12 · apple alre ady owned a few or iginal shows, including “planet of the apps” and jame s c...

6/8/2020 Streaming Video Services - Consumer Reports

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Guide to Streaming Services

Free Streaming Video Services

Streaming Services That Let You Cut the Cord

How to Find Out Where Movies and TV Shows Are Streaming

In recent months, we’ve seen the launch of Apple TV+ fromApple and Disney’s new blockbuster service, Disney+, alongwith Quibi, a new short-form video service. WarnerMedia'snew HBO Max service debuted in May, combining HBO'schannels with other content from AT&T and Warner Bros.And NBCUniversal’s Peacock service is slated to arrive in mid-July. You’ll see more details on those services below.

The new options will join all-you-can-eat monthlysubscription services, such as Netflix, and cable-TV-style packages designed to help you cut the cord, fromAT&T (AT&T TV Now), Dish (Sling TV), Hulu (Hulu + Live TV),Google (YouTube TV), and others.

Apple TV+Apple’s streaming service, called Apple TV+, costs just $5 permonth, $2 less than Disney+ and considerably less thanNetflix’s most popular Standard plan, which costs $13 permonth.

However, so far Apple TV+ provides very limited content.

The lineup includes “The Morning Show,” starring ReeseWitherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, and Steve Carell; a reboot ofSteven Spielberg’s 1980s series “Amazing Stories”; “See,” a



post-apocalypse drama starring Jason Momoa and AlfreWoodard; “For All Mankind,” a series that imagines whatwould have happened if the global space race had neverended; “Servant,” a psychological thriller from director M.Night Shyamalan; and “Dickinson,” a coming-of-age storyfrom the perspective of Emily Dickinson.

Shows to debut later include “Little Voice,” about an up-and-coming singer, from director J.J. Abrams and singer-son�writer Sara Bareilles; “Central Park,” an animatedmusical comedy from “Bob’s Burgers” creator LorenBouchard; “Foundation,” a series based on the eponymousIsaac Asimov science-fiction trilo�y; and “Losing Earth,”based on a New York Times article about the effects ofignoring climate science.

Apple already owned a few original shows, including “Planetof the Apps” and James Cordon’s “Carpool Karaoke: TheSeries.”

Separately, Apple TV+ has a subscription option, called AppleTV Channels, for Apple TV users. It lets you subscribe tochannels such as HBO and Showtime from a single app.

Beyond content, perhaps the biggest news is that for the firsttime you don’t need an Apple TV device to get Apple contenton your TV. In addition to being installed on Apple hardware,the Apple TV app, which provides access to Apple TV+, is alsoavailable on select Samsung smart TVs now and will come toAmazon Fire TV, LG, Roku, Sony, and Vizio sets in the nearfuture.

AT&T TV



After being rolled out in a few select markets, AT&T TV—basically a streaming version of the company’s DirecTVsatellite offering—is now available nationwide.

Not to be confused with the company’s DirecTV Now cable-style streaming service, which has been rebranded as AT&TTV Now, the new service is too expensive to help most peoplesave money by switching from a traditional TV plan. It startsat $60 per month for a plan with about 70 channels, thenjumps to $93 per month during the second year of a 24-monthcontract—AT&T TV Now costs $50 per month for about 45channels.

Three additional step-up plans, with more channels, are alsoavailable, costing from $65 to $80 per month during the firstyear. But you’ll pay as much as $135 per month during thesecond year of your contract. Some plans require that you paya $20 activation fee and an additional $8.50 each month to getregional sports networks. You can check out the plans andpricing—and see which local channels are available in yourarea—on the AT&T TV website.

Cinemax, HBO, Showtime, and Starz are included free forthree months and will auto-renew at $48 per month if youdon’t call to change or cancel.

To get AT&T TV, you need to rent or buy an Android-basedset-top box provided by AT&T. By contrast, to use thecompany’s AT&T Now you just need an app you access from asmart TV or streaming player, such as an Apple TV. AT&Trecently ended support for new Roku devices and Roku TVs,though if you already have the app, you can keep using it.



The new system supports 4K videos and includes 500 hoursof DVR storage. Recordings are saved for up to 90 days. Oneset-top box is included free, but additional ones cost $10 permonth, or $120 if you want to buy them outright. AT&T saysthat one box will support up to three streams at a time.

As the AT&T TV website explains, once you have the box, youshould be able to use an app to stream content on asmartphone or tablet. The included AT&T TV remote has theGoogle Assistant voice-powered digital assistant built in, soyou can search for shows, change channels, and get weatherand news updates on your TV using voice commands.

AT&T TV is the latest in a growing number of TV options fromthe company. AT&T still offers the DirecTV satellite-TVservice, as well as AT&T U-verse, an IP-based fiber-optic pay-TV service, though both continue to shed subscribers.

For cord cutters, it has the low-priced AT&T Watch service inaddition to AT&T Now. And HBO Max (see below), from itsWarnerMedia division, is slated to launch this month.

Discovery/BBCDiscovery is teaming up with the BBC for a new subscriptionstreaming service that Discovery says will launch this year.Under a 10-year licensing deal, the new Discovery-brandedservice will be the home for all of the BBC’s natural historyprograms, including “Planet Earth” and “Blue Planet,” as wellas new series developed by the two companies.

The new service, which doesn’t yet have a name, will alsoinclude BBC series that will leave Netflix once earlier deals



expire, plus Discovery’s own natural history anddocumentary programming.

Pricing hasn’t been announced, but analysts expect theservice to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 permonth.

Disney+The Disney+ subscription streaming service, which launchedat the end of 2019, costs $7 per month (or $70 if you payannually) and is among the least expensive new services. It’sabout $2 more per month than Apple TV+ but has a vast arrayof new original shows and movies, as well as a deep catalog oflibrary titles.

