# What “minor” streaming services do you like? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 11, 2023, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904 "2023-05-11T18:36:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/1 "2023-05-11T18:36:26Z")
By minor, I don’t mean Amazon, YouTubeTV, Sling or even HBO or Paramount etc. I’m thinking more along the lines of Fawesome or philo or any of the specialty streaming offerings. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/2 "2023-05-11T18:39:53Z")
We use Roku (free) & Britbox currently. My wife loves those Brit Detectives. We also have Kanopy (free through our Library) and this month the Yes Network App for Yankee games but at $20 per month I’m dropping that one. I’ve used Pluto in the past, but it offers too little and I think I deleted the App. There is also PBS app used occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/3 "2023-05-11T18:42:48Z")
We have TennisTV and TennisChannel+. They stream more-or-less all the pro tennis matches. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/4 "2023-05-11T18:45:16Z")
We do Britbox and MHz Choice, which offers non-English detectives and other shows, It has Montalbano, it has an Italian version of Nero Wolfe, it has a German version of Brunetti, it has Homicide Unit Istanbul (also German) and it has Murder In, each of which is set in a town or region of France. Lots of good scenery. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/5 "2023-05-11T19:33:35Z")
Not minor in Canada, but I have enjoyed some stuff from the CBC Gem streaming service. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/6 "2023-05-11T19:39:45Z")
I like Pluto TV which has various iterations of Star Trek, including the Original Series, and Classic Doctor Who. They also have some Smithsonian Channel offerings that are pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/7 "2023-05-11T19:54:58Z")
I used to love Tubi, before Fox bought it back in 2000. They turned a wonderful source of schlock and awe into yet another generic streaming platform full of safe crap found on most of the others. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/8 "2023-05-11T19:59:22Z")
Freevee has some excellent series, including Greg Garcia’s _Sprung_ and the Canadian classic _Corner Gas._ There’s also _The Dectorists_ – a real treat – _Time Wasters_ (uneven, but can be very funny). It’s tied in with Amazon, and has quite a few originals. My library offers Hoopla, which has various mystery shows on demand. I’m liking _My Life is Murder_ with Lucy Lawless. Bonus: no commercials. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/9 "2023-05-11T19:59:22Z")
We use Passport quite a bit, which is the PBS streaming service, and for which we have a subscription as a benefit of contributing to our local PBS station. We used it last year to binge all the old episodes of Endeavor. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/10 "2023-05-11T20:03:27Z")
I look at the shows on Roku that run on a schedule like regular TV, and other stuff accessible on the Roku channel. I has several cooking channels loaded but they weren’t very good, just a few recipes. Maybe some have improved. From time to time I load up a local news channel for places I’m familiar with. Also watch YouTube videos sometimes on the TV, but mostly I do that on my laptop or phone. Just started up Woodworkers Guild of America channel and see stuff that wasn’t there before that will now interest me. I think I have to go back and look at some of the specialty channels again. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/11 "2023-05-11T20:08:22Z")
Definitely Pluto. And it’s got MST3K all day all the time! And free! I only pay for one service, Netflix. It doesn’t make any sense to me to get Hulu or all the sundry services out there while I’m also paying for cable. Maybe one day I could convince my wife to cut the cord, but losing sports would be a big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/12 "2023-05-11T20:24:55Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I used to love Tubi, before Fox bought it back in 2000. They turned a wonderful source of schlock and awe into yet another generic streaming platform full of safe crap found on most of the others. I still love Tubi, which only goes back a few years and the Fox purchase was 2020. The Onion had them just right with this one: > **[Tubi CEO Combs Through Goodwill Used DVDs Looking For Movies To Upload](https://www.theonion.com/tubi-ceo-combs-through-goodwill-used-dvds-looking-for-m-1850262553)** > > SAN FRANCISCO—Conducting his monthly sweep for new content, Tubi CEO Farhad Massoudi was reportedly combing through a shelf of used DVDs at Goodwill Thursday looking for movies to upload to the streaming service. “American Hustle, fine, Secondhand... ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/13 "2023-05-11T20:29:19Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > and the Fox purchase was 2020 I knew that, but my mind slipped and my fingers decided to go along for the ride. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/14 "2023-05-11T20:36:58Z")
I recently subscribed to [dropout tv](https://signup.dropout.tv/). It has a bunch of TTRPG content, and a fair amount of other amusing stuff. Don’t know if I’ll keep it long term, but for the moment, it provides me with enough content to have value. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/15 "2023-05-11T20:45:23Z")
Kanopy is pretty cool, documentary heavy but has some fiction film gems. I found it when it was the only way at the time to watch Nolan’s Memento. Free? Sign me up. Hoopla is similar but I haven’t had a chance to try it, neither the public library nor university library support it so I’m not sure how to get on. I also use Plex to stream from my computer but they also stream their own things and they sometimes have some rare stuff. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/16 "2023-05-11T20:56:41Z")
Britbox, Acorn, for British Shudder, Screambox, Horror Drive-in for Horror Jive Turkey, Brown Sugar for Blaxploitation Nightflight, Arrow Channel, Kino Cult for cult movies ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/17 "2023-05-11T21:38:27Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Definitely Pluto. And it’s got MST3K all day all the time! And free! This is one of my main reasons to use Pluto, I do not deny it. Another aggregator of sorts for ‘live’ streaming is the PlexTV Live TV Channels, which I occasionally browse. It also has (perhaps the same) MST3K channel, although as with many live channels, things may come and go before you finish watching them. In the past, Journey was showing No Reservations (Bourdain) which I enjoyed getting to watch again, only to move on to other content. And recently I was re-watching classic Red Dwarf on one of the channels, but the programming ended before I finished Series 3. Still, for when I want something different from my normal services (Netflix subsidized largely by TMobile and Amazon Prime), it can be fun to scroll through the listings and see if anything leaps out at me. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/18 "2023-05-11T21:52:55Z")
Hoopla is also excellent if your library participates. I use it for both audiobooks and movies. All commercial free, all work on phone, TV, or computer. It’s movie selection is limited, but what they have is HD and commercial free. Plays like a stream on Netflix. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/19 "2023-05-11T21:53:37Z")
Oh, Shudder is excellent if you like horror movies of any time. Last year, I got 3 months for something like $10 and when I cancelled, they gave me another month free. I did cancel, but I plan to re-subscribe this summer when I’m off work(I’m a teacher). ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2023, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904/20 "2023-05-12T05:28:36Z")
for me, i’s music and TuneIn, you can get radio shows across the world, and virtually any kind of music [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-minor-streaming-services-do-you-like/983904.md?page=2)