8 Free Streaming Services to Save You From Subscription Hell + Netflix’s Plan to Auto-Cancel Subscriptions Is Radically Sane..............
Buzz Sawyer
8 Free Streaming Services to Save You From Subscription Hell
THE MAIN CASUALTY of the streaming wars so far has been your wallet. Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, CBS All Access, HBO Now, Apple TV+, Disney+: They all demand a monthly tithe. Toss in a live service like YouTube TV, the music app of your choice, and whatever gaming concoction suits your needs, and you're suddenly ringing up a pretty grim bill. But wait! The proliferation of streaming services has also yielded a bumper crop of free options. They're the perfect cure for subscription fatigue.
The adage "you get what you pay for" does apply here to some extent. The selections generally aren't huge, and most make you watch a few ads along the way. But they're also better than you might expect, and continuing to improve. On Wednesday, popular streaming platform Plex introduced an ad-supported movie and TV show library with thousands of titles, with about half the ads you'd expect from broadcast television viewing.
In other words, while you shouldn't expect any of the following to replace Netflix from your streaming regimen, you shouldn't count them out either. Each almost certainly offers at least something you want to watch, and won't cost you an arm and a leg—or anything at all—to take advantage.
Plex
We just talked about this one! But more specifically, Plex makes a compelling case by partnering with big-name studios like MGM, Lionsgate, and Warner Bros., which means it has a relatively well-stocked streaming larder focused on classics: The Right Stuff, Raging Bull, and Apocalypse Now just for starters. It also carved out international licensing deals, meaning unlike many streaming services, your library won't suddenly disappear when you travel.
IMDb TV
To access the IMDb library, you'll need to create an account, or use your existing Amazon credentials. Your current options are decent but not great; the most popular movie appears to be Fury, although bonus points for also carrying Sing Street. Your best bet for a binge is probably sci-fi series Fringe, and not just because it rhymes. Even though it's getting a deluge of new content, it's probably unlikely that IMDb TV will ever catch up to its Prime Video sibling, so manage those expectations accordingly.
The Roku Channel
OK, this could potentially be confusing, since Roku is made up of thousands of "channels," including the majors like Hulu and HBO Now. But it also operates the Roku Channel, which offers a smorgasbord of classics like Groundhog Day and Tombstone, along with slightly more recent fare like Spotlight. But really the important thing to know is that it has all five seasons of the incomparable Schitt's Creek. You're welcome!
The more interesting reason to take a look at the Roku Channel, though, is that it also offers free livestreaming, including news reports from ABC and indie movies and classic TV from Filmrise. During a Friday afternoon check-in, the latter was playing a black and white episode of Lost in Space. Fun! You can also subscribe to other streaming services—HBO, Showtime, Acorn TV, and so on—through the Roku Channel, which should save you some navigational clicks.
Again, if you already have the Roku app on your smartphone, the Roku Channel is right there waiting for you. Or you can get it—and everything else on this list—through your Roku device.
Kanopy
Do you have a library card? Then you have Kanopy! Well, sort of. You still have to sign up for a separate Kanopy account, but once you have, you can connect it to your public library, assuming you're a member, which you should be because libraries are great! Individual libraries set their own limits; mine allows for 10 movies a month, with three days to watch from the time you press play. Your credits refresh on the first of each month, and there are apps available for Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku, and so on. The selection here leans toward indies, but it includes lots of Criterion Collection flicks like The 400 Blows and Rashomon, making it a cinephile's dream. Also? No ads. Libraries!
Hoopla is another library-connected service that has a great selection but no Criterion. On the plus side, you can also manage your library ebooks, comics, and other media through it, while Kanopy is strictly video. So do with that what you will.
Tubi
Tubi lacks the name recognition of some of its peers, but its library outpaces most of them, with thousands of ad-supported TV and movie titles. You don't even need to register an account to watch. It also arranges its haul into helpful categories—including a "Not on Netflix" collection to help you better appreciate what you're not paying for. There's still a lot of junk to sift through on Tubi, but it doesn't take long to turn up rewatchable classics like Ronin, art-house hits like Nebraska, and underappreciated gems like The Host.
