Netflix, Amazon and local stream ShowMax (Which we get free as part of our satellite TV subscription and carries a lot of HBO shows)
Amazon Prime - Incidental with the shipping benefits but we do watch it
Netflix
Hulu
Disney+
Locast
Locast is a service in some areas that streams local OTA content. I’ve found that I like it more than messing with a digital antenna since I’m not close to the transmitters in the city. We keep it for when my wife wants to watch award shows or other live network content.
Besides the above, my wife will subscribe and drop services for select shows. Only subbing to HBO for Game of Thrones back in the day and things like that. If she wasn’t sharing our account with her sister (who has a 1 year old and a 3 year old), we probably would have dropped Disney+ by now
Netflix – The first streaming service I started watching when my sister logged in on my smart TV like a decade ago and never logged out. She canceled her streaming account a few years later when Netflix separated their DVD rental and streaming services (She might be one of the few people who still subscribes to the DVD rental service but not streaming, mainly because she likes obscure indie movies that aren’t available on streaming). By that point I was too invested in several shows, so I signed up for my own account.
Amazon Prime – I might be one of the few people who actually signed mostly up for the streaming rather than the shopping benefits. The thing that made me sign up for Prime was because Doctor Who moved from Netflix to Amazon. And I discovered that they had older HBO show I hadn’t seen and wanted to watch (Although those shows all left when HBO launched their own streaming service). But the shopping benefits are nice, too.
HBO – I actually discovered I had HBO on my cable service one day even though I don’t remember actually asking for it, apparently as some sort of free trial. Of course once the trial ended they started charging me for it. I probably should have been pissed since I’m pretty sure I never signed up for the trial in the first place, but I do enjoy watching it, so I keep paying for it.
Netflix - originally for DVDs many years ago, then added streaming at some point, then dropped DVDs when they split the two services. (And may have added and then dropped DVD again later?)
Amazon Prime - my wife has had a Prime account for years for the free shipping but it was only a couple years ago that I realized that it got us access to the streaming service. We recently added BritBox through Prime also.
Disney+ - my wife signed up a few months ago when her sister was visiting from out of town so that we could all watch “Hamilton”. She recently got an email saying she could upgrade to the bundle with Hulu and ESPN+ at a discount, so I told her to do it since I had been considering it anyway.
I’ve been thinking of signing up for HBO Max but with the services we already have, there’s already too much to watch and not enough time. So I’ll probably hold off on that for a while.
I cut the cable about a year ago. I switched to YouTube TV then they jacked the price into cable TV territory and for that price I’d just as soon use cable TV so I dropped that.
Occasionally I miss “live” TV but only rarely and am happy as things are.
- Amazon Prime (mainly for the shipping but I definitely watch Prime Video too)
- Netflix
- Peacock (free but with ads)
- YouTube (smart TV so yeah…sometimes I watch longer YouTube vids on the TV…also a good spot for news since I do not have “live” TV)
- Tribal (music…this is the big splurge…I have some good audio on my PC and Tribal offers, by far, the best quality music streaming. I realize that bit rate is more gimmick than useful but Tribal often has the best mastered recordings which can often make a difference…it is good enough to tell when a shitty master was done and indeed that even ruins some songs when you hear that. Also, I have yet to find a song or artist that is not on Tribal. There may well be but they seem to have everything music-wise.)
Tribal?
Maybe that is Tidal music streaming. It is $20 a month, but you get the quality.
All these mainstream video streaming services like Netflix and Prime seem to compete for the same mass market. Some flagship productions, then a lot of classic films and TV shows amongst a much larger amount of ‘filling material’.
I am tempted by some specialised streaming channels like Dan Snows history hit.
https://tv.historyhit.com/series/
If only I could have streaming service that gathers together the stuff I am interested in like science/history/technology/independent cinema rather than the less than satisfactory bundles being pushed by the big beasts of the media world.
I have Prime and Netflix at the moment, I don’t find much of interest on Prime, but I do a lot of shopping. I stay with Netflix for the handful of quality dramas they produce though I have relatives who seem to like the horror/sci fi/swords and sourcer stuff.
Ack! Yes…Tidal.
My bad. 
Thanks!
Me too but then it seems every dam thing is its own fee. Military channel? Special charge. Science? Special charge. Documentary? Special charge. PBS? Special charge (I mean c’mon…if this isn’t free…).
It’s too much so I skip them all.
Had to take a look at the Roku. The paid ones are: Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Disney, Apple, Peacock, ESPN+, and WWE. Several of those are bundled together. I have a whole bunch of free channels on the Roku but I don’t go to any of them very often. I still have Fios cable so I have a lot of channels on there that I haven’t even activated on the Roku. Everything works better on the cable, and I can record.
WWE network was pretty much why we went from so so DSL to more or less excellent cable modem.
Can justify Amazon prime by free speedy shipping etc and the streaming is just a bonus. Don’t like how you have to sift through all the stuff you don’t get for free, but whatever.
Get Peacock (Premium, get everything but still has ads) and HBO Max for free as part of the cable service, wish HBO and Roku would settle their beef, calm their tits, and put it on there, until then I watch that one on my Xbox one.
