Streaming services I use (2024 edition)
Since last year’s post about what streaming services I use, a lot’s changed. And by “changed,” I mainly mean price hikes and more streaming service bundles. Still, here’s a look at what streaming services I currently use.
Netflix
After a few years of leaving Netflix in favor of the Disney Bundle (and briefly HBO Max), I’m finally back on the biggest streaming service.
As for why the switch? The Disney Bundle’s ad-free version, like other streaming services’ ad-free tiers, has gone up in price. Two years ago, the Bundle was $14 a month for Disney+ (ad free), Hulu (with ads), and ESPN+. Now it’s $15 a month for all of the above with ads, while Disney+/Hulu (ad-free) and ESPN+ run $25 (previously $20). Along with the price hikes, my interest in Marvel and Star Wars TV shows (besides “Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur”) has waned. My interest in Marvel’s films fell off after “Avengers: Endgame,” and my dislike of “WandaVision” made me less inclined to watch the multiple follow-up TV shows. “Star Wars” feels like too many shows to keep up with; it seems easier to just wait for the next major theatrical movie. Meanwhile, a few shows ended their seasons, such as the aforementioned “Moon Girl” and Hulu’s “Welcome to Wrexham.” And judging from the sports world’s newfound obnoxious and questionable reliance on sports betting, ESPN+ can surely survive without my money?
Anyway, Netflix is similar to how I left it: a variety of programming as a “catch-all” streaming service. Among programming of interest:
Cartoons, including films such as “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “Boss Baby,” and several made-for-Netflix Nickelodeon films such as “Saving Bikini Bottom” and “The Casagrandes Movie.”
The usual reality shows, including the famous “Great British Bake Off.”
Some documentaries, including one about gay African American civil rights activist Bayard Rustin.
PBS Passport
I subscribed to PBS Passport again, mainly so I could watch “Frankie Drake Mysteries,” a Canadian drama about an all-women detective agency in 1920s Toronto. (I’m still annoyed that the show was canceled on a cliffhanger.) I’ve since considered dropping PBS Passport. However, given it’s inexpensive and PBS needs the money (more than the for-profit streaming services on this list), I’m still mulling it over. Canceling also requires calling my PBS affiliate during business hours to do so, which is inconvenient.
That said, PBS Passport does offer interesting programming, including:
An “Around the World in 80 Days” miniseries produced in 2021.
Mainstay news program “PBS News Hour.”
“Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution” and “The War on Disco.” Two documentaries about the rise and fall of disco.
“The Great American Recipe,” its own “Great British Bake Off”-like competitive cooking show.
Peacock
As a long-time Comcast broadband customer, I get the ad-based tier of Peacock for free via a rewards program. I note I’m only a “long-time” customer because there aren’t any decent alternatives for broadband.
Still, while Peacock is definitely a secondary streaming service, at least for me it’s a free secondary streaming service. Programming I’ve made use of Peacock for:
Sports, including the Olympics and “Sunday Night Football.”
Some movies, including the DreamWorks and Illumination films.
Holiday specials, including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
MLB.TV
I receive MLB.TV for free through my phone carrier. The service offers out-of-market baseball games, excluding those on national TV broadcasts. It’s free, and useful sometimes as background noise, even if I can’t watch my local baseball team with it.
Free services
There’s some free services I also use; most of them are ad supported. Said services include:
Pluto TV. Pluto’s been useful for its live streaming of Buzzr (old game shows), some older Nickelodeon cartoons (such as “The Fairly OddParents”), and its version of Logo TV (mostly older episodes of “RuPaul’s Drag Race”).
Tubi. Tubi now carries a number of older Hanna-Barbera cartoons, including various Scooby-Doo spin-offs (“What’s New Scooby-Doo,” “Scooby’s All-Star Laff-a-lympics,” etc.), “The Flintstones,” and “The Jetsons.” Tubi also has plenty of movies, including a large number of obscure LGBTQ films.
Movies Anywhere. A free service that works with several digital video sellers (Apple, Google, Amazon, etc.) to allow access to all of one’s digitally-bought movies on one site. You can also sync films between the aforementioned stores. While it’s not perfect (Paramount and Lionsgate aren’t included; it’s US-only; and disappointingly, no TV shows), it’s convenient for the few digitally-bought films I own.
Kanopy and Hoopla. These two public library-tied streaming services allow access to a variety of films and TV shows, all ad-free.
Plex/buying DVDs and Blu-rays
Since early 2023, I’ve resumed buying DVDs again, after getting fed up with services like HBO Max purging content. I’ve also been ripping them on my computer to digital video files, to use with my own media server running Plex. (Though I’ve also tried Jellyfin.) Plex lets me have my own in-home “streaming service,” with content I own and enjoy, and with an easy to use interface. I also don’t have to worry about price hikes or seeing content erased, of course.
Current cost
Adding up the cost of the above services:
Netflix (ad-free tier): $15.50
PBS Passport: $5
Peacock (ad-based tier): $0
MLB.TV: $0
Total: $20.50
The aforementioned status of PBS Passport aside, I’m also strongly considering adding Hulu back, likely during some sale (Black Friday, etc.).
Conclusion
Looking back at older blog posts, I note I’ve basically gone almost in a full circle for streaming services. Ignoring cable TV (which I completely canceled in 2020) and free ad-supported services, a rough history of my streaming services:
Most of the 2010s: Netflix, sometimes Hulu (with Spotify), an occasional random service (like Boomerang), buying DVDs/Blu-rays and using a Plex server.
2020: Netflix, Hulu, ESPN+, PBS Passport. My DVD buying had declined by this point.
2022: HBO Max (when it seemed like it could feasibly replace Netflix), Disney Bundle, Paramount+, Peacock, MLB.TV (the last two free).
Summarizing, I’ve gone from “Netflix + Hulu + an occasional one-off service + DVDs/a Plex server” to “a variety of streaming services, especially during the streaming wars’ peak” to back to “Netflix + Hulu/a few secondary ones + DVDs/a Plex server.”
I figure after trying everything else, maybe I’d be better off going back to “basics”: Netflix (a major catch-all service), Hulu (another catch-all one), one or two inexpensive/free secondary ones, and buying DVDs/Blu-rays. I still have plenty of TV shows and movies, can spend money on DVDs instead of subscriptions, and avoid some of the downsides of the current state of streaming. That said, buying physical media isn’t as easy nowadays, with DVD/Blu-ray sales largely just a few online stores by now.