Pluto TV
Most of the streaming services on this list specialize in on-demand content. Not so the Viacom-owned Pluto TV, which replicates the traditional cable-viewing menu, but with specialized channels serving up nonstop Doctor Who, Antiques Roadshow, and even The Hills. It also has traditional networks, like CNN and Fox Sports. There are hundreds of channels to surf through in all, as well as a slightly anemic on-demand selection of movies and TV shows. Basically, if you've got decision fatigue—if you're tired of wasting an hour scrolling through Netflix before you actually watch anything—Pluto is the elixir you're looking for.
Crackle
Did you know that Sony Crackle has been around in one form or another since 2004? That's three years before Netflix started streaming. That head start may not have won it a massive following, but Crackle does house some gems, particularly in the realm of cult and classic TV. You can binge the entirety of News Radio and Parker Lewis Can't Lose, and early seasons of All in the Family and Bewitched. Relatively rare for a free streaming service, Crackle also has original shows like Rob Riggle's Ski Master Academy and the very much less ridiculous The Oath. There are plenty of movies here, too, spanning decades but with a heavy concentration of '90s classics like Jerry Maguire and In the Line of Fire. You don't need an account to watch, and the content gets updated pretty regularly.
Vudu
You already know Vudu as the Walmart movie rental service you never use. But Vudu is also a Walmart free movie and TV streaming service you never use! The selection isn't great, or at least not appreciably better than your other options here. (In fairness, it does feature The Rock). But keep an eye on Vudu; it's investing in original programming, which includes a sci-fi drama called Albedo, starring Evangeline Lilly and directed by Brad Peyton, who has directed the actor known as the Rock in three feature films. Impossible to say if it'll be any good. But at least it'll be free.
Updated December: We've added the Plex ad-supported streaming service, which launched December 4.
Netflix’s Plan to Auto-Cancel Subscriptions Is Radically Sane
THE GENERAL IMPERATIVE of any subscription service is to wring a monthly payment out of you from now until the apocalypse. That’s the whole game. It’s why there are entire services and advice columns devoted to helping you cancel. The business model gets an assist from human nature. Inertia is a monster; just ask the 1.5 million people who as of 2018 still paid for America Online dialup.
And then there’s Netflix, which this week took the radically sensible step of offering to cancel your subscription for you if you haven’t used it in a while.
In a corporate blog post Thursday, Netflix’s Eddy Wu laid out the company’s new plan, which sounds like it should be some kind of trap but is not. If you don’t watch anything on Netflix for a year after you join, the company will send you an email asking if you want to keep your membership. You’ll also get a message if you go two years without watching anything on Netflix at any point. If you write back to say, "Yes, please keep charging me for all these seasons of Riverdale I’m ignoring," nothing changes. If you ask to cancel or don’t write back at all, Netflix automatically stops charging you. Change your mind within 10 months, and you can return to the service with all your settings intact, just as you left them when you deactivated.
You can quibble with the specifics. Two years is a pretty long leash, especially given that the standard Netflix plan costs $13 a month. That’s $312 plus tax Netflix is still letting you light on fire. In some cases the credit card tied to your account will expire before you hit two years, making this exercise moot. And while you may not be watching anything, freeloaders could always reset your clock. By Netflix’s own estimation, its nudge will only apply to one half of one percent of its users—a few hundred thousand people in all—which indicates that they’ve got room to tighten it up a little.
Those aren’t even complaints, though, really. More frequent notifications would get annoying. Besides, Netflix is not your mom. It does not owe you this. But it’s doing it anyway! So should every other subscription service, where it makes sense. (Yes, even surprisingly affordable magazines like WIRED, although writers have no say in that side of things.)
Blue Apron doesn’t know if you’re actually cooking that tilapia. FabFitFun can’t see how fab or fit or fun you’ve become. But Spotify knows when you’re listening. Hulu knows what you’re watching. Marvel knows when you’re paging through new comics. Amazon knows the last time it shipped something to you, and if you’ve binged Upload. Digital subscription services know exactly how much you’re getting out of them. If the answer is “nothing,” they should absolutely give you a tap on the shoulder and point you to the door. The choice to stay is still yours! But at least companies can remind you that the choice exists in the first place. It’s not like you don’t have other options—including plenty that don't charge anything in the first place.
There’s a small caveat here, which is that services that grandfather in pricing for longtime users could use auto-cancelations as a way to get them to resubscribe on more expensive plans. (This doesn’t apply to Netflix, which raises prices universally.) But this is an edge case among edge cases, one that would take years to play out if at all. The greater good demands a Netflixian approach.
That’s it. That’s the request. Don’t keep charging people for something they’re not using.