40 Best Streaming Services in the UK

WOW Presents Plus is an on-demand streaming service that prides itself on its LGBTQ+ content, most of which comes in the form of vibrant reality and sketch shows. This is where you'll find the latest seasons of RuPaul's Drag Race as well as its many iterations and spin-offs.

The platform serves as a streaming arm of The World of Wonder, a production company that has been at the forefront of queer storytelling since 1991. 

The shows on WOW Presents Plus can be downloaded and viewed on most streaming devices (no TV provider required). A subscription costs £4.43/month or £43.38/year.

Viaplay is a streaming service that specializes in two main types of content: live sports and entertainment. On the sports side, Viaplay covers a wide range of leagues. Thanks to its multi-million-pound acquisition of former rival streamer, Premier Sports, it's now the go-to place to watch UEFA EURO, La Liga, FIFA World Cup, Elite Ice Hockey League, NHL, and NASCAR matches.

On the entertainment side, Viaplay also features a host of original films and TV shows, many of them Nordic. The Stockholm-based platform is putting all its energy into Nordic noir at the moment, but it will soon branch out into different genres as well. 

A Viaplay subscription also comes in two parts. You can pay £3.99/month to access their film and TV series content or £14.99/month to access all this plus their sports coverage. Viaplay is available as a standalone streaming service as well as an add-on channel to Sky, Virgin Media, and Amazon Prime Video Channels.

TalkTalk TV is a streaming service that gives you access to live TV as well as on-demand players like Netflix and Now. While TalkTalk TV doesn't actually offer those on-demand players for free, it does give you the option to bundle your existing on-demand subscriptions with a broadband plan so that you end up paying just one bill for everything at the end of the month. Aside from this, you can easily navigate on-demand players like Amazon Prime Video and BBC iPlayer on TalkTalk TV. 

Now, the catch is that you'll need an aerial reception to access TalkTalk TV's 70+ live TV channels. But even without one, TalkTalk TV remains functional and, if you sign up for it, Now Sports broadcasts 11 Sky Sports channels live. 

Because you can pick and choose which services to include each month, costs vary for a TalkTalk TV subscription. But prices start at £5/month (excluding broadband) and pick up depending on what you add on.

Exclusive to Virgin broadband customers, Stream from Virgin Media is a seamless way to watch on-demand streaming apps and live Freeview channels all in one place. You won't need a satellite or aerial for this, but you will have to install a puck-like device on your TV's HDMI port, which requires a £35 one-time activation fee. Apart from your broadband and streaming services bills, you won't be charged for any ongoing costs after that fee.

What's interesting about Stream is that it makes it easier to pick and choose which apps you want on your homepage, so you're sure to only see and pay for the content that you like. Additionally, you get 10% credit back on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other streaming subscriptions you add through Stream. 

And when it comes to content, you have your pick among major broadcast channels and on-demand streaming services. You can also add premium channels like Sky Cinema, Sky Sports, BT Sport, and the Essential Entertainment Package for an extra fee, cancellable each month.

Sky Stream is an all-around streaming service that gives you access to over 120 live channels over Freeview TV and Sky TV, as well as on-demand apps like Netflix and Disney+. It comes in the form of a small puck you plug into your TV via HDMI, so there's no need to set up a satellite dish or an aerial. And while you will need a stable internet connection and physical TV to use Sky Stream, these devices don't necessarily have to be from Sky. 

The channels include a lot of the basic news, entertainment, and sports channels you've come to expect from traditional TV; there's GB News and BBC News, Channel 4 and Channel 5, and Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2 among plenty of others. However, it should be noted that some of these, like Sky Cinema, Sky Kids, and BT Sports, cost extra. 

There are two ways to purchase Sky Stream: for £29/month, you can go for a 31-day rolling plan that can be canceled at anytime, while for £26/month, you can go for an 18-month contract to save up on costs. The former has a £39.95 set-up fee while the latter has a £20 set-up fee. 

Aside from all these, Sky Stream has new nifty features such as "restart," which allows you to watch a live TV show you may have missed from the very beginning, and "playlist," which operates as a sort of DVR that allows you to save and watch programmes for later.

