how you subscribe, but usually 7 days |
Gemini Man, The Hustle, Pennyworth |
Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, fuboTV, Sling TV, YouTube TV, streaming devices |
HBO Max |
$14.99 |
None |
Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, Friends |
Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Hulu, YouTube TV, streaming devices |
Showtime |
$10.99 |
30 days |
Homeland, The Affair, Dexter |
Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, fuboTV, Hulu, Sling TV, YouTube TV, streaming devices |
Starz |
$8.99 |
Depends on how you subscribe, but usually 7 days |
American Gods, Outlander, Spartacus |
Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, fuboTV, Hulu, Roku, Sling TV, YouTube TV, streaming devices |