The Best Streaming Services for Dramas

If you want to watch out-of-market NBA games during the regular season, then you can purchase the NBA League Pass for an additional $15/month on top of your existing Sling TV plan. That could be Sling Blue, Sling Orange, or Sling Blue + Orange, but if you’re a true-blue NBA fan, the most likely bundle would be Sling Orange + NBA League Pass. That way, you get local and national games through TNT, ESPN, and local channels, then out-of-market games via the league pass. There are two ways you can pay for the league pass. The first is to pay for it monthly, which will cost you $55/month if you go with Sling Orange ($40/month). The second and most cost-effective way is to pre-pay $135 for the entire bundle for 3 months. Also known as the Season Pass, this bundle will only have you pay $45/month for Sling Orange + NBA League Pass for those 3 months. That’s not a bad deal, especially if you want to keep close tabs on all 30 teams.

If you’re an NBA fan, the YouTube TV + NBA League Pass bundle is hard to miss. It combines YouTube TV’s multiview and unlimited cloud DVR features with the league pass’ live out-of-market game access to give you possibly the best watching experience this season. The only possible setback here is the price. You can opt for a monthly subscription to NBA League Pass (think of it as an add-on to your existing YouTube TV plan), which will cost a total of $88/month, or you can go for an annual pass, which gives you access to NBA League Pass all throughout the year for an additional $99. Again, you can watch all the out-of-market games you like with the pass, live and on-demand, but you’d still need to tune into RSNs if you want to watch local or nationally televised games. That’s where the bundle comes in handy. YouTube TV already comes with NBA TV, TNT, TBS, ESPN (the good stuff), and a handful of local channels, so the pass is just to enhance your viewing experience. If you really want to follow the ball, then this bundle is one of the best ways to catch all the games, blackout restrictions be damned.

Since Amazon Prime is an on-demand subscription that you probably already have for the shopping perks, the Amazon Prime + NBA League Pass bundle is relatively cheaper than most others like it. The lowest price you could get for the bundle is $24/month (Amazon Prime Video + monthly NBA Leauge Pass with NBA TV), but you’ll probably want to get the one that costs $30/month (Amazon Prime + monthly NBA Leauge Pass with NBA TV) if you’d like to get the most out of Amazon Prime’s shipping features. Alternatively, you could opt for an annual league pass and pay $99 for the whole season. With an NBA League Pass, you’ll get access to all the out-of-market games playing during the regular season, and a couple of the post-season games too since it comes with NBA TV. Local and nationally televised games will only still be available on RSNs, local, and national networks, which you can tune into with an antenna or a live TV subscription.

TCL is one of the leading TV brands out there, so it makes sense the company would come up with a flagship streaming service. TCLtv+ is a streaming app that features more than 300 FAST channels and a couple of on-demand movies and TV shows, all for free. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when a service has that many to offer, but there are some notable channels on TCLtv+, including ION (which has NCIS, FBI, Chicago Fire, and countless other procedurals), Dateline 24/7, Cinevault Westerns, Waypoint TV, Estrella TV, Canela.TV, NBC Sports, and Fox Sports. TCLtv+ is, of course, available on most TCL TVs, but you can also download it on iOS and Android-powered streaming devices. Thanks to an agreement with Roku, it can also be found on the homepage of newer Roku devices.

Flosports is a streaming service that provides easy access to live-stream broadcasts of more than 20 different sports, including basketball, baseball, volleyball, rugby, hockey, swimming, and motorsports (many of them collegiate). The breadth of options makes Flosports a popular option among sports fans, but users have noted some hiccups with the service, including inconsistent quality since it uses feeds from different networks, many of which are stationary and commentary-less. And though most of the games are available as on-demand replays, they can be difficult to find. That said, a lot of other users stay because Flosports airs games they wouldn’t be able to watch otherwise, so if your team or area is covered, it’s certainly worth considering. A subscription costs $30/month or $150/year, and it’s compatible with most smart TVs and mobile devices.

Tablo TV is a free live TV streaming service that lets you watch local channels like ABC, NBC, FOX, and CBS, as well as 70 fast channels, including HSN, ION, Grit, MeTV, and CourtTV. It’s exclusively available to those with a Tablo device—the latest already comes with a built-in indoor antenna—which itself requires a one-time payment of about $70 to $130, depending on what version you get. It’s free in the sense that you don’t have to pay a monthly subscription fee, as you would on usual live TV streaming services since it streams channels that are already airing for free via broadcast towers near you. A Tablo device lets you watch Tablo TV on up to 4 devices connected to your home Wi-fi and record shows while watching a different channel. If you’re on the go, you can also control the DVR via the Tablo TV app. You can download the app on all major smart TVs and mobile devices.

If you use the online platform +play, which is available exclusively and for free to Verizon users, you’re eligible for a 6-month ad-free AMC+ subscription at no additional cost. This gives you access to AMC titles past and present (including Mad Men, Happy Valley, Better Call Saul, The Walking Dead, and all its spin-offs), as well as Sundance, Shudder, and IFC properties. You can also watch up to six live channels, including AMC, BBC America, IFC, and Sundance TV. This Verizon bundle is available until the end of the year, after which, you’re charged the regular price of $9/month ($5/month if with ads) unless canceled. The deal is only available to new AMC+ subscribers.

Verizon’s Disney+ bundle offers can be hard to track since they’re constantly changing. But basically, you can either get the Disney+ bundle, which includes Disney+ with no ads, Hulu with Ads, and an ESPN+ subscription free for 6 months if you’re on the Unlimited Plus or Unlimited Ultimate mobile plan, or for only $10/month (as opposed to the regular $22/month) if you’re on any other Verizon plan, whether that’s a phone line or home internet. That means you can pay anywhere from $55 to $90, depending on what plan you pick. Either way, you’ll be saving at least $12 per month with the Verizon + Disney+ bundle, which can add up to a whole lot as streaming prices continue to skyrocket in the following months.

For a limited time only, Verizon’s +play platform, which is free for all existing Verizon users, is offering Vix Premium at no additional cost for six months. After that period, you’re charged the regular no-ads price of $7/month ($5/month with ads) unless you cancel. Vix Premium is home to a host of original Spanish-language shows and films, many of them originals, as well as live gaming events like UEFA and Liga MX. Apart from being a Verizon user, you’d have to be a first-time Vix subscriber to avail of this bundle.

Sling TV has always been the affordable live TV option, but in case you’re looking for something more premium, you’d be happy to know that the platform is now offering Max as an add-on for $17/month, on top of your base Sling TV subscription. Even better, Sling TV is slashing $5/month if you get Sling Blue with Max or Sling Blue + Orange with Max (sorry Orange users). These bundles are perfect if you want to combine the accessibility of local news and sports coverage with the entertainment value of a heavyweight streamer like Max. It comes with HBO shows like Game of Thrones and Succession; WB classics like Friends and the Big Bang Theory; blockbusters like Harry Potter and Barbie; and of course, on-demand content from sister channels like HGTV, TLC, CNN, and TCM. If you purchase the Sling + Max bundle, you’ll also have access to the following HBO channels: HBO East, HBO West, HBO 2, HBO Signature, HBO Family, HBO Latino, HBO Zone, and HBO Comedy. Lastly, you can access the Max app separately using your Sling credentials.