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Rosalie Checca
Apple has made a push into live sports, signing a deal with Major League Soccer (MLS Season Pass, $13 a month) and airing MLB games on Friday nights. For 2024 the company added some new features, including bringing Multiview, which had been limited to only those using an Apple TV 4K, to the iPad.
Apple TV+ is now also available as part of of a $15-a-month bundle from Comcast that also includes Netflix and Peacock. To get this "StreamSaver" bundle, you have to be a Comcast Xfinity TV or Internet customer.
The company also says it is partnering with Warner Bros. Discovery for a new bundle that will include Disney+, Hulu, and Max. No additional information has been released other than that the bundle will launch this summer.
Disney now fully owns Hulu, and has combined Hulu and Disney+ into a single app. Some industry reports indicate that Disney has been in talks with streaming services to sell some of its back catalogs. This would be a major change for Disney, which pulled back its content from Netflix and others just a few years ago.
Hulu is looking to curtail account sharing with an updated subscriber agreement that outlines new limitations on access outside of the household. Subscribers are warned that violations give parent company Disney the right to limit or terminate access to the service.
As noted above, Comcast Xfinity TV and internet customers can now get a bundle that includes Netflix, Apple TV+ and Peacock, for $15 a month. To get this "StreamSaver" bundle, you have to be a Comcast Xfinity TV or Internet customer.
Netflix is also moving into sports, with a three-year deal that will bring NFL holiday games to the service. This year, Netflix will host two Christmas Day games: the Super Bowl LVII-winning Chiefs vs. Steelers, followed by the Ravens vs. Texans. In 2025 and 2026, Netflix will stream at least one holiday game each year.
Netflix has cracked down on account sharing in various countries, including the U.S., where subscribers now have to pay an extra $8 per month per user to share an account with someone outside their household.
To make the switch easier for customers who have been sharing accounts, Netflix unveiled a tool that lets you transfer account info, such as viewing history and program recommendations, to a new subscription.
The basic $80 Pro plan has 199 channels with local stations in most markets, plus lots of sports networks and many cable channels. Stepping up to the $90 Elite plan gets you Fubo Extra, with 57 more sports and lifestyle channels, while the $100 Premier plan has even more channels, as well as Showtime and Sports Plus, which includes NFL RedZone.
On regular YouTube, you can subscribe to additional streaming services, including AMC+ and Paramount+, plus several other smaller and/or niche services. YouTube TV subscribers have been able to do this, but now anyone can access the Primetime Channel hub on YouTube.
Amazon Fire TV Channels
Amazon Fire TV Channels is a special option included exclusively on Fire TV devices. This service aggregates free, ad-supported content from a range of popular sources, including MLB, Fox News, ABC News, CBS News, CBS Sports, NHL, Fox Sports, NASCAR, and more.
Earlier, Amazon bumped up its offering with content from Variety, Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, and TV Line from Penske Media Corporation; GameSpot, Honest Trailers, and TV Guide from Fandom; Looper, Slash Film, and Nicki Swift from Static Media; along with Funny or Die and Outside. The service offers content from more than 400 different providers.
Crackle is now owned by Chicken Soup for the Soul and is part of a bigger brand called Crackle Plus, which operates several ad-supported and subscription networks, including EspaolFlix, FrightPix, and Popcornflix, among others. The company also recently acquired Redbox (see below).
Hoopla and Kanopy
If you have a library card, Hoopla and Kanopy might be your ticket to free movies, music, audiobooks, and comics. Getting started is pretty simple. Just go to the site, find your local library, and create an account with your library card. You check out TV shows and movies as though they were books, using your library card.
The main difference between the two services is that Hoopla tends to focus more on popular entertainment than Kanopy does, and it includes other types of media beyond videos, such as audiobooks, comics, e-books, and music.
Peacock
Bad news for new subscribers: Peacock is no longer offering its free tier, instead shifting its emphasis to its two paid Premium services. But anyone currently using the free tier can continue to use it, and paid subscribers who cancel their subscription will automatically be downgraded to the free plan with a limited amount of content.
Redbox
Best known for its rental kiosks at grocery stores and shopping centers, plus a newer video-on-demand streaming rental and purchase service, Redbox now has a free ad-based live service as well, which gets some of its content from Xumo Play.
Roku has started moving aggressively into sports. Last season, it teamed up with the NFL to create the NFL Zone within its Sports section on the main Roku app, a centralized location to find live and upcoming games. This season Roku and the NFL teamed up for a new 24/7 NFL Draft Vault channel, where you can watch the best moments of previous drafts. Roku also has a free NBA channel called NBA Zone.
ViX
ViX is a free, ad-supported Spanish-language service owned by TelevisaUnivision, which was formerly called PrendeTV. Unlike PrendeTV, which was exclusively a free, ad-supported service, ViX also has an ad-free subscription version called ViX Premium, which costs $7 a month. In addition, it now has a newer lower-priced tier called Vix Premium with Ads, which costs $5 a month.
Xumo Play
Xumo Play, a joint venture between Comcast and Charter, is an ad-powered streaming video platform that offers live and on-demand content from more than 300 channels and 10,000 titles across multiple genres, including sports, action and drama, news, kids and family entertainment, live events, comedy, lifestyle, and movies.
Xumo first partnered with Element Electronics to launch a line of Element 4K Xumo TVs in the U.S., which are sold at Best Buy, Walmart and a few other retailers. There are also Xumu TVs sold under the Hisense and Pioneer brands.
ESPN+ is best for sports junkies looking to add out-of-market baseball and hockey games to their menu, college sports fans who want a broader assortment of sports than they can get with traditional TV, and those with an interest in niche sports, such as rugby and cricket. The service also offers documentaries and scripted series.
The big news for the company is that Paramount+ now includes both the Showtime cable channel and the Showtime Now streaming service, simplifying its packages in the process. New subscribers can choose between Paramount+ Essentials for $6 per month or $60 per year, and you can add Showtime into the mix by subscribing to Paramount+ With Showtime for $12 per month or $120 per year. The company raised prices for both plans earlier in the year.
The bigger news, though is that Peacock is raising its prices just before the Paris Olympics, which NBC will air. The price of its ad-supported Premium plan will go from $6.00 to $8.00 per month, while its Premium Plus plan will increase from $12.00 to $14.00 per month. The hike goes into effect on July 18 for new customers ahead of the Olympics, and August 17 for existing ones.
Both Peacock plans include current season NBC broadcasts, plus a mix of offerings from NBC, Universal Studios, USA Network, Syfy, Bravo, Telemundo, and Universal Kids. The service also licenses shows from other networks, including A&E, ABC, and Fox, as well as Paramount. There are deals in place for movies from Universal Pictures, DreamWorks, Focus Features, Illumination, Warner Bros., and Blumhouse, current season NBC broadcasts, plus a mix of offerings from NBC, Universal Studios, USA Network, Syfy, Bravo, Telemundo, and Universal Kids.
For sports fans, Peacock will stream Premier League soccer games, golf tournaments, and WWE Network matches and original series, as well as premium live events. It also recently signed an extension with the NFL through 2033 to show Sunday night NFL games that air on NBC.
The stand-alone Criterion Channel is the result of a special deal with WarnerMedia, which shut down the FilmStruck streaming service in late 2018. Parts of the Criterion Collection film library, which had been included in that service, are also available on the Max (formerly HBO Max) service.
However, there have been recent reports that Max is planning a price hike, and that parent Company Warner Bros. Discovery will follow the lead of Disney+, Hulu, and Netflix and start cracking down on account sharing.
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