Theater Alternatives – Part 2

By Ben Miles

To paraphrase a hoary cliche, when life gives us confinement, make some refinements. With live theater, movie theaters, concert venues and theme parks off-limits for the foreseeable future, now may be the opportunity to explore some in-home entertainment possibilities.

Hulu

Plans: For $7.99 a month, subscribers can access the Hulu Streaming Library. For $39.99 a month, viewers have access to the Hulu With Live TV plan, which features more than 50 live and on-demand channels and allows streaming on two screens simultaneously. Add-ons like enhanced cloud DVR, unlimited screens, and no commercials are also available.

Netflix

Plans: For $7.99 a month, viewers can watch in standard definition on one device at a time with the Basic plan. The $10.99 per month Standard plan throws in high definition and one more device for simultaneous streaming. The Premium plan goes for $13.99 per month, provides ultra-high definition, and lets you stream on up to four screens at once.

Sling TV

Plans: The base plan, Sling Orange, gives viewers more than 25 channels for $20 per month. You can get Sling Blue and the more than 40 channels that come with it for an extra $5 per month. For the best of both worlds, get the Sling Orange + Sling Blue plan, which comes with more than 50 channels for $40 per month.

HBO Now

Plans: This service (not to be confused with HBO Go, which requires a television subscription) runs for $14.99 per month. One cool perk is you can watch your shows in virtual reality on the HBO Now VR app. You also won’t have to sit through any ads.

Amazon Prime Video

Plans: If you already have an Amazon Prime subscription, you’re in luck. Amazon Prime Video comes included for Prime members. If you aren’t an Amazon Prime customer, you can subscribe to the video service alone for $8.99 per month. The service has a surprisingly large collection of titles.

YouTube TV

Plans: The only plan available costs $40 per month, with add-ons like the Showtime network available for an additional monthly fee. One benefit is unlimited DVR storage. Your recorded programs will be saved for up to nine months, compared with only about a month on some other streaming services. With more than 50 networks plus local news and sports, YouTube TV’s offerings are greater than most of the others on this list. Also, you can create up to six accounts with your subscription, and you can stream on up to three devices at once.

Philo TV

Plans: You can get 37 channels for $16 per month, or 46 channels for $20 per month. Channel add-ons are available for an extra $4 per month.

Viewers can watch on up to three devices at once, or use a cloud DVR service to record shows to watch up to 30 days later.

PlayStation Vue

Plans: For $39.99 per month, users get more than 40 channels of popular live TV with the Access plan. One step higher up the ladder is the Core plan, which adds sports to the mix for a total of $44.99 per month. The $54.99 per month Elite plan throws in movies, and the priciest subscription is the $74.99 per month Ultra plan, which includes all of the above plus premium networks like HBO and Showtime, for a total of more than 90 networks.

Pluto TV

Plans: None. Pluto TV is 100 percent free to use.

As the only entirely free service on this list, Pluto TV offers more than 100 channels,  no subscription necessary. Besides TV and movies, the platform even features internet radio stations and videos. The streaming service is compatible with many devices, including smart televisions like Vizio TVs or connected TV devices like Amazon Fire TVs. 

Fubo TV

Plans: Its English-language subscription plan, Fubo Premier, comes at a discounted rate of $19.99 for the first month, but then rises to $44.99 for each month after that. There’s also a Fubo Latino plan for $17.99 per month and a Fubo Português plan for $19.99 per month. 

The service offers an impressive 85 channels on the Premier plan as well as add-on channel packages. Fubo Premier subscribers can record and save up to 30 hours of programming with cloud DVR, or splurge on 500 hours for an additional $9.99 per month. The best part? The recordings are saved for as long as you want.

Most of these streaming services are available for subscription by visiting their websites – i.e., hulu. com, netflix.com, etc.

ben@beachcomber.news

In the coming weeks theater columnist Ben Miles will also offer book reviews for readers to enjoy.

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