Disney seems to be taking aim at Netflix with a bundled planthat combines Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu for $13 per month.Some of Disney’s content is currently licensed to Netflix in adeal that ends next year.

Disney owns all the “Star Wars” movies (via LucasFilms), aswell as Marvel Studios and Pixar. It also owns 20th CenturyFox (being rebranded as 20th Century Studios) and is themajority owner of the National Geographic channel.

Disney+ will offer 10 original films and 25 original series,including three “Avengers” spinoffs, in its first year ofoperation.

Among the highlighted new original content is “TheMandalorian,” a Jon Favreau-directed series set in the “StarWars” universe that cost an estimated $10 million for each of



its 10 episodes. It’s the most-watched new show on theservice, and a second season has been approved.

The Disney+ app, which features individual tiles for each ofthe prominent Disney brands, is available on lots of devices,including LG and Samsung smart TVs, plus Android TVs andRoku TVs. You can also access the service from moststreaming players, game consoles, and Android and iOSsmartphones, and via web browsers.

HBO MaxHBO Max, the new streaming service from AT&T’sWarnerMedia division, is priced at $15 per month, just likeHBO and HBO Now (see below), but many current HBOsubscribers will get access to HBO Max at no additional cost.

Right now, the company says, anyone getting regular HBOfrom Charter/Spectrum, Comcast, or one of AT&T's TVservices will get automatic access to HBO Max. So, too, willthose who subscribe directly to HBO Now through HBO,Apple, Google Play, or Hulu. It's still unclear whether thosegetting HBO from other cable TV companies or third partieswill receive the automatic upgrade; HBO is working to securemore partners, it says. You can get the latest info at thecompany's HBO Max FAQ.

HBO Max isn't yet available on two of the biggest streamingplatforms, Amazon Fire TV and Roku. Analysts say thecompany is closer to a deal with Roku than Amazon. For a listof services and devices that support HBO Max, visit theservice's website.



This new offering could be a compelling option for many,because it provides not only the channels you get with thepremium HBO service but also new original programs, titlesfrom the Warner Bros. TV and film library, and content fromAT&T’s properties, such as Cartoon Network, CNN, DCEntertainment, TBS, The CW, TNT, and Turner Classic Movies.

At launch, the service has the exclusive streaming rights toevery episode of “Friends” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,”plus original series, including "Love Life," starring AnnaKendrick. There will be new original movies from producerGreg Berlanti and Reese Witherspoon, and original seriessuch as “The Flight Attendant,” starring Kaley Cuoco.

HBO Max also has the exclusive domestic rights to all 12seasons of “The Big Bang Theory” through 2028.

AT&T, which acquired Time Warner in 2018, has beenaggressive in offering new streaming services. In addition tothe new HBO Max service, the company and its subsidiariesnow offer the cable-replacement service AT&T TV Now, HBONow, AT&T Watch, and ESPN+, plus the recently launched DCUniverse.

As described above, the company has rolled out a newstreaming version of its satellite-based DirecTV service, calledAT&T TV.

NBCUniversal/PeacockA new streaming service from NBCUniversal, called Peacockin a nod to the NBC logo, is now available to select Comcastcustomers and will debut nationally July 15.



Peacock will offer three pricing tiers. The basic option,Peacock Free, will be an ad-supported free service thatfeatures some NBCUniversal content. The next level, PeacockPremium, costs $5 per month and will give users access to amore robust library of ad-supported content. A third tier willlet Premium users upgrade to an ad-free experience for about$10 per month.

However, many of the original programs the company wasplanning are being put off until 2021 because the coronaviruspandemic is delaying production.

A reboot of “Saved by the Bell” might be released this year,but other new shows, such as a music-themed comedyproduced by Tina Fey and a new version of “BattlestarGalactica,” will probably be delayed.

That means that at launch subscribers will be able to viewmainly library titles, such as “Law and Order: SVU,” producerDick Wolf’s “Chicago” franchise, “Parks and Recreation,” and“Cheers.” “The Office” will be available starting in 2021 afterNetflix’s deal for it expires.

The service will include some A&E and History channelshows, such as “Cold Case Files,” “The Curse of Oak Island,”and “Storage Wars.”

The company says the service will have movies and programsfrom other NBCUniversal properties, including UniversalPictures and DreamWorks Animation. At launch, the servicewill include some popular movies, including “Back to theFuture” and “Jaws.”

Quibi



Quibi, a new streaming service that focuses on short-formentertainment, went live in early April. It was founded by ex-Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg and the tech executiveMeg Whitman, who among other things was CEO of eBay.Right now you can get a free 90-day trial.

Quibi—short for “quick bites”—says it focuses on “snackable”series and films that are each told in multiple shortchapters. In its first year, the company says it will have around7,000 videos, everything from scripted series and movies toreality TV.

Quibi will have two payment tiers: $5 per month for an ad-supported version and $8 per month without ads. Unlikemany other new services, Quibi is meant to be viewed on amobile device, not a TV, and it supports both horizontal andvertical videos. At CES, the annual electronics trade showheld in January, the company showed off this technolo�y,which allows producers to combine both types of orientationswithin the same video.

But recently the company backtracked on its mobile-onlypolicy, saying that support for watching on television wouldbe added soon.

Quibi has been able to attract some big Hollywood names:Spielberg is producing a horror series, called “After Dark,”that viewers can watch only after sunset; Guillermo del Toroand Sam Raimi are also producing a few horror shows. Othershows include a car racing series by Idris Elba; a cookingcompetition with Tituss Burgess; Stephan James and LaurenceFishburne starring in Antoine Fuqua’s drama series “Free RayShawn”; and a courtroom show starring Chrissy Teigen.

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