QuaranSTREAMS Special Edition
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NOTE: This information is current to the best of my knowledge as of May 7, 2020.
Offers are subject to change.
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Free content:
HBO currently has a limited time offer of select free content when you download either HBOgo or HBO Now. Free content includes The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Veep, and The Wire, but not everything in their repertoire.
YouTube and YouTube Originals are free as always... Music videos, education, comedy, gaming, how-to... you're only limited by your imagination. Check out the Our House To Your House playlist by the Royal Opera House or the American Ballet Theatre's spring gala on May 12 at 7 pm, on their youtube page.
PBS Kids removed the requirement to create a login for content such as Curious George, Arthur, and Sesame Street. Additional kids content is available for free on Amazon Prime Now.
Sling TV provides free on demand content through it's website and app. But best of all is Sling's happy hour, from 5 p.m. to midnight every day to stream cable TV! No credit card or login required, but you do have to give your zip code and email address. Free web content includes Rick and Morty and A Quiet Place; while the free happy hour means I get to watch Cuomo's press conferences on CNN as well as Adult Swim on Cartoon Network!
BBC America is expanding nature programming across their website, app, and platforms over the next few months, adding Planet Earth I & II, Blue Planet I & II, Frozen Planet, and Seven Worlds, One Planet for a limited window.
AMC is offering free content that includes nature documentaries, Sundance movies, and Mystery Science Theater 3000.
The Metropolitan Opera is offering a rotating list of on-demand operas. Each stream becomes available at 7:30 p.m. EDT and remains accessible for on-demand viewing until 6:30 p.m. the following day. Check out their schedule to see what's coming up next.
PlutoTV has over 250 free ad-supported live tv-channels and on-demand content such as 3rd Rock From the Sun, Awakenings, What Lies Beneath, Airplane!, and The Virgin Suicides. The Live TV option offers selections from networks such as Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and AMC (including The Walking Dead).
Tubi is another free ad-supported streaming service with no subscription or credit card required. With over 50,000 titles to choose from, there is a lot to wade through, but some standouts I noticed were Spaced, School of Rock, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, and Battle Royale.
Free 90 day trial:
Quibi is a brand new platform that offers original, 10 minute content designed to be viewed on your phone. Haven't tried it yet... seems like a throw back to old school serials and cliffhangers, and I'm not a big fan of watching content on my phone.
Free one month trials:
Hulu offers a free 30 day trial if you've never signed up before. Ad-supported content is $5.99/month after that. Content includes great shows like Parks and Recreation, The Twilight Zone, What We Do In the Shadows, Community, and 30 Rock.
Netflix also offers a free 30 day trial for new subscribers, and it's $8.99 after that. Content includes a vast array of films and series, including The Office, Stranger Things, Django Unchained, Back to the Future, and A Marriage Story.
Amazon Prime has a free 30 day trial, which includes movies like A Cabin In the Woods, Murder on the Orient Express, and many selections from the James Bond and Marvel movie series.
Shoutout once again to HBO, with their 30 day trial for HBOgo and HBOnow. Some offerings that you can't get in their free content include Chernobyl, Westworld, and Watchmen. The main difference between HBOgo and HBOnow is how you get them. HBOnow ($14.99/month) is a stand-alone streaming option, while HBO GO ($5-20/month depending on your attached provider) is an add-on feature for cable subscriptions or Amazon Prime. The content you’ll get is exactly the same. Additionally, HBO is adding another streaming service called HBO Max that will host all of HBO’s existing content as well as new Max Originals and classics like Friends, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. HBOnow subscribers can get HBO Max for free when the service launches.
Showtime is also offering a 30 day free trial, after which it costs $10.99/month. Popular original programming includes shows like Penny Dreadful, Dexter, The Tudors, and The L Word. Among their current film options are Parasite, The Joker, Birds of Prey, Knives Out, Little Women, and JoJo Rabbit.
CBS All-Access has a 30 day free trial too, after which it's $5.99/month. Their featured "favorites" are things like NCIS and Survivor, but they also have some intriguing new original programming like Picard and The Twilight Zone hosted by Jordan Peele.
HiDive is offering a 30 day free trial of their "uncensored" and "exclusive" anime collection, after which it is $4.99/month.
Another Anime and cartoon source is VRV Premium, is offering a 30 day free trial for content from channels such as Boomerang, Cartoon Hangover, Nick, Mondo, and HiDive. Subscription costs $9.99/month
Free week trials:
Disney+ offers a free one week trial to new subscribers, and after that it goes to $6.99/month. One week was all I needed to binge all the Pixar available and a few other titles. Content seemed surprisingly limited, but does include most of the Disney canon, a few of their live action reboots, some live action classics, and the Marvel and Star Wars films and series.
Fubo offers a free one week trial that gives you access to over 100 live channels. After that, it goes up to $55/month. Channels include Fox, NBC, Bravo, Showtime, Lifetime, Comedy Central, TBS, Vice, Discovery, TVLand, something called "Cheddar Business," a handful of Spanish language channels, and lots and lots of sports.
Philo has a free one week trial of 59 channels of programming, after which it is $20/month. Channels include BBC America, Food Network, The History Channel, A&E, and TLC.
Apple TV, Starz, and Sundance also have a free one week trials, after which they are $4.99/month (with Sundance going up to $8.99 after 3 months).
YouTubeTV has a two week free trial, and is very similar to a standard cable package, especially since the price goes up to $49.99/month. Channels include ABC, CBS, FOX, Disney, TNT, TBS, and once again... Cheddar Business?!?! Who ARE these people? I hope it's a network all about cheese...
Did I leave anything out? Let me know in the comments!