A List of All Streaming Services Offering Free Content and Extended Trials

[Plutonius]

How are these legal? aren't they paid cable tv?

They are all free streaming services with limited commercials.

PlutoTV is the closest format to cable TV with different channels of live programming along with on demand. On one channel, they are currently showing all the older Bond movies (no Daniel Craig).

The others are more similar to a Netflix format of on-demand.

 

[CarlJ]

Multiple streaming services are offering free content options right now, providing a wealth of free-to-watch TV shows and movies on a temporary basis. Below, we've rounded up all of the watch-free deals that we've found so far, and this is a great list to check out if you need something to do this weekend.

This article feels like it’s listing services that have some sort of special arrangement for free access to some of their material, alongside listing a lot of services that just have... a free trial, like they've always had. Both are useful to know about, bit they’re in somewhat different classes of novelty.

It’d be nice if the article would differentiate the two a bit more clearly. Or, if a company is simply offerings longer free trial, say that (“free trial is now 30 days, was previously 7 days”).

 

[kyjaotkb]

I would highly recommend Mubi, which offers a curated, rolling list of 30 art-house films (1 is added, 1 is removed each day, first in first out). The selection is very internstional with plenty of US, European and Asian cinema. Today, for instance, they have Blue Valentine, Coffee and Cigarettes, Sisters, Lady Vengeance, Army of Shadows...

You can get a free month by following the link below and, full disclaimer, I also receive a free month (I hope it’s okay with admins but feel free to remove this message - I am not affiliated with Mubi, just a happy subscriber).

If you like cinema, you'll love MUBI.

Life is too short for bad films. Every day we add a cinematic gem to our carefully curated selection. Start your free month now.

mubi.com

Enjoy!

 

[HiRez]

I watched the first (free) episode of Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet. The good news is it wasn't quite as bad as I was expecting based on the trailer. The bad news is, it wasn't that great and not compelling enough for me to sign up for Apple TV +. The first episode of See didn't impress me that much either.

I want to like Apple content but right now it's just not there for me, I think it's going to take a couple years.

 

[NightFox]

Disappointing to not see Disney+ here.

Disney+ has a 7-day free trial (in the UK, not sure about elsewhere).

 

[locksmack]

Forgot ******* Premium

Edit: Name of service automatically censored. Think adult video-hub.

 

[Ceege]

CBS All Access does NOT let you choose between limited commercial or commercial free for the free trial (like Hulu). The one month free trial is Limited Commercial. If you select Commercial Free, they immediately charge your credit card 9.95 without any caution or warning, terminating the free trial. Totally deceitful.

Not true. I chose commercial free and was not charged anything.
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The CBS one lets you pick. Not sure about Hulu as I’m already subscribed.

Also I’ve read on other sites once you do the cbs month free trial you go into your account enter a code “ENJOY” and it extends for another month so 2 months free. Plan to try myself soon and I’ll report back if it works

I just entered "ENJOY" and got an extra month free! It works!

 

[ipponrg]

They are all free streaming services with limited commercials.

PlutoTV is the closest format to cable TV with different channels of live programming along with on demand. On one channel, they are currently showing all the older Bond movies (no Daniel Craig).

The others are more similar to a Netflix format of on-demand.

The problem I have with Pluto TV is it is pretty niche. You can get most of the real live content it has from other services. The other content is simply VOD content stitched in with ctv ad inventories. It’s why early on you saw multiples of the same ad. The Viacom deal definitely helped them get some more content
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How are these legal? aren't they paid cable tv?

They make deals with content providers with a target ROI. Their model (although questionable) is to get content that is not premium, ie content that is difficult to monetize, and insert ads that are stitched. It’s a win for both content providers and these free streaming services. They are making money off old content

 

[Noelmel]

Not true. I chose commercial free and was not charged anything.
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I just entered "ENJOY" and got an extra month free! It works!

Awesome! Did you enter a code at the beginning too I’ve seen the website listing “ALL” (to make it a month not the normal 7 days) ? And then where did you enter ENJOY?

