Due to the new “Cuties” movie on Netflix, a lot of people have canceled their Netflix subscriptions…but now they are wondering what to use instead! If this is you, or you just want something new to watch, I scoured all my resources and came up with this list of alternatives that other parents have mentioned trying out. These include entertainment, educational and Christian-based video services. (I’m assuming everyone is already familiar with Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney Plus, Google Video, etc.)
I am still a great advocate about deliberately choosing what we consume in the media, and again, I am not familiar with most of these platforms. But I thought I would gather a list to be helpful. Most of these companies offer a free trial- so feel free to experiment a bit!
Entertainment
Roku channels
Cost: Variable
If you have a Roku like I do (I refuse to pay for cable), then make sure you check out the bazillion channels it has. Some are free and some, like Netflix, require a subscription.
Frndly
Cost: $5.99/month
Contains 15 live channels with DVR available. Includes Hallmark (three different channels), Curiosity Stream (see below), as well as outdoors, sports, inspiration and shopping channels.
Sling TV
Cost: $30/month
Some people know about this, but some don’t, so I decided to include it. This is labeled “the best of cable”. It gives you two different package options with different channels in each. This is available on a variety of platforms.
Pluto
Cost: FREE
As I researched this site, I honestly didn’t love it. It felt slimey. This looks like the cable you get in hotel rooms. Not that great, but ok if you are super duper bored and lower your expectations. I don’t recommend it for families, but wanted you to be informed about it.
Acorn
Cost: $5.99
British TV- are you a fan? I love period pieces, but this service is new to me.
Peacock TV
Cost: FREE
An offering of NBC, this has a ton of well known, popular shows.
Educational
Curiosity Stream
Cost: as low as $2.99/ month or $19.99/year
This only offers documentaries. Topics are: Science, History, Technology, Nature, Society, and Lifestyle. Also has special documentaries for kids.
The Great Courses Plus
The Great Courses Plus are courses designed to make in-depth, lifelong learning possible. They have courses on a ton of topics and go quite deep. Each course has a different teacher who is a master in their field and they give a series of video lectures- some are quite lengthy. Each video is from 30-45 minutes long. They also have high school centric courses that I know some use for homeschool.
Generation Genius
Cost: $95/year
Basically, this is a science curriculum. Includes videos, lesson plans, quizzes, discussion questions, ect. Created by a PhD from UCLA, and the former president of Marvel TV and Animation. Videos have professional actors, and videos are for grades K-8.
Christian-Based
Pureflix
Cost: starts at $6.95/month, billed yearly.
Christian entertainment. Includes movies such as “Fireproof”, “Gifted Hands”, “God’s Not Dead”, “The Chosen” and others. Also includes lots of cartoons for kids.
Yippee TV
Cost: $7.99/month or $67/year
This Christian + entertainment platform is for the kiddos. Veggie Tales, Madeline, parent-approved Youtube videos, etc.
BYU TV
Cost: FREE
Family friendly tv. Besides religious content, it also includes “Heartland” and BYU sports. My kids enjoy “Dwight in Shining Armor”, “All Around Champion” and “Studio C”.
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