Sky Sports is a wide-ranging and accessible streaming platform that’s available to watch as an add-on to your existing subscription. It carries eight different channels, including Premier League, F1 Racing, and News, which Sky subscribers can add to their package for an extra £18/month. 

It’s quite pricey for a specialized channel, so the true highlight of Sky Sports is its flexibility. You can avail of it regardless of which TV provider you’re subscribed to, and you can also choose to watch it via the official website and app. Now, for example, offers a monthly Sky Sports package you can cancel at any time for £39.99 as well as a daily pass that only costs £11.98.  The latter option is ideal if you’re looking to tune into a specific event and are uninterested in the hassle of a subscription. This one-off payment also gives you mobile access to stream five channels from the platform for nine months.

Not to be confused with Sky TV, Sky Go is more of a complementary streaming service than a standalone streamer. Free for Sky TV customers (although unavailable to everyone else), it gives users access to over 200 channels and titles from the Sky catalog, on the go. This lets you maximize your Sky subscription to the fullest since you can access a host of shows, news, sports, and movies outside the telly. 

Sky Go will come in handy if you want more ways to watch and you’re an existing Sky subscriber, especially since it’s available for up to three devices. But it’s not ideal if you’re looking for a fully-fledged streaming service with its own content and channels.

If Netflix, Amazon, or Disney’s vast catalog of films never really met your needs as an avid horror fan, then Shudder just might be the streaming service for you. It’s dedicated to the most thrilling, hair-raising, and frightening titles available, both from Hollywood and around the world. Although a number of popular and classic titles are missing from its catalog, you’ll be sure to find newer and fresher horror fare here, such as Let the Right One In and The Ring. Shudder has also recently invested in original content, which most notably includes Deadstream, Mad God, and Dragula Titans.

If you’re looking to test the waters before diving headfirst, Shudder offers a seven-day free trial, after which you’ll have to pay £3.99/month to continue streaming. Given its careful curation and affordable price point, Shudder is worth checking out especially if you’re a big fan of the genre. 

Sometimes referred to as "Gay Netflix," Revry is a streaming service dedicated entirely to LGBTQ+ content. It has live TV channels—among them Revry Her, News, LatinX, and Brasil—and on-demand movies and TV shows. Because it is ad-supported, Revry mostly comes for free. But if you want to make the most of your subscription and unlock exclusive content, you can upgrade to premium by paying $6.99/month (or roughly £5.80 in the UK) or $59.99/year (around £49.50). 

Notable titles on the platform include Drag Latina, Drag Roast, Gayborhood, and House of Pride.

Paramount+ is a streaming service that brings together thousands of titles from Paramount Studios, CBS, Showtime, Nickelodeon, and MTV all in one place. You can find blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick here, as well as beloved series like Yellowstone, Star Trek, and Yellowjackets. It even has UK-exclusive shows like The Flatshare up its sleeve.

A subscription costs £6.99/month, and it offers much of the same features you'd expect from on-demand streaming services like offline viewing, multiple user profiles, and simultaneous streams. It even has parental controls for those with young ones hoping to tune into kid shows from Nick. If you're not quite satisfied with your Netflix and Prime offerings and don't mind shelling out a few extra pounds, then Paramount+ is certainly worth considering.

Now offers plenty of different membership tiers depending on your needs. There's one for sports, TV, and even kids, but one of its most popular tiers is Now TV Cinema, a platform dedicated to streaming the best of current cinema. Here you'll find gems from Hollywood and beyond, from blockbusters and heavyweight franchises to beloved indies and classics. It's truly an impressive resource, perhaps one of the best in the UK. 

Before anything else, you'll need to have a Now account (signing up is free), but once that's sorted, you can then subscribe to Now TV Cinema for £9.99/month. Apart from 1,000 movies to watch on demand, you'll also gain access to 11 live TV channels, including Sky Cinema Premiere and Hits, among many others.

Now TV (or simply Now) is Sky TV's standalone and contract-free streaming service. It features the best of the Sky Channel, but in specialized membership formats that you can choose according to your viewing needs. As of this writing, this includes a cinema pass for £9.99/month (perfect for cinephiles), an entertainment pass for £9.99/month (perfect for TV lovers), a Hayu pass for £4.99/month (perfect for reality show enthusiasts), and finally, a kids pass for £3.99/month (perfect for the little ones). You can subscribe to one of these passes or bundle them together and add extra channels like Sky Sports. 

