TV and film streaming services guide

For many of us, streaming is just how we watch TV online these days, whether that's the latest TV shows or classic movies we've seen a hundred times.

Gone are the days of rushing home to catch your favourite TV shows when they aired or setting up your VCR (showing my age now) — instead, we binge and catch up on shows online whenever it suits us.

So the question nowadays isn’t so much whether you should stream TV, but rather which streaming platforms should you subscribe to?

Which TV streaming platforms should I subscribe to?

According to our research, 80% of UK households watch TV online via a streaming service, paying an average of £15.30 a month on subscriptions in 2021, up from £12.50 in 2019. And with prices rising even higher in 2022, the total has likely increased even further.

With so much content now being published online exclusively these days, choosing the right TV streaming service is vital to make sure you’re getting the most for your money.

Not sure of which streaming platform to subscribe to? Find out what's on TV in the coming months and which streaming services will give you access to your favourite shows and movies, and which are the best value for money for you.

Most popular TV streaming services

Some streaming platforms have become so ubiquitous with TV that you’d be hard-pressed to not know about them. How many of us haven’t heard of Netflix? But each platform has its own host of shows and films and will suit different viewers.

So which platforms should you subscribe to? Which streaming services offer the best offering of shows for you and your taste? Find out what suits you with our guide.

Netflix

Netflix is the platform that is synonymous with streaming, after reinventing how consumers watch TV and opening up the TV streaming market to competition from an increasing number of other services.

The biggest appeal of Netflix is their wealth of original content. It’s grown significantly in the ten years since House of Cards and Orange is the New Black in 2013.

Netflix has now been constantly producing original TV shows and movies that are available exclusively on the streaming service. Far from indie or small-budget productions, Netflix Originals have featured some major Hollywood stars, including Sandra Bullock, Gwyneth Paltrow and Henry Cavill. Plus, in recent years it has won some of the highest accolades in film & TV, including Oscars and Emmys.

Even though Netflix has lost some of its back-catalogue of shows in recent years to other streaming platforms, the sheer volume of original content is enough to keep its over 200 million subscribers entertained.

However, due to its rising cost and the emergence of Disney Plus, it has started to shed some of those subscribers since the start of 2022.

Netflix TV shows you should watch

• Stranger Things

• Heartstopper

• Wednesday

• Bridgerton

• The Crown

• Emily in Paris

• Sex Education

• You

• Tiger King

• The Witcher

• Ozark

• Grace and Frankie

• Selling Sunset

• Good Girls

In order to have the smoothest streaming experience, find out how to get the best broadband for streaming with our dedicated guide.

Disney Plus

Disney Plus is taking on Netflix as one of the biggest names in the streaming game. It allows users to access every single movie and TV show produced by Disney in its 80-year history. Every. Single. Disney movie. EVER!

And if that wasn’t enough to convince fans to part with their cash, Disney is also the owner of major movie franchises including Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar; plus many films under 20th Century Fox, all of which have plenty of existing content to watch and more original content planned for release in the coming years.

Check out our guide on How to watch Disney+ in the UK for more details.

Disney Plus TV shows you should watch

• Obi-Wan Kenobi

• Andor

• She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

• WandaVision

• Willow

• Hawkeye

• High School Musical: The Musical: The Series

• The Mandalorian

• Love, Victor

• Falcon & The Winter Soldier

• Loki

• The Book of Boba Fett

• Moon Knight

• The Dropout

• Welcome to Chippendales

Amazon Prime Video

The third major player in the streaming game is Amazon Prime, which until recently was known more for its next-day delivery than its delivery of high-quality original content.

The key selling factor of Amazon Prime Video is that it is included in the Amazon Prime membership, so those that look to save on the shipping costs of their online Christmas shopping are automatically given access to Amazon’s exclusive TV shows.

Amazon Prime TV shows you should watch

• The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

• The Wheel of Time

• The Marvelous Mrs Maisel

• The Boys

• The Terminal List

• Star Trek: Picard

• Bosch

• Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan

• Alex Rider

• Homecoming

• Vikings

• Tales From The Loop

• Fleabag

• The Expanse

• The Man in the High Castle

NOW

NOW was created and is owned by Sky TV, offering customers access to Sky’s massive library of TV shows that they can watch online and at their leisure. Sky’s exclusive deal with major US networks makes it the only place to see major TV shows such as The Mare of Easttown, Game of Thrones and Westworld.

Sky has even begun creating its own original TV shows and movies, using its position as the largest TV provider in the UK to distribute content to a huge audience.

NOW TV gives viewers the flexibility to gain access to Sky TV without having to take out more costly broadband and TV subscriptions.

