Sunday, June 26, 2016
There’s a dizzying array of streaming services to choose from. In general, subscription services such as Hulu and Netflix make the most sense for those who watch a lot of shows and movies, and for fans of original series.
Here’s an overview of options from Consumer Reports.
Acorn TV
Price: $5 per month or $50 per year.
Who it’s best for: Lovers of British TV fare, new and classic. Goodies include TV mysteries (such as “Prime Suspect,” with Helen Mirren) and comedies (“Jeeves and Wooster,” with Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry), plus dramas and documentaries. HD is offered when available.
Amazon Prime Video
Price: $99 per year ($8.25 per month).
Who it’s best for: Anyone who’s already paying for an Amazon Prime membership. It carries pay-TV titles such as AMC’s “Fear the Walking Dead”; CBS’ summer series, “Under the Dome”; and HBO’s back catalog of shows. Showtime and Starz can each be added for $9 per month. Consumer Reports offers one caution: You still can’t get Prime on Apple TV.
HBO Now
Price: $15 per month.
Who it’s best for: HBO fans who don’t want to pay for cable. Sign up to get all of the network’s movies, specials and documentaries, plus “Game of Thrones” and “Vinyl.” If you already get HBO through your cable package, don’t pay twice: The HBO Go app lets you watch HBO shows on phones, tablets and other devices.
Hulu
Price: $8 per month with ads, $12 without ads.
Who it’s best for: Cable cord-cutters who don’t want to miss out on broadcast TV. Hulu has current shows from ABC, Fox and NBC; older ones from CBS; plus the “Seinfeld” library. Original content includes “11.22.63,” a J.J. Abrams-produced miniseries based on Stephen King’s time-travel novel, and “Casual,” a comedy series from Jason Reitman.
Netflix
Price: $8 per month for standard-def video on a single screen. $10 for high-def video on up to two screens. $12 for 4K UHD video, plus up to four screens.
Who it’s best for: Everyone. Netflix is still the king of binge. It has a vast library of movies and TV shows, plus now-classic original shows (“House of Cards,” “Orange is the New Black”), and even movies (“Beasts of No Nation”). A deal with Marvel spawned “Daredevil” and “Jessica Jones,” and Netflix subscribers will get exclusive access to Disney titles within a year of their debut, starting with 2016 releases.
Showtime (Streaming)
Price: $11 per month, or $9 per month when purchased through certain services, such as Amazon Prime and Hulu.
Who it’s best for: Showtime fans. Like HBO Now, this service lets you watch a cable network without the cable. You get all of Showtime’s movies, plus original shows such as “Billions,” “Ray Donovan” and “Penny Dreadful.” (Showtime Anytime is like HBOGo; it’s for people who already get the network through a traditional pay-TV provider.)
Sling TV
Price: Starts at $20 per month.
Who it’s best for: Cord-cutters. With Dish’s Sling TV, you don’t get individual shows. You get channels. The basic package comes with about 20 cable offerings – including A&E, AMC, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, Food Network, HGTV and TBS – but not broadcast TV. Consumer Reports notes that it’s also one of only a few ways you can get ESPN without a TV service. Themed add-on packs cost $5 per month; HBO can also be added for $15 per month.
To learn more, visit ConsumerReports.org.
2016, Consumers Union, Inc.