If you prefer to have the fat trimmed off of your choices, you'll appreciate this specialized approach to streaming. But you have to be careful about the expenses, which can stack up via add-ons. You’ll also have to have what’s called a Boost upgrade if you want to unlock 1080p streaming (the standard is 720p) and access simultaneous streaming for up to three devices (the standard is two devices). 

It seems tricky, but once you get the hang of Now, it’s actually a top-notch service with quality programming. 

For the longest time, Netflix has remained undefeated in the streaming stratosphere. It solidified its top position by providing an endless catalog of original films and TV shows and by taking risky moves early on, like allowing offline viewing and releasing interactive games. 

However, amid rising competition, Netflix has had to make a few changes to its iconic viewing experience. For one, it now has an ad-supported tier, which cord-cutters on a budget can subscribe to for £4.99/month. Under this plan, you can expect to see four to five minutes of advertising per hour of viewing. But Netflix’s basic plan, which allows one device to watch ad-free at any given time, still costs £6.99. Meanwhile, the standard and premium plans are still priced at £10.99 and £15.99, respectively (the latter offers 4k quality for that extra crisp viewing experience). 

With an extensive media library and affordable price plans to boot, Netflix remains a great option for streaming and binging.

As the streaming arm of Channel 5, My5 has all of Channel 5’s offerings and more, including original shows like Milkshake! for kids, All Creatures Great and Small for adults, and thanks to parent company Paramount, American franchises like Yellowstone, Law & Order, and Criminal Minds. My5 also has a live TV option that streams Channel 5, 5STAR, 5USA, 5SELECT, and 5ACTION real-time. 

It’s quite a convenient streamer; the only downside is that, as of this writing, you can’t download episodes for offline viewing. But with free access and on multiple devices to boot, it’s a worthy entry into the UK’s homegrown services.

With carefully selected titles from around the globe, Mubi is a streaming service made for and by dedicated movie lovers. It was founded in 2007 as a small streaming service based in the UK, but it has since expanded into film distribution, production, and even criticism. Mubi is where you’ll find acclaimed indie darlings and beloved global gems, making it a staple among cinephiles. 

Mubi offers a week-long trial upon subscription, after which you’ll have to pay £9.99/month. You can also choose to pay £95.88/year (or £7.99/month). It’s compatible with almost all devices, making it user-friendly even for cord-cutting beginners. 

Magellan TV is an on-demand streaming service dedicated to educational non-fiction content, making it a worthy option for lifelong learners and documentary lovers. What sets it apart from other docu-heavy streaming sites is its careful curation and broad range. It's also a great choice if you're into history and science more than any other topic. 

While Magellan TV is available in most parts of the world, it does charge USD— $5.99/month in particular. That works out to be £4.99/month in the UK, more or less. If you're still not sure it's a worthy addition to your streaming lineup, you can try the service out for free for seven days.

Previously known as Starzplay, Lionsgate+ is an on-demand streaming service that can be accessed as a standalone service or as a subscription add-on to existing platforms like Amazon Prime, Roku, and Virgin TV. Either way, it's available to try for free across multiple devices.

While Lionsgate doesn’t quite have the breadth of options that Netflix and Amazon Prime have, it offers quality titles from many studios around the world (but particularly from America) and if often does so exclusively. It’s home to the critically acclaimed series Gaslit and Outlander from Starz, as well as Station Eleven and Tokyo Vice from HBO. At £5.99 a month, Lionsgate is certainly worth checking out if you're a fan of popular and well-received TV shows and films, especially those coming from the other side of the pond.

ITVX is ITV’s official streaming service. It’s the cordless home of the network’s deep reserve of shows, which includes reality hits like Love Island and Big Brother, as well as imported titles like Freaks and Geeks and The Sex Lives of College Girls. It also has licensed films from the US and original content on the way, making it a hefty rival against the likes of Now, BBC iPlayer, and even Netflix. 

