7 free streaming TV platforms
I heard a stat the other day I had to share: The average U.S. household spends $61 per month on streaming TV. Plus, you still need to pay for cable or another way to get the internet.
We’re in the midst of a streaming arms race, and prices are only going up.
- Last October, Apple, Amazon and Disney upped their streaming prices by $3 monthly.
- Netflix also nudged up its monthly basic plan rate by $2 last October.
- Just yesterday, Max raised the price of its cheapest streaming plan by $1 to $16.99 per month. Yeah, that’s with ads, people.
TL;DR: If you subscribe to only the basic plans for those services, your bills have gone up $12 per month in the past year. Wanna cut that down? I have seven streaming platforms that are completely f-r-e-e free.
Pluto TV: Pluto’s owned by Paramount, so you get over 250 free channels, including news, sports and lifestyle options. It’s got a solid selection of old TV shows, plus some movies. It’s also compatible with most streaming devices and platforms, like Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku and PlayStation TV.
Tubi: Tubi gives you over 50,000 movies and TV shows, thanks to content from big studios like MGM, Lionsgate and Paramount. You can watch it on your smartphone, laptop and pretty much any other streaming or gaming console.
YouTube: You know it, you love it, but I bet you didn’t know you can find thousands of TV show episodes and even feature films on it for free (with ads). Not to mention, creators like MrBeast have full-length, high-production shows that give regular TV a run for its money. And you get my shows for free, too.
🍿 Speaking of … Here’s a list of the 100 best free flicks available on YouTube. (“Back to the Future,” anyone?)
The Roku Channel: Get thousands of free movies and TV shows, along with over 350 live channels, on any Roku streaming device, compatible Samsung smart TVs or Amazon Fire TVs, or the Roku app. The content is constantly updated, and they have some surprisingly solid originals, too, like “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” and “The Great American Baking Show.”
Crackle: If British TV is your jam, Crackle might be your best bet. It has a lot of BBC shows, like the sitcom “Peep Show” and comedy-drama series “Shameless,” plus a big library of movies and classic TV series, including “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” The downside? Long ads before and during programming. Bollocks …
Freevee: Freevee is Amazon’s free arm, so you’ll need an Amazon Prime account for this one. But once you’re in, it has thousands of free movies and TV episodes with fewer ads than network TV. It also has some excellent original content, like “Jury Duty,” which was nominated for an Emmy last year and is wet-your-pants funny.
Kanopy: This one’s my ringer. Kanopy lets you watch thousands of films completely ad-free using your public library card. They have a great selection of classic, critically acclaimed and foreign films. Stream ‘em on your phone, tablet or almost any other TV streaming device, including Apple TV, Roku and Chromecast.
I can practically hear your streaming bills dropping …
😂 Let me tell you, I’ve been trying in vain to stream “Hamlet,” but I can’t remember if it’s Tubi or not Tubi! (Oh, that was so good, it hurt!)
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Tags: Amazon, Amazon Prime, Android, app, Apple, classic, devices, Disney, Feature, free streaming, future, internet, love, money, movies, Netflix, network, phone, shows, smartphone, streaming device, streaming services, tablet, YouTube
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