TV and film have massively evolved throughout the past 20 years. Gone are the days when you would look through the TV mag, circling the series and movies you wanted to catch as they aired. Now, the medium has largely moved over to streaming services, often offering the first chance to watch something before it airs on TV.
Even films have opted to release their films on the platforms and avoided cinema debuts altogether. However, with the ever-growing list of streaming platforms becoming available, it can be a bit of an internal battle when deciphering which services to spend your money on. Here, we have a breakdown of the different streaming services available, their prices and the kind of content they provide. Interestingly, Dicovery+ and Channel 4+ are two platforms that currently just cost £3.99 to stream.
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video offers many popular films and TV choices as well as Amazon exclusives. This platform is often the first to debut brand-new or newly released movies. Its pricing starts at £8.99 per month (£4.49/month or £47.49/year for students). It also offers a 30-day free trial (students get six months free).
Apple TV+
Apple TV has many original film and TV series including The Morning Show, Severance and Ted Lasso, which have also been highly praised. The platform offers a seven-day free trial (one-month free trial with Apple One) and is priced at £8.99 per month.
BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer is the home of TV dramas. It has endless series for you to bingewatch as well as some content that is exclusive to its digital platform and not aired on TV. It is free to stream, however, you will need a TV license to do so.
Channel 4+
Channel 4 offers hundreds of boxsets for you to choose from as well as first-class documentaries and original content. The site is also free with a TV license but if you are looking to go add free you can pay £3.99 per month or £39.99/year. It also offers a seven day free trial for this.
Discovery+
Discovery+ offers a wide range of reality shows and documentaries and is priced at £3.99 per month or £39.99/year. It also offers an add on with Eurosport and more sports coverage for £6.99 per month.
Disney+
There are more than 1,000 Disney films and TV series on the platform. It has no free trial however, there are three subscription plans on offer: Standard with Ads for £4.99/month, Standard for £8.99/month or £89.90/year, and Premium for £12.99/month or £129.90/year.
ITVX Premium
If you are looking to watch ITV with no ads it’ll set you back £5.99 per month or £59.99 per year but you are welcome to stream for free with a TV license also, if you don’t mind ads. There’s a seven day free trial and it has an abundance of TV series shown on ITV as well as preview clips of popular shows.
Mubi
Mubi is an indie artsy streaming platform and it highlights 30 hand-picked films per month. It has a seven day free trial (30 days for students) but will set you back £11.99 per month or £95.88/year (£7.99/month for students). The platform sometimes has special subscription offers that you should keep an eye out for.
My5
My5 is a free streaming platform that offers shows and films from Channel 5, 5 Select, 5 Star, 5 USA and more.
Netflix
Netflix has thousands of films and TV series available and is well known for its Netflix originals. The platform doesn’t offer any type of free trial however it will cost you £5.99 per month with ads. The Standard plan, which is ad-free, costs £12.99 per month and the Premium plan, offering the highest quality streaming and additional features, is priced at £18.99 per month.
Now Cinema
Now Cinema offers more than 1000 movies to watch on demand, and access to all the Sky Cinema channels. It also has new and exclusive Sky Original films every week. It offers a seven-day free trial. It costs £9.99 per month with ads (£15.99 without ads via Now Boost). If you add on Now Entertainment and you will pay £13.99 per month for first six months (£19.98 thereafter).
Now Entertainment
Now Entertainment features more than 300 box sets plus channels that are not available on Freeview. It will set you back £9.99 per month with ads, £6.99/month if you sign up for six months and £15.99 without ads via Now Boost. There is a seven-day free trial and if you add Now Cinema, you will pay £13.99/ per month for first six months (£19.98 thereafter).
Paramount+
Paramount+ offers a seven day free trial and costs £6.99 per month or £69.90/year. It includes shows such as Star Trek: Strange New Worlds series and comedy staple South Park. Included in the package are classic movies such as Mean Girls, Anchorman and Top Gun: Maverick.
Sky Stream
Sky Stream has more than 30,000 shows on 120+ channels, including House of the Dragon, Succession and Gangs of London plus the Basic Netflix package included. It offers no free trial and will cost £26 per month for an 18-month contract or £29 per month for a rolling 31-day contract.