Since ITVX is ad-supported, you can watch all of its channels and select titles for free. But if you do opt to go premium and pay £5.99/month (or £59.99/year), then you will have access to offline viewing and ITV’s Britbox selection, which has significantly more titles as it also sources from the BBC and Channel 4, among others. 

It may be relatively new to the streaming world, but because it gives viewers free and premium options, ITVX already packs a mighty punch.

You can say what you want about reality TV, but it’s hard to beat the fact that no other type of show can satisfy your drama cravings quite like it. Whether you’re watching a cooking competition or a dating series, there’s something addictively thrilling about the outbursts and meltdowns that go down in these shows. 

Hayu is an on-demand streaming service dedicated to all things reality TV. It features up to 300 shows, most of which stream on the same day as the US and all of which you can access on major streaming devices. Here, you'll find all 20 seasons of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, as well as multiple iterations of The Real Housewives, Vanderpump Rules, and Top Chef. It’s not bad at £4.99/month, but if you’re still not sure whether it warrants a monthly subscription, you can try their seven-day free trial to test it out.

Freeview Play is a free live TV and on-demand streaming service rolled into one. It has an easy-viewing Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) that allows you to both see upcoming shows and replay previously aired ones via a nifty rollback function, making it a great catch-up service too. With more than 70 live TV channels, 10 on-demand UK streamers, and 25 radio stations, it's no wonder Freeview Play is increasingly becoming a staple in UK households. In fact, the service comes pre-installed in many smart TVs released from 2020 onwards. 

Now, the catch is that Freeview Play's live TV and EPG functions only work if you have an aerial connection. But even without one, you can still view on-demand content from Freeview Play's partner streamers like the BBC iPlayer, for instance, and get recorded feeds from their respective channels. Apart from the iPlayer, Freeview Play's partner streamers include ITVX, All 4, My 5, UKTV Play, CBS Catchup, Legend, PBS America, Pop Player, and BBC Sounds. As for the live TV channels, that will largely depend on your location, but it does cover major bases like BBC, Channel 4, and Channel 5, among many others. 

If you're looking for a platform that brings everything all in one place, then Freeview Play is certainly worth considering.

Flix Premiere is a British on-demand streaming service that brings together the best of independent cinema into one place. It partners with premier film festivals like TIFF, SXSW, Cannes, and Berlinale and selects the best of the bunch—the most beloved and awarded in the circuit—to stream on the platform. 

Perhaps the best thing about it is that, unlike mainstream streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, Flix does not use algorithms at all. Everything is proudly hand-curated by a team of film lovers, so you know it comes from a place of passion. Though, like mainstream streamers, Flix does allow offline viewing and is reasonably priced. A subscription costs £5.99/month, but if you're still on the fence about its offerings, you can test the service out for free for 30 days.

Home to various international sporting events, including the Olympic Games in some areas, Eurosport is one of the premier sports networks in the UK. Its coverage is vast and includes the Grand Slam tennis tournaments, as well as snooker, cycling, and motorsports competitions. 

For cord-cutters, Eurosport is available as an add-on to Discovery Plus, Amazon Prime Video, BT Sports, Sky Sports, and Virgin Media. If your streaming device is already linked to either of these platforms, then Eurosport comes as a convenient option for you. Across platforms, the price is a consistent £6.99/month, but yearly costs may vary and reach up to £59.99/year. It's worth checking out if you're a sports fanatic who can't get enough of the games.

Based in Mumbai, DocuBay is an on-demand streaming service that features documentaries from around the world. Like Mubi, it spotlights a different film each day to save you the trouble of endless scrolling. The films span multiple genres, from health and wellness to news and politics, and some of them are actually free to watch. But most titles are locked and available via a subscription. 

The plans start at £3.99/month, but they don't automatically renew so you can test it first within the allotted time to see whether it's for you. If you're not too keen on adding yet another streaming service to your lineup, you can purchase DocuBay as a channel add-on to your existing Amazon Prime membership. 

Docsville is a great resource for global documentaries. Founded in London, it's an on-demand streaming service set up by former BBC executives who wanted to bring together eye-opening stories from around the world. 

What sets Docsville apart is it gives a special emphasis on up-and-coming filmmakers, so in addition to learning from their content, you get to support emerging storytellers as well. 

