As we face another period stuck in our homes, we're all wondering how we're going to avoid endlessly scrolling down the TV before opting for another repeat of 'Friends'.
Fear not - you can broaden your options with plenty of free TV streaming trials that you can take advantage of right now.
You've probably already used some of these, but you could always get another household member to sign up if that's possible.
Let's take a look at the free streaming trials available now.
Netflix
Annoyingly, Netflix doesn't currently offer a free trial. And it's just announced that its selection of free previews have been removed from the platform.
We'll keep you posted if any form of free content reappears.
Amazon Prime Video - 30 day free trial
Amazon Prime continues to expand its offering. You can watch hundreds of shows and movies, including Amazon Originals. Amazon has also upped its game in terms of sport content - it now competes with Sky for the big Premier League games, plus European football. And has a strong tennis offering too.
Here are a few of the titles currently streaming:
The Boys
The Walking Dead: World Beyond
The Grand Tour
Jack Ryan
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
American Gods
It's £5.99/month for Prime Video after the trial period, or £7.99 for the full Amazon Prime subscription. So make a note to cancel if you don't want to start paying.
Apple TV+ - 7 day free trial
The standard trial is 7 days. At £4.99/month, it's the cheapest of the big streaming platforms. And despite a production hiatus due to the pandemic, Apple has still been consistently adding new content for customers.
You can also get one year free if you buy certain Apple devices, or one month free if you're rolling it into an Apple One bundle of up to 5 other Apple services. If you're thinking of getting a new Apple device and interested in Apple TV+, you'd be saving around £60 a year on the subscription fee.
Here are a few of the Apple Originals to choose from:
Defending Jacob
The Morning Show
Oprah's Book Club
Greyhound starring Tom Hanks
Tehran
Servant
Dickinson
See
BritBox - 7 day free trial
BritBox is still relatively new to the streaming game and features a mixture of old and more recent shows from across the BBC, ITV and Channel 4.
It's £5.99/month after the trial period, so make a note to cancel if you don't want to start paying.
Here are some of the shows currently streaming:
Spitting Image
Downton Abbey
Spooks
Mum
Cold Courage
The Shadow Line
Broadchurch
Happy Valley
Quick tip: if you're only interested in one or two particular shows, just check they're not available for free elsewhere (e.g. iPlayer. ITV Hub).
NOW TV: free 7 day trials
You can get free 7 day trials for all the NOW TV passes, except Sky Sports. Yep, one of each, which could keep you going for nearly a month!
Here are the passes available.
1) Entertainment Pass (titles include I Hate Suzie, Euphoria, Watchmen)
£9.99/month after the trial.
2) Sky Cinema Pass (titles include Trolls World Tour, Cats, Sonic The Hedgehog, LIttle Women)
£11.99/month after the trial.
3) Kids Pass (titles include Dawn of the Croods, Zog, The Cat in the Hat)
£3.99/month after the trial.
4) hayu Pass (titles include Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Backyard Envy, Flipping Exes)
It's £4.99/month after the trial BUT you can get a full 1 month trial if you subscribe direct (see below).
NOW TV has some pretty strong customer retention offers - so if you do decide to cancel after your free trial, you could be offered a discounted price to becoming a paying member.
hayu - 1 month free trial
THE platform for fans of reality TV shows from the US
Currently streaming are popular shows including:
Keeping Up With The Kardashians
Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City
Snapped
Killer Siblings
The Bachelorette
You can get a free 1 month trial if you go direct (it's £4.99/month after the trial period, so make a note to cancel if you don't want to start paying).
STARZPLAY - 7 day free trial
This relatively new platform features a mixture of popular US tv shows and movies, with a focus on dramas, thrillers and action.
You can also get it through Amazon Prime. It's £4.99/month after the trial period, so make a note to cancel if you don't want to start paying.
Popular titles currently streaming include:
Pennyworth
Castle Rock
Fringe
Mad Men
Mr Mercedes
Spartacus
Acorn TV - 30 day free trial
Probably one you've never heard of! This BritBox-themed platform offers a wide range of classic British TV shows and other shows from abroad. While it's quite a specific niche, there are likely a few hidden gems to keep you occupied for 30 days!
A selection of the titles currently streaming are:
Agatha Raisin
Keeping Faith
Collision
The Bletchley Circle
Foyle's War
The Miniaturist
It's £4.99/month after the trial period, so make a note to cancel if you don't want to start paying.
Again, you might find some of these titles are available for free on iPlayer or ITV Hub, or they might also be on BritBox or Netflix.
Disney+ - No free trial at the moment
Mickey's in a bad mood. Disney+ no longer offers a free trial.
You can get 6 months for free if you sign up to O2 or upgrade your contract, which would save you nearly £36 (assuming your switch to O2 is value for money).
ITV Hub ad-free - 7 day free trial
If you want to watch ITV Hub minus all the annoying ad breaks, there's a subscription version that removes all the ads. And you can get this for free for 7 days.
It's £4.99/month after the trial period, so make a note to cancel if you don't want to start paying.
There are hundreds of programmes/box sets - old and new - to watch uninterrupted.
Here are just a few:
Liar
Marcella
Grantchester
The Real Housewives of Jersey
TOWIE
All 4+ - 14 day free trial
If you want to watch All 4 without the ads, there's a version called All 4+. And you can get this for free for 14 days.
It's £3.99/month after the trial period, so make a note to cancel if you don't want to start paying.
With over 1600 shows and nearly 300 box sets, you can enjoy the classics and new shows.
Here a few currently streaming:
The Inbetweeners
ER
The West Wing
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Made in Chelsea
Great British Bake Off
Summary
Don't forget, you can still access a wide range of free content from the major television channels:
iPlayer
ITV Hub
All 4
My5
You'll probably find some crossover, with the same programmes available on multiple platforms - especially with British programmes.
There are lots of free-trial options (if you've not already used them). So have fun enjoying all the content and remember to cancel before the trial ends. The easiest thing to do is simply sign up and then cancel straight away - you'll still get to use the trial for the whole period.
Comments