How to Choose a Streaming Platform

When the BBC launched their catch-up iPlayer service back in 2007, few people believed we were witnessing the future of broadcasting. Another five years would pass before Netflix began offering films and TV series to view over broadband internet connections. Yet in the last decade, streaming platforms have become ubiquitous – so much so that choosing the best ones today is increasingly difficult…

Something old, something new

Think of streaming services, and you’ll probably think of Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. Both evolved from mail order services, delivering films online instead of by post. Newer entrants to the market include the plus-themed Disney+, Paramount+, discovery+ and Apple TV+, while HBO Max is expected to launch shortly.

Alongside established films and series, every streaming platform funds original and exclusive content to attract new subscribers. Programming may also be withdrawn by its creator from other platforms and redistributed on its own service; all 279 episodes of The Big Bang Theory were recently withdrawn from Netflix, to bolster Paramount+’s content stockpile.

Team America

This is a market dominated by American brands, and Stateside content. While iPlayer and NOW TV focus on British programming, iPlayer is free to licence fee payers, while NOW serves up Sky’s fine dramas and documentaries without satellite dishes or annual subscriptions. The only uniquely British streaming platform is BritBox, which has enjoyed greater success abroad than at home. It has plenty of high-calibre content but relatively little new material, and licence fee payers may resent effectively paying twice for BBC shows.

Netflix and Amazon offer some British content (The Crown and The Grand Tour, for instance), but most of their output was created with American audiences in mind. There’s little British programming on Apple TV+ or the newly-launched Paramount+, while Disney+ is a repository of Marvel, Disney and 20th Century Fox output alongside a few original series.

What about content?

Ultimately, your choice of streaming media platforms will depend on which programmes and films appeal the most. If you’re a Marvel fan, Disney+ will be hard to resist, while Paramount+’s complete Star Trek discography is equally compelling for Trekkies. Netflix produces many original movies, whereas Amazon prioritises films made by the big studios.

The unprecedented competition in this sector means you won’t find all the shows you love in one place, and tough choices are required.

Most platforms offer one or two British originals, with Disney+’s compelling Pistol series and Apple’s Ted Lasso acting as marquee content in Britain. The platforms hope their suggestion algorithms will identify other things of interest, though arguably only Netflix has sufficient depth of content for long-term viewing. These platforms are constantly evolving, though; Disney was very family-focused when it first launched, but it’s subsequently added adult dramas like The Americans and 24.

Cost benefit analysis

When it was announced in July that Netflix lost almost a million subscribers in the second quarter of this year, most observers were surprised the figure wasn’t higher. We might be living in a golden age of original programming, but we’re also living through a cost of living crisis. Streaming subscriptions are luxury items, especially when ITV Hub and All4 remain freely available.

A monthly Peacock pass costs £9.99 a month, while Paramount+ is £6.99 per month and even Netflix’s cheapest package costs £72 per year. Amazon Prime and discovery+ demand an annual payment in advance (the former’s will increase to £95 from September), though BritBox is contract-free. Before subscribing to any platform, ask yourself if you can really afford it – and check when you can cancel it in case household finances continue to tighten.

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