In the new age of binge-watching and on the go entertainment, new streaming services are popping up every day with endless content and promises. For a long time, Netflix was the go-to, but it has become increasingly competitive these past few years with the emergence of Amazon Prime Video and the anticipated arrival of Disney + and Apple TV +. This is a quick guide of cost per month, content, and accessibility. In terms of content, each service was judged by how many of IMDb’s top 100 most popular TV shows and movies they had.
Netflix
Cost – £5.99 (basic plan), £8.99 (standard plan), £11.99 (premium plan)
Content – 40 of the top 100 rated current tv shows, 15 of the top 100 movies
Accessibility – Available on streaming media players, smart TVs, game consoles, set-top boxes, Blu-Ray players, smartphones and tablets, and PCs and laptops.
Netflix is undoubtedly the powerhouse of streaming services, starting as a DVD rental service in 1997, it has set the standard of streaming since it began in 2010. Netflix does have a restriction on how many people can watch on the same account depending on the plan you have, which some services don’t. Netflix also has content available to download that you can watch without offline.
Amazon Prime Video
Cost – £7.99 basic, £3.99 student rate
Content – 25 of the top 100 rated current tv shows, 14 of the top-rated movies
Accessibility – Same as Netflix as well as Amazon fire tv
The most important thing that distinguishes Prime Video from other services is that it is a part of Amazon Prime. You are not only paying for tv shows and movies, but also free and faster shipping on amazon deliveries, discounts on purchases, and many other perks including a discount at Whole Foods. Prime also has an amazing student price that costs £3.99 per month with the first sixth months free. Like Netflix, with the Prime app it is possible to download content to watch offline.
Now TV
Cost – £7.99 for entertainment pass, £11.99 for sky cinema pass
Content – 19 of the top 100 rated current tv shows, 29 of the top-rated movies
Accessibility – Same as Netflix
Now TV offers live channels as well as on demand TV shows and movies. Unlike the other services, the Now TV plans are different for TV shows and movies, the entertainment pass give you access to 11 live channels and 300 tv shows box sets while the sky cinema pass gives you access to 11 sky cinema channels and over 1000 movies. There are also passes limited to children’s content and sports channels. Now TV has the lowest amount of top-rated TV show but the highest number of top-rated movies.
Apple TV +
Cost – £4.99 plus a one year free subscription with the purchase of a new iPhone, iPad, mac, or apple TV
Content – No top-rated content yet
Accessibility – It will be available on smart TVs and internet browsers, but the app will only be available on Apple devices
Apple TV + stands out as its content is completely original. When it comes out on the 1st of November, Apple TV + will include many original titles with big actors such as Steve Carrell, Jennifer Aniston, Jason Momoa, and Hailee Steinfeld.
Disney +
Cost – $6.99 USD, no UK cost yet
Content – no top-rated current TV shows, 7 of 100 top-rated movies
Accessibility – Same as Netflix
November 12:th Disney plus will include title from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars. While a Disney-only platform may seem limited, when including all Disney content, including Disney channel TV shows and original movies the content adds up to over 1,500 episodes and 500 films. The most anticipated content seems to be the new original marvel TV shows including Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki.
Hopefully this helps narrow down the very vast selection of streaming services in the never-ending fight to make cable TV a thing of the past.