Also get some other things, like Showtime and the Fox/FX/FXM/FXX (name escapes me at the moment) ones as well through the cable.
And Disney+.
Had Netflix until they started putting near child porn on it. Not the only problem with them, but that’s the straw that broke the camel’s back.
I have been a Netflix subscriber for several years. At first, it was a really handy way for me to get back to shows that, for one reason or another, I had had to abandon, like Burn Notice and Supernatural. But, with the latter coming to the end of its run, it will have more or less accomplished that function, and it’s starting to live or die on the quality of its originals. I’m not exactly on the verge of completely getting rid of it, but it’s starting to feel a good deal less necessary these days. I didn’t used to have to dig around on it for appealing shows like I do now. I could certainly picture stopping for a spell and letting it replenish itself while I see what, say, Hulu has to offer.
Joined a family Verizon phone plan that includes the Disney+ / ESPN+ / Hulu bundle. Suspending YouTube Premium for now…
Didn’t see this thread when it started.
Only Acorn and Netflix for the moment, and we might dump Acorn since Inspector Murdoch has jumped the shark.
Our kids gave us three months of a channel called Broadway HD, which has filmed theater. They could be used separately so we watched one month, and are waiting for new content.
Someday we’re going to get MHz, which has some awesome European mysteries we got hooked on when they were shown on a local PBS station, but we have no time.
And I’ll have to get Britbox when they introduce the Father Brown spinoff which used me as a jigsaw puzzle consultant - no pay alas.
I’ve had Prime and simply click on “free to me” or “my stuff” where I only saved stuff that is free. course, what is free changes, but that worked pretty well to eliminate sifting.
I just let Prime expire which, along with Britbox, have been my only subscriptions. I’m going to spend some time streaming free trials and/or just sign up for PBS passport and figure out just what, if anything, I’m willing to pay for Prime in the future.
they currently want $119 for a year and they should do better, IMO. plus, I know I can order Britbox separately if/when I want to.
I’ve had Amazon Prime since it started and I do enjoy the video selections.Looking forward to a new season of Bosch.
Netflix is also one of those legacy things which I’ve had since the DVD days. They have The Crown, one of my favorites.
HBOMax is included with my cable package. I enjoy being able to go back to old shows I loved years ago. I’m back on The Wire and Band of Brothers again now.
So I guess Netflix is the only thing I really pay for and my son, now moved away from home, does continue to use the service on my nickel. I think it’s legit as he is arguably in my household?
Odd to read a thing from Huffington the other day urging everyone to form bubbles, groups of people who can share each others passwords. That sounds like pure stealing to me and I’m a bit surprised that a well known company would encourage such a thing.
Amazon prime.
Hulu
Cbs all access.
Peacock
Apple tv
Netflix
Showtime
HBO max
I think I may have a problem.
Ignoring the previous replies & discussion just to add my data to the thread…I’m also lazy.
Netflix
Disney+
Amazon Prime
HBO/HBO Max
Showtime
Comcast Xfinity/Peacock
Apple Music
I’m not a cord cutter because I watch cable news and live sports a lot. Also I get it for a song through my HOA’s bulk service agreement along with pretty robust internet. I couldn’t opt out if I wanted to anyways. With that plan I get Peacock for free and also get access to a fair bit of the streaming content that otherwise would be available in CBS All Access and Hulu, making those a bad value for me.
I get Amazon Prime for the shipping benefits first and foremost and rarely take advantage of the streaming/music options. I’ll occasionally watch something on Prime if I’m specifically looking for it, but I don’t “browse” that app at all. I personally find the user experience painful, though I appreciate the 4K HDR video quality for first-party content.
Disney+ might be one of the worst value for dollar for me, but I’m a Star Wars and MCU junky so it’s one of those things that I just need to have, even if I rarely watch it. I did sign up for the discounted introductory rate so the first year is pretty cheap on a monthly basis, but I still don’t use it enough. The last couple Pixar feature releases (plus Mulan eventually) made up for it somewhat, but I’m not expecting this to be a permanent thing in a post-pandemic world.
Apple Music is DEFINTELY the worst value for me since I just don’t listen to much music. I probably should just cancel it since it’s pretty damn expensive. Ironically, I’m considering upgrading to Apple One in order to add Apple TV+ and Apple Fitness+. I can justify this if I can get my wife to cancel her workout app subscriptions.
HBO and Showtime are long time staples since I’m still primarily a cable TV user. Though Showtime is likely to be on the chopping block one of these days since their movies and original content are pretty lacking. It seems like CBS needs to merge All Access and Showtime sooner or later, neither makes for a very interesting standalone option.
Netflix is pretty much essential.
I don’t think the Netflix terms of service specifically defines “household,” but if your son moved out and isn’t living with you, then it doesn’t sound like he’s part of your household anymore. Sharing the account is de facto legit though because all the streaming companies know that pretty much everyone and their dog shares their account, and more importantly they largely openly condone sharing even if it’s technically against their TOS.