Which streaming service is right for you?
The TV landscape is set for a seismic shift in the coming months, with the arrival of new streaming platforms Apple TV+, Disney+, HBO Max and NBCUniversal’s Peacock.
These new options enter an already booming landscape, with established streamers like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and CBS All Access offering their own lineups of buzzy original series and libraries of binge-able favorites from years past.
Netflix
Bottom line: The streaming service trying to be everything to everybody.
Price: The $12.99 per month standard plan allows for streaming on two different devices simultaneously and includes high-definition video when available. There is also a basic plan for $8.99 a month and a premium plan for $15.99 a month.
Streaming since 2007.
Back catalog titles: "Breaking Bad," "Mad Men," "Grey’s Anatomy," "Schitt’s Creek," "NCIS," future home of "Seinfeld" (2021)
Original series: "House of Cards," "Orange Is the New Black," ""Stranger Things," "Black Mirror," "Big Mouth," "13 Reasons Why."
Amazon Prime Video
Bottom line: How about some TV to go with your free shipping?
Price: $12.99 per month or $119 a year for a full Amazon Prime membership, which includes shipping, video, music and more. $8.99 per month for Prime Video only.
Evolved into Prime’s video-on-demand service in 2011.
Back catalog titles: “Downton Abbey,” “The Americans,” “Orphan Black,” “Mr. Robot,” “Magnum P.I.”
Original series: “Transparent,” “Fleabag,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” “Catastrophe,” “Bosch”
Hulu
Bottom line: The place to catch up on current network shows and recent cable favorites.
Price: $5.99 per month with ads, or ad-free for $11.99 per month. (Plans with live TV are also available, starting at $44.99 per month.)
Subscription component launched in 2010.
Back catalog titles: "Adventure Time," "Key & Peele," "How I Met Your Mother," "Atlanta," "The Shield," "Scrubs"
Original series: "The Handmaid’s Tale," "Difficult People," "Marvel’s Runaways," "The Act," "Casual," "Castle Rock," "Four Weddings and a Funeral"
CBS All Access
Bottom line: For fans of “Star Trek,” “The Good Wife” and CBS classics of yore.
Price: $5.99 per month (or $59.99 per year) with ads; $9.99 per month (or $99.99 per year) ad-free
The first of the Big Three TV networks to launch a stand-alone streaming service in 2014.
Back catalog titles: “Caroline in the City,” “Hawaii Five-O,” “JAG,” “Under the Dome,” one of the nonexclusive homes of all the “Star Trek” shows.
Original series: “Star Trek: Discovery,” “The Twilight Zone,” “The Good Fight,” “Why Women Kill,” “Star Trek: Picard”
Apple TV+
Bottom line: The prestige TV you know, but with Silicon Valley polish.
Price: $4.99 per month
Launches Nov. 1.
Back catalog titles: N/A
Original series: “See,” “The Morning Show,” “Dickinson,” “Snoopy in Space,” “Oprah’s Book Club”
Disney+
Bottom line: The new entrant for genre fans — and their kids.
Price: $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year
Launches Nov. 12.
Back catalog titles: “Boy Meets World,” “Star Wars Rebels,” “DuckTales,” “Kim Possible,” “The Simpsons”
Original series: “The Mandalorian,” “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series,” “The World According to Jeff Goldblum,” “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” “Lizzie McGuire”
Peacock
Bottom line: “Must-see TV,” revisited.
Price: Reports range from free (with ads) for those who receive NBC through a pay-TV provider to $10 or $12 per month.
Launches April 2020.
Back catalog titles: “The Office” (from 2021), “Parks and Recreation,” “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Cheers,” “Frasier”
Original series: “Battlestar Galactica” reboot, “Saved By the Bell” reboot, “Punky Brewster” reboot, “Dr. Death,” “Brave New World,” “Rutherford Falls”
HBO Max
Bottom line: HBO pitches a bigger tent
Price: $15-$18/month range predicted
Launches spring 2020.
Back catalog titles: “Friends,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Sesame Street,” “Doctor Who,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”
Original series: “Dune: The Sisterhood,” “Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai,” “Love Life,” “The Boondocks” reboot, “The Flight Attendant”
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