Hot Takes on Streaming Channels

 

Hot Takes on Streaming Channels 

by Kristin Battestella

Thanks to end of the year holiday sales, $1 or two for a month or two packages, and add on options; our house currently has a lot of streaming choices! We dropped a few and some have been disappointing, so here are my hot takes on which streaming services work – or didn't work – for us. I mean, who can keep up with all the content much less afford everything?

Always Have 'em for Better or Worse

Netflix – Reasonably I know not all of Netflix's content is originals, but at first glance, it always seems like they have nothing but originals. It's a far cry from Netflix being the original go-to place for catalog content. Other family members burn through their quantity over quality similar shows, but I am still working from a Netflix DVD queue. It's becoming slower and slower with a lot of discs saved, damaged, and not available, but sometimes it is my last resource for finding older movies.

Prime – Amazon's interface is still a pain, with free with ads FreeVee and rent or buy releases pushed to the forefront. Even their originals seem buried and unpromoted, yet at the end of the month, there is a pressuring countdown telling you the hours and minutes you have until a show expires. We seem to use Prime the most for add ons, and I end up watching more things on FreeVee since searching through Prime for what I want to see ends up eating into all the time I could have been watching something.

Hulu – Hulu seems great for current reality programming or next day airings of new network shows. That may be changing as more networks take back their own content, and I have to keep thumbing down all that reality stuff I don't want to see. We've used Hulu for different add ons as well, as HBO inside Hulu was useful when HBO Max kept crashing, and last year we had a Hulu Live package for local sports. The family has watched a lot of their original shows, but we don't really get much out of the ESPN+ option that comes with Hulu.

Britbox – Currently included with Prime, I love to hang on to Britbox for a lot of classic British shows. I don't watch as much of their current programming, but the vintage comforts are a must. It is frustrating, however, when there is a new British show I do want to see that does not come to BritBox US, forcing us to add another platform.

These Could be Worth the Money

AMC + - Shudder, IFC, and Sundance come with the AMC package, providing great horror originals, odd indies, and retro comedy. It's odd to have so many loud commercials on their livestreams – especially when there are AMC showcase channels and marathon livestreams available on The Roku Channel. I've also done been over Walking Dead content forever. However, with a hefty back catalog and if you are invested in their shows or recent Anne Rice originals, this could be worth the bang for the buck. We tend to carry it for awhile, then drop it when we aren't actively using it, but then pick it up again during a sale.

STARZ – We have had STARZ both as Hulu and Prime add ons as deals come and go, but this streamer really benefits from the Encore channels included in their package thanks to great older films and retro content. I really like their livestreams and being able to just click and have a fun movie on in the background. I don't watch a lot of their original programming, so we're not adding on to expressly see their content, but the movie catalog often keeps its worth.

Disney + – My family members eat up all things Marvel and The House of Mouse, but the new stuff really does not interest me. I have my usual classic comfort movies and comedies in my list, but I often forget Disney is where they are. Occasionally we will drop Disney for a little while, but then something someone wants to see brings us back, which obviously is their M.O. with the constant new release Marvel and Star Wars shows. There will always be a certain audience here no matter how stagnant the rest of their programming.

Acorn TV – We recently had then dropped this BritBox competitor that offers more UK and Australian content. I like their documentaries and educational shows, but rather than wait for Down Under TV I want to see like Jack Irish stream here, I just buy the DVDs. I feel like this is the type of service to get when you expressly want enough of their exclusive programs to make it worthwhile.

Apple TV – Likewise recently canceled, my husband watched all the shows he wanted to watch and now there is no reason to keep it until new seasons come around again. There are some great Apple programs, and I wanted to watch The Essex Serpent but never got around to it. However this interface is also very confusing to me, muddled together as both prestige TV and a content provider? Though now available on the Roku TVs, it was also very weird when we needed a separate Apple TV box with it's own fancy remote control. It reminded me of Chromecast in the days of yore.

Freebies!

The Roku Channel – Now that you can add a save list on the Roku Channel, I end up watching this free option quite a bit. There are also a bunch of Live TV channels that make background options and channel surfing easy. The new Roku search isn't the best – some of our TVs include Netflix in the results while others do not thanks to updates and technicalities I'm sure. Fortunately, there are a lot of older shows or forgotten movies available here. They do have originals like Chrissy's Court, ads of which I'm tired of seeing, but the two minutes or less bumpers are negligible compared to cable commercials that go on so long you forget what you were watching.