NOW shows you should watch

• House of the Dragon

• Mare of Easttown

• Euphoria

• Succession

• The Flight Attendant

• White Lotus

• The Sopranos

• Billions

• Dexter: New Blood

• The Affair

• Game of Thrones

• A Discovery of Witches

• The Wire

• Big Little Lies

• Chernobyl

• The Walking Dead

Apple TV Plus

Apple has long been a name associated with technology and gadgets, and following its success in the world of music streaming with Apple Music, Tim Cook and the gang have invested a lot of money in creating their own original content on their streaming service, Apple TV+.

Initially launching with just a handful of TV shows and documentaries, Apple TV+ is set to grow its catalogue of content in the coming months and years, relying on complementary 1-year subscriptions – available to anyone who purchases a new Apple product – to grow a faithful following.

Apple TV Plus shows you should watch

• The Morning Show

• Severance

• Prehistoric Planet

• The Essex Serpent

• Ted Lasso

• Slow Horses

• The Essex Serpent

• See

• Pachinko

• Central Park

• Mythic Quest

• Roar

• Dickinson

• Defending Jacob

You can still get three months of Apple TV+ for free when you purchase a new Apple product or when you get a new iPhone deal.

Britbox

In a joint effort to keep UK audiences appeased and British eyes on British TV shows, BBC and ITV have created the Britbox streaming services. This allows viewers to access all the original UK content that they are used to watching via traditional TV services.

Britbox TV shows you should watch

• Downton Abbey

• Broadchurch

• Gavin & Stacey

• The Vicar of Dibley

hayu

Hayu is the online home of reality TV, with their biggest stars of course being the Kardashians. Owned and operated by NBC Universal, hayu is an incredibly popular platform for those looking to binge reality TV and enjoy the guilty pleasures of life without restrictions.

Hayu TV shows you should watch

• The Kardashians

• Revenge Body

• Million Dollar Listing

• Vanderpump Rules

How can I stream TV?

Now that you know which streaming platform(s) you should be subscribing to, how are some of the best ways to watch TV shows online?

Whether you choose to get a subscription to Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, NOW, Apple TV+ or Britbox, each of those services have dedicated apps available on both Apple and Android devices.

What's the minimum broadband speed for streaming?

To stream TV, you will need decent high-speed internet, a generous data allowance and a streaming device.

Typically, for videos in standard definition, you only need a speed of around 1.5Mbps, although 5Mbps is ideal. If you’re unsure of your internet connection, check out our broadband speed test to see if yours is fast enough.

If you’re streaming to a device with a mobile connection, make sure you’re on Wi-Fi or that you have enough data in your plan. Streaming can really eat into data allowances if you’re not careful. According to Netflix’s figures, one hour of streaming standard definition video uses up to 1GB and one hour of HD video uses roughly 3GB of data.

Even if you’re on Wi-Fi, your home broadband may have a usage cap. If you stream a lot of videos, you might want to consider switching to a different broadband plan.

Read our guide for more info on the best broadband speed for streaming.

What devices can I stream TV on?

Nowadays, pretty much any device that connects to the internet is capable of streaming videos, although most services have some restrictions in place on the number or type of devices you can use to stream content.

You can stream video on your TV using any of the following:

• Laptops

• Tablets

• Smart TVs

• Blu-ray players

• Certain smartphones

• Certain set-top boxes (including Sky Stream)

• Certain games consoles including PS5 and Xbox

Depending on your set-top box and TV, the easiest way to stream video to your TV is typically a dedicated streaming device like a Roku, Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast or NOW TV box. Although you still have to pay for some individual services, streaming devices are quick and easy to plug into your TV.

You can use multiple devices on your TV as long as you have enough HDMI ports or other inputs — which is good since, again, some of these devices don’t allow you to stream certain services. Before deciding which streaming service or device is right for you, it’s important to understand the various restrictions in place.

For example, if you have the NOW TV app on your iPad, you can’t connect it to your TV and watch it on the larger screen.

For a full rundown on what streaming devices support what services, check out our guide to turning your TV into a smart TV.

Live streaming

Streaming live TV isn’t as easy or available as on-demand TV — for now. It’s steadily growing in popularity, but the options are still more limited than streaming catch-up TV.

So far, only BBC, ITV and Channel 4 allow you to live stream TV. Some streaming services like TVPlayer, NOW TV and Amazon Prime let you live stream TV too (if you subscribe to the right channels).

Premium channels are a bit easier to stream live. Both Sky Sports and BT Sport have dedicated apps so you can always watch your favourite matches no matter where you are.

To find out more about how to stream live TV, read our guide to how to watch live TV online.