 

[wegster]

Add Pluto.tv and Crackle to the general list of 'free.'

I'm pretty unimpressed altogether with Apple TV/TV+ - as far as I can tell, there is no simple way to say - show me only 'free' content included with my subscription. Netflix, Hulu and others are all-in-one, I can filter Prime easily to exclude added-fee content, but Apple TV seems not not have this option, even if I disallow purchases from a device.

As a result, I'm on the 'free 12 months' but basically, unless I know I'm looking for something specifically known to be free and only on ATV - it's a waste of my time, and when I AM looking for something I know will be a paid movie, because ATV is so worthless (to me) otherwise, I'm more likely to pay for <whatever> somewhere else.

 

[Ceege]

Awesome! Did you enter a code at the beginning too I’ve seen the website listing “ALL” (to make it a month not the normal 7 days) ? And then where did you enter ENJOY?

Yes, I entered a code about 2 weeks ago to get the free month. Then, just entered “ENJOY” where it said enter promo code. Got an extra month!

 

[ftaok]

I watched the first (free) episode of Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet. The good news is it wasn't quite as bad as I was expecting based on the trailer. The bad news is, it wasn't that great and not compelling enough for me to sign up for Apple TV +. The first episode of See didn't impress me that much either.

I want to like Apple content but right now it's just not there for me, I think it's going to take a couple years.

I know full well that I'll probably sound like a paid shill, but I'll risk it.

I'm lucky enough to have a full subscription for aTV+ and while there is a dearth of programming, what little they do have is excellent.

I enjoyed Mythic Quest very much, even though I thought it was gonna suck bad.

Morning Show, For All Mankind, Amazing Stories, and Home Before Dark were all top notch. Unfortunately, none of them are a part of this free promotion. I would bet if you watched the first episode of any of these series', you'd be hooked. Especially For All Mankind.

EDIT - noelmel pointed out that For All Mankind is part of the free preview.

 

[Tinmania]

CBS All Access does NOT let you choose between limited commercial or commercial free for the free trial (like Hulu). The one month free trial is Limited Commercial. If you select Commercial Free, they immediately charge your credit card 9.95 without any caution or warning, terminating the free trial. Totally deceitful.

I just signed up for the trial and it most certainly did let me choose commercial free. After-all, what you sign up for during the trial is what they (optimistically) hope they will be billing you for after the trial. If they forced everyone to the cheaper plan for the trial, they wouldn't get any higher-tier new-adds.

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The CBS one lets you pick. Not sure about Hulu as I’m already subscribed.

Also I’ve read on other sites once you do the cbs month free trial you go into your account enter a code “ENJOY” and it extends for another month so 2 months free. Plan to try myself soon and I’ll report back if it works

Thanks. I picked the no ads option (9.99/month), and got the 30 day trial. I then went back and added ENJOY as a promo code and my trial was instantly extended for another 30 days. Currently enjoying Tommy! Thanks again.

 

[Noelmel]

I know full well that I'll probably sound like a paid shill, but I'll risk it.

I'm lucky enough to have a full subscription for aTV+ and while there is a dearth of programming, what little they do have is excellent.

I enjoyed Mythic Quest very much, even though I thought it was gonna suck bad.

Morning Show, For All Mankind, Amazing Stories, and Home Before Dark were all top notch. Unfortunately, none of them are a part of this free promotion. I would bet if you watched the first episode of any of these series', you'd be hooked. Especially For All Mankind.

For All Mankind is part of the free shows right now. I wish Morning Show and Amazing Stories was I want to see those the most

 

[Noelmel]

I just signed up for the trial and it most certainly did let me choose commercial free. After-all, what you sign up for during the trial is what they (optimistically) hope they will be billing you for after the trial. If they forced everyone to the cheaper plan for the trial, they wouldn't get any higher-tier new-adds.

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Thanks. I picked the no ads option (9.99/month), and got the 30 day trial. I then went back and added ENJOY as a promo code and my trial was instantly extended for another 30 days. Currently enjoying Tommy! Thanks again.