Tubi TV – For all these pay services, we probably watch Tubi more. They have some great old horror movies, classic television shows not available elsewhere, and more recent movies rotating per month. Granted some of their original content is a hot mess, but the catalog is easily searched and organized, with unique categories and reasonable leaving soon notifications.

Vudu – Vudu has a lot of the same free content available on Tubi or FreeVee, but occasionally they have different movies available. Their movie collections to buy can also be worth the price when they are larger franchise sets that include all the movies and all the features or bonuses that used to often be found on DVD or blu-ray sets. Why have all the extras never made it onto streaming platforms?

I'm Unsure about These, Honestly

HBO Max – We finally let this go recently, and now I see the prices have been raised while they are dropping content left and right. I wasn't impressed with their originals and the interface was always impossible. I was really only hanging on for their TCM content, and we are leery of what is going to happen to the core HBO catalog when all this Discovery combo hogwash is said and done. I wouldn't pay that price to slog through such reality crap when I all want to see is classics. It's fascinating that everyone and their grandma rushed to have their own streaming service, yet now Warner is selling off it's big titles to other platforms.

Paramount + – The fam of course is here for all the new Star Trek content, but I use Paramount mostly for older movies and the livestreams. They have some great comedies, but a lot of their content is available elsewhere, so it seems like this is another that is only worth it if you are watching their latest of the moment original. They don't even have all the Star Trek movies!

MGM + – We had this briefly when it was Epix, but now the rebranding as MGM+ adds confusion with Prime since Amazon owns MGM, right? As Epix, it only had a few shows and old movies that seemed bottom of the streaming services barrel, yet now they are getting more originals and some of those British shows that don't come to BritBox. So this is going to continue to be a separate service with its own original content? I don't think I'd pay for this separately again, but it will be interesting to see if this is folded into Prime at some point.

Peacock – Honestly, I confuse what is on Peacock and Paramount, even though I know one is CBS and the other is NBC. There isn't much with the free ad options, a lot of the paywall content is similar to Hulu, and maybe I just don't watch enough current NBC shows to make it worthwhile? It seems like a lot of their classic content is still licensed to other platforms, but we'll probably be picking this up again when it is time to watch another season of a current show the family is following. I am also baffled by them moving Days of Our Lives to Peacock only. You expect old ladies to sign up for soaps?

Screambox – We had this briefly as a Prime add on during a sale. We watched a lot of the retro horror movies, then forgot about it before we remembered to cancel it. I had some of the movies in my queue, which showed that they were also available with the AMC+ Shudder package. I think there are a lot of these cheap horror channels, but they usually only have a few movies that aren't available on the dime a dozen free horror stations.

Wondrium – I really liked this platform when it was just the Great Courses Channel. Although the interface was a pain whether it was an add on or the stand alone with more content, this rebranding added so many more filler documentaries that aren't up to par with the academic options found in The Great Courses. Frankly, the name is dumb, too, and it's sad The Great Courses couldn't survive without a merger. Even if I'm in the mood for a Great Courses deep dive, it's a chore to get into this service now.

Not Worth It, Sorry

Cinemax – It's pretty bad when my husband says that Cinemax isn't even worth the $1 sale! Rather than any network originals like they used to have in the cable glory days or even any saucy Skin content of old, the catalog here is pretty bereft. The handful of livestreams are the only thing marginally interesting here, as they show movies that are also available on HBO Max. It leaves Cinemax still seemingly like a second run HBO, and I wonder where this will end up with the Warner Discovery chopping block.

Showtime – If you are invested in a Showtime original series, this could be worth the price, but I can't imagine why else you would pay the full $10 a month here. There are some newer release movie exclusives and catalog binges, but this is another one that feels like a waste when added on with Prime. Paramount also seems like they are going to reclaim the brand for their service. They already advertise what's available on Showtime in their categories in order to force you to add Showtime on there, and I kind of hate that hard sell. I'm also still miffed how they did Penny Dreadful dirty, but that's another story.

Shiz, having all these full price would be more expensive then cable. I do still have a basic cable plan, but I can't tell you the last time I watched it. Next I think we may venture into YouTube TV territory, but we'll see how the wallet feels. After all, did I get a VCR to HDMI converter to watch movies only available on VHS? Yes.