Docsville is accessible via multiple streaming devices and it costs £3.99/month or £39.99/ year after a seven-day free trial. It's also available as an Amazon Prime add-on for the same price.

DocAlliance Films is a streaming service that works together with film festivals around Europe to bring together remarkable movies in one place. Along with traditional documentaries (its forte), DocAlliance mainly features festival hits, indie darlings, and arthouse films. 

What's interesting about the platform is that you don't need to subscribe to access it. You can rent or download some of its titles for a one-time fee ranging from £1.50 for shorts to £4.00 for full-length features. A limited number of films are also free to watch. 

But if you decide you want to make the most out of DocAlliance's selective and curated lineup, then you can subscribe and pay £6.99/month or £60/year. This gives you access to more than 2,000 films, constant discounts, and download privileges. If you're looking to go beyond mainstream cinema and engage in thoughtful narratives, then DocAlliance is certainly worth considering. 

When it comes to content, Disney is pretty hard to beat. As the media parent of American studios like Marvel, Lucasfilm, 20th Century, and Searchlight Pictures, it’s home to everything from intimate sitcoms to major blockbusters. British TV aficionados will also be glad to know that the best properties from Hulu (that exclusively American streaming service) can also be found here. That’s right, on this side of the pond, titles like The Dropout, Atlanta, and Abbott Elementary belong to the House of Mouse.

For all this, Disney+ charges £7.99/month or £79.90/year. Given this wealth of content, plus the option to watch offline, stream on four screens at once, and set up parental controls, it seems like a worthy service to add to your streaming lineup. 

Discovery Plus is a streaming service that offers a mix of on-demand content and live TV channels. With its reserve of documentaries, educational programs, reality shows, and competitive games, as well as its lineup of channels like TLC, Quest, and Animal Planet, it's the go-to streaming service for non-fiction aficionados. 

Discovery Plus has a free tier that gives users access to some of its channels (namely Quest, Quest Red, Really, HGTV, Food Network, and DMAX), but if you're after the true-blue Discovery Plus experience, then you might want to look at its Entertainment pass, which costs £3.99/month, and its Entertainment & Sports Pass, which costs £ 6.99/month. Apart from having more channels on your lineup (including Eurosport 1 and 2 on the Sports Pass) you also get access to Discovery Plus originals with these paid subscriptions. 

There's no shortage of queer-centric streaming services out there, but Dekkoo stands out by centering exclusively on gay men. Boasting the largest collection of gay content online, Dekkoo is a subscription-based streaming service that carries hundreds of queer films, TV shows, and documentaries, a number of which happen to be Dekkoo originals. Most of these titles are American, but there are some sourced from different parts of the world. Along with its international collection, Dekkoo has other curated lists that span all sorts of genres and formats. 

Dekkoo is available on most streaming devices, and plans start at £7.28/month or £61.09/year.f

There are plenty of dedicated sports streaming services out there, but if you're most interested in live boxing, MMA, and other fight-related tournaments, then you should consider subscribing to DAZN. 

DAZN is an on-demand streaming service that features the best of fight night without the hassle of pay-per-view or ads. While it has programs that cover other sports, like basketball and chess, they're not as robust as their boxing features.  

Subscription prices start at £9.99/month; it's a fair price, although do note that this plan automatically signs you up for a year and won't renew until the next. If you want a more flexible plan, you can choose to pay £19.99/month or £99.99/year.

For years, Curzon theaters have been the home of quality movies in the UK. It’s the place you go to if you want to see foreign, independent, and arthouse titles that don't normally get the cineplex treatment. Its online on-demand service, Curzon Home Cinema, is no different. 

As the streaming arm of Curzon, Curzon Home Cinema makes the newest releases available for rent, so you can watch in the comfort of your home. It’s a convenient option if you don’t feel like going out but are still keen on catching the latest in films. 

Creating an account on Curzon Home Cinema is free, but the rental process itself will cost you. Since it's a pay-per-view service rather than a subscription service, each film can cost around £4.99 to £9.99 to rent, with those that are still screening in physical theaters usually costing more. The rental will be available for 30 days, then once you hit play, you’ll have 48 hours to watch it as many times as you please.