Awesome! I plan to do this also

 

[ftaok]

For All Mankind is part of the free shows right now. I wish Morning Show and Amazing Stories was I want to see those the most

My bad. I just edited my original post. It was a great series. Ron Moore (and his team) knows how to tell a story. Been a huge fan of his since the BSG reboot.

 

[tugger]

EPIX is free now until the middle of May via the AppleTV app. Two series that I binged on this weekend and worth mentioning are "Deep State" (2 seasons) and "War of the Worlds." Neither is at the quality level of "Homeland" or "Game of Thrones" but I really enjoyed both and, bonus, they're free!

 

[ftaok]

EPIX is free now until the middle of May via the AppleTV app. Two series that I binged on this weekend and worth mentioning are "Deep State" (2 seasons) and "War of the Worlds." Neither is at the quality level of "Homeland" or "Game of Thrones" but I really enjoyed both and, bonus, they're free!

That was cool that Epix and HBO worked their free stuff right into aTV+. Saves the hassle of having to sign up and remembering to cancel (looking at you CBS).

Just took advantage of free Epix last night and watched Bumblebee. I tell you what, it took like 15 10 years, but they finally made a good Transformers movie. Great story and excellent character development for the Transformers. Plus John Cena gets a couple of great lines (in the mode of Dave Bautista getting the best lines in GotG).

 

[Noelmel]

I just signed up for the trial and it most certainly did let me choose commercial free. After-all, what you sign up for during the trial is what they (optimistically) hope they will be billing you for after the trial. If they forced everyone to the cheaper plan for the trial, they wouldn't get any higher-tier new-adds.

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Thanks. I picked the no ads option (9.99/month), and got the 30 day trial. I then went back and added ENJOY as a promo code and my trial was instantly extended for another 30 days. Currently enjoying Tommy! Thanks again.

[mention]Tinmania [/mention] [mention]Ceege [/mention] I finally did this about a week ago and it worked my billing date was June 23rd ish. Happened to check my account today and now it says may 23rd. The promo code is still applied. Better check yours and see if it’s changed?

 

[shadow puppet]

SlingTV currently offers a limited time "Happy Hour" promo free from 5P-midnight. No info yet about when the offer terminates. It's for their blue tier channels.

What you get during Happy Hour

✔️ 50+ live channels
✔️ 50k+ On-Demand movies & shows
✔️ Free Cloud DVR
✔️ Watch on 3 screens simultaneously

Happy Hour Across America

 

[Noelmel]

SlingTV currently offers a limited time "Happy Hour" promo free from 5P-midnight. No info yet about when the offer terminates. It's for their blue tier channels.



Happy Hour Across America

Got this email today ending soon

 

[shadow puppet]

Got this email today ending soon

I did too. It was fun while it lasted.

 

[Tinmania]

[mention]Tinmania [/mention] [mention]Ceege [/mention] I finally did this about a week ago and it worked my billing date was June 23rd ish. Happened to check my account today and now it says may 23rd. The promo code is still applied. Better check yours and see if it’s changed?

They charged me this month! I didn't see your reply so never checked back in April (again). I have screenshots showing a June renewal billing date so I am going to dispute it. I had a reminder and calendar event scheduled (next month) to ensure I wouldn't forget to cancel. Ironically they offered me two more months at half price when I went to cancel, which I would have agreed to if it were not for taking away a promo offer code without telling me.

 

[Noelmel]

They charged me this month! I didn't see your reply so never checked back in April (again). I have screenshots showing a June renewal billing date so I am going to dispute it. I had a reminder and calendar event scheduled (next month) to ensure I wouldn't forget to cancel. Ironically they offered me two more months at half price when I went to cancel, which I would have agreed to if it were not for taking away a promo offer code without telling me.

A week ago I messaged them and told them about the billing date changing they basically said it was an error and nothing they can do and offered me the same half off deal. I cancelled a few days ago before I was billed. Then the next day I got an email for another free month to come back lol