Streaming Services Cost

Typical costs:

• Netflix[1] , the most popular streaming provider, offers a Basic Plan for $8.99 a month, a Standard Plan for $13.99 and a Premium Plan for $17.99 month. With the Basic Plan, subscribers can watch original series like Stranger Things and movies like Bird Box on one device at a time. With the Standard Plan subscribers catch watch content in High Definition (HD) on up to 2 devices at a time. And with their Premium Plan, subscribers can watch shows in Ultra High Definition (UHD) when available, on up to 4 devices at a time.
• Hulu[2] , which is majority-owned by Disney and is the second most popular streaming service, offers plans with commercials starting at $5.99 a month. Without ads, Hulu costs $11.99 a month. They also offer a plan with Live TV, which on December 18, 2020 increases to $64.99 a month with commercials and $70.99 a month for no commercials on the Hulu portion. Hulu offers original series like The Handmaid's Tale, access to TV series from ABC, NBC and Fox like The Good Place and the Simpsons, and movies like Good Will Hunting.
• Disney+[3] raised its monthly price on March 26, 2021 to $7.99 a month, but offers discounts for prepaying for a year or longer, and no additional fees for High Definition. Disney+ carries Disney content like Boy Meets World and Frozen 2, most Marvel Cinematic Universe movies like The Avengers Infinity War, and Star Wars movies like The Force Awakens. Disney+ also offers series based in the Star Wars universe, like the Mandalorian, and based on Marvel characters, like the Scarlet Witch, Falcon and Loki.
• Amazon Prime[4] Video is part of the Amazon Prime Service, which costs $12.99 a month or $119 a year. For students, Amazon Prime costs $59 a year. The Amazon Prime Service includes free one or two-day shipping (on Prime-eligible items) ordered from Amazon.com, and streaming movie and music services. Medicaid and EBT cardholders are eligible for a discounted price of .99 a month[5] for up to four years. Amazon Prime Video offers unique content like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Fleabag, and Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, series like Sex and The City and the Sopranos, and movies like Mission: Impossible -- Fallout.
• HBO Max[6] , which effectively replaced the HBO Now service, launched on May 27, 2020 and costs $14.99 a month. It can be streamed in HD on up to 3 simultaneous devices. HBO Now carries original series like Watchmen, Game of Thrones, Pretty Little Lies and Westworld, collections like the Harry Potter and Studio Ghibli films, and featured movies like Blinded By the Light and Us. Subscribers to HBO and customers of certain Internet access providers may already have free access to HBO Max[7] .
• Other streaming services include YouTube Premium ($11.99 a month), which lets subscribers watch YouTube videos without ads and lets users download some YouTube content onto their phone; fuboTV ($55 a month), Sling TV ($30 or $45 a month) and YouTube TV ($49.99 a month), which lets users watch cable channels; CBS Live Access ($5.99 a month), which shows CBS shows and original series like the Star Trek Picard series; and Rakuten Viki (free/$4.17 a month/$8.33 a month), which shows Asian dramas, including Korean dramas.

• Streaming services require Internet Access to the TV or tablet from Cable Internet, a DSL connection, or a fiber Internet service. Streaming services can be accessed using the data plan on a smartphone, but this could be costly without an unlimited data plan -- watching many movies could rack up hundreds of dollars of data usage.
• Most streaming services' apps can be downloaded directly into a smartphone or tablet using the App Store, like the Apple App Store for iPhones and iPads or the Google Play Store for Android devices.
• To watch a streaming service on a television, either the television needs to be a Smart TV (like many recent HD TVs that are advertised as Smart TVs or Wi-Fi ready), or you'll need a streaming device, like a Roku Express ($30), Roku Ultra ($100), Apple TV ($150-$200), Google Chromecast ($35-$70), or Amazon Fire TV ($50). Many game consoles like the PS4 and XBox 360 can run streaming apps. Note: As of June 28, 2020, HBO Max is not yet available on Roku devices.

• Most streaming services offer a free introductory trial for new subscribers for 1 week to a month.

• Streaming devices like the Roku, Chomecast and AppleTV are widely-available at retailers including Walmart[8] , Target[9] , and Amazon[10] .

1.  www.netflix.com/signup/planform
2.  help.hulu.com/s/article/how-much-does-hulu-cost?language=en_US
3.  www.disneyplus.com/
4.  www.amazon.com/amazonprime
5.  www.amazon.com/gp/browse/16256994011
6.  www.hbomax.com
7.  www.hbomax.com/do-i-already-have-access
8.  www.walmart.com/search/?cat_id=0&grid=true&query=streaming
9.  www.target.com/c/streaming-video-tvs-home-theater-electronics/-/N-7hfaq
10.  www.amazon.com/s?k=steaming+media+players

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