The Most Expensive Streaming Services Right Now
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Streaming services are evolving into completely distinct offerings, and some, by including many features, have gotten more expensive than others. This is the case of Fubo for example, who offer movies on-demand but also over a 100 cable channels.
Below we count down the best expensive streaming services.
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Hoopla is a digital library that partners with public libraries across the US to grant their patrons free access to the wealth of media they have online and on the go. This includes movies and television shows, but Hoopla also has a vast collection of ebooks, audiobooks, podcasts, and albums it offers members. You can check their website to see if your library card is valid, and if it is, you can continue on to registration (with no extra fees) and start viewing their available titles. Hoopla rotates its selection every week or so, but generally, it has a good mix of old films, cult classics, past hits, and foreign movies. Occasionally, it will also have the latest blockbusters. For television, it’s recently partnered with the BBC and a couple of manga publishers to deliver content from around the world.
Vudu Free is a section of the on-demand streaming service Vudu that lets you watch thousands of movies and TV shows for free. The ad-supported tier has a couple of new releases and a-lister hits, but mostly, it carries classics, genre favorites, indies, and critically-acclaimed films. The screening quality is standard and the commercials can be a lot, so if you want to upgrade your viewing experience, Vudu lets you rent or buy the same titles in HD, ad-free, for a fee. Vudu Free also has filters you can toggle, as well as a parental guide and ratings board, to make it easier to pick a film. You’ll have to sign up for a Vudu account to access all this content, but after registration, you should be able to start your free viewing.
FilmRise is a streaming app that’s partnered with the likes of MGM, Warner Bros., and ITV Studios to provide over 20,000 films and TV shows you can watch for free. It’s not immune to ads, but FilmRise more than makes up for those disruptions with its impressive selection of titles. On the film front, it has indie favorites, award-winning classics, and foreign gems, while on the TV front, it has murder mysteries (many imported from the UK), Gordon Ramsey-led competition shows, and oldies-but-goodies like The Dick Van Dyke Show, Roseanne, and the original 21 Jump Street. FilmRise isn’t available to stream directly on the website, but if you have a compatible device, you can download the app and start watching for free.
Founded by the Texas-based cinema chain Alamo Drafthouse, Alamo on Demand is a streaming service that lets you rent or purchase a good mix of mainstream and obscure films. Here, you’ll find blockbusters and indies, new releases and cult classics, grindhouse as well as arthouse. In Alamo’s own words, it’s the “Staff Picks section of a video store,” a curated set of films carefully handpicked by the people behind it. And this is apparent in how the streaming service is organized. You can sort the movies by directors, genres, and categories like “Weird Wednesday” and “Ozploitation.” If you feel like exploring even more, they have movie playlists made in collaboration with filmmakers like Paul Thomas Anderson and Edgar Wright, which follow different themes and moods. As of this writing, the platform doesn’t recognize credits and passes you may have collected with your Alamo Drafthouse membership, but it’s working on it. In the meantime, film lovers and patrons will find much to like in Alamo’s on-demand counterpart.
Whether you’re a Korean expat living in North America or a true-blue Hallyu fan, you’ll find much to like in OnDemandKorea, also sometimes known as Korea on Demand. The streaming service has both live TV and on-demand content, which it makes available in three tiers. The basic plan is ad-supported and free, the premium plan costs $10.99/month and gives you exclusive ad-free content, while the premium + box plan costs $19.99/month and gives you all the benefits of the previous plans plus five simultaneous viewings and 100 live channels. Korea on Demand also gives you the option to pay yearly to help you save up to $200 in costs. In terms of content, the platform has an impressively wide range. On the on-demand side, it has more than 500 films that range from mainstream to indie, while on the live TV side, it has multiple channels that cover news, entertainment, variety, and sports. It’s important to note, however, that the entire site is in Korean and not all titles have English subtitles, making it most suited to native or advanced speakers of the language.
If you’re a hardcore baseball fan, you’ll be delighted to know that you can tune in to your favorite pastime via MLB.TV, the league’s official streaming service. A subscription allows you to watch out-of-market games, as well as Minor League matches, local Pregame and Postgame shows, and expert commentary through MLB Big Inning, on all major streaming services live and on-demand. If you want to follow every team, you can pick their All Teams package for $25/month ($70 yearly) but if you’re only interested in a single team, you can pick their Single Team package for $20/month ($60 yearly). It’s important to note, however, that only out-of-market games can be watched live. Due to blackout restrictions, you’ll have to wait 90 minutes after a local or national game has aired before viewing it. Another important reminder: if you’re still on the cord and have the MLB Extra Innings cable TV package, you’re likely entitled to a free MLB.TV subscription. Contact your provider to check whether you’re eligible.
Bally Sports+ is a streaming service that lets you access live and on-demand content from your local NHL and NBA teams. The platform also covers some MLB markets, including Detroit, Florida, Kansas City, Wisconsin, and Tampa Bay, but it’s working to expand that lineup to include the rest of the league’s teams. A monthly subscription costs $20/month ($190 yearly), but if you live in an area that has multiple Bally Sports regional networks, you can choose to bundle those at a discounted rate. At the moment, Bally Sports+ is only available via the Bally Sports app, but this in turn can be accessed on major streaming devices including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV.
You can buy nearly everything on Amazon, including movies and TV shows. Amazon’s video storefront (not to be confused with its on-demand streaming service Amazon Prime) allows you to either rent or buy thousands of titles, including new releases, blockbuster hits, niche indies, and international gems.
You’ll have to sign in using your Amazon account to start renting or purchasing, and Amazon allows you to redeem gift cards, promo codes, and points if you have them upon checkout. Like most video stores, Amazon gives you 30 days to start watching a rental and 48 hours to finish it, while unlimited access is granted to purchased titles. Lastly, you should know that a rented title is only viewable on one device, so sharing options will be limited.
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You may know the YES Network as a sports cable channel dedicated to broadcasting New York Yankees games, but now it’s also a streaming service. For $25/month (or $240/year), you can watch local games by the Yankees, as well as by the Brooklyn Nets and the New York Liberty, without having to sign up for tricky cable or satellite packages.
The YES Network is available on most major streaming devices, but note that it can only be used in territories that the YES Network covers. Namely, these are New York State, Connecticut, northeastern Pennsylvania, and north and central New Jersey. If you’re in the area and want to cheer for your local team, then YES’s streaming option is worth considering.
Peacock Premium Plus is the highest streaming tier Peacock offers, but it’s still one of the cheapest packages you’ll find right now. For just $12/month, you get access to a vast selection of TV shows (many from NBC and Bravo), movies, live channels, and of course, sports.
Premium Plus subscribers also get offline downloads, ad-free viewing, and access to their local NBC channel.
Ready to cut the cord?
Here are the 12 cheapest Live TV streaming services for cord-cutting.
Lists on how to save money by cutting the cord.
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