Netflix has been around since 1997, and with the pandemic, its viewers increased to millions. With their multiple plans, including an affordable mobile plan, they have generated a huge viewer base. However, there are a few other alternatives that did come up along Netflix that offer some exclusive or even free content.
Since Netflix has been around for a while, viewers have been flocking to other OTT platforms for fresh content. Many streaming services provide you with a lot of variety and specific content. Five sites or apps for you to check out are provided in this article.
Paramount Plus
Newly launched in 2021 and known before as CBS All Access, Paramount Plus is an American video streaming service. They are currently expanding and covering many countries. They offer two plans, namely, Essential and Premium plans. The two plans consist of the following:
- Premium: You can watch it on a monthly basis at $9.99/month or yearly at $99.99 and get a discount of 16%. In addition, they broadcast the CBS station live. However, with live TV streaming, you might see some advertisements. They might show promotional Paramount Plus content to keep you updated on plans during a few shows as well.
- Essential: This plan comes on a monthly basis of $4.99, and you get to save 16% here with the annual plan of $49.99. This plan does offer limited advertisements. The local live CBS station is not included; however, you can view live NFL on CBS and UEFA Champions League separately.
| Features | Premium | Essential |
|---|---|---|
| Plans | $9.99/month | $99.99/year | $4.99/month | $49.99/year |
| With SHOWTIME | $12.99/month | $129.99/year | $7.99/month | $79.99/year |
Popular Picks: Star Trek series, 1883, Halo, Mayor of Kingston, Indiana Jones series, Godfather series, Mission: Impossible series, The Good Fight, Scream series, NCIS and CSI, many such shows and movies. There is a wide variety of genres and live sports for all audiences.
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Also read: Paramount Plus error code 124: 6 Fixes
Discovery+
First launched in India, Discovery Plus is an online streaming service that provides quality learning and entertaining content. Their content comes from the various Discovery’s old programs, spin-offs, and newly acquired media. Expected to merge with HBO max in 2023. It has many sections, including Adventure, Science, History, Free Watch, Investigation, and many others.
Discovery Plus has two premium subscriptions plans:
| Monthly Plan | Annual Plan |
|---|---|
| ₹199 | ₹399 |
| 2 devices/account | 2 devices/account |
You’ll be thrilled to know that currently, there is a limited-time offer on the Annual plan of 25% at ₹299/year. There is also some content that you can view for free without the premium plans. Discovery Plus streams live on 11 channels like Animal Planet, TLC, Eurosport, Food Network, and others in their premium plans.
Popular Picks: The Journey of India, The Island with Bear Grylls, Salvage Hunters, Serengity, Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch, Naked and Afraid, among many exclusive and brand new content.
Sign up for Discovery Plus here
Also read: How to fix Discovery Plus error 0C-C009?
Showtime
Owned by Paramount Network is like a movie theatre-cum-store where you can stream shows and buy their apparel. Currently, Showtime has a limited-period offer of $3.99/month for three months after 30 days free. It has the following categories: Series, Movies, Sports with sports-related podcasts, Documentaries, Comedy, and Bloody Good which includes their choice of movies.
Showtime is versatile and can be accessed via other platforms, including Paramount+, Prime Video, Apple TV app, Hulu, The Roku Channel, Sling TV, Youtube TV, and, fuboTV along with DirecTV Stream channel access as well. You can also add it to your TV subscription.
| Showtime Partners | Free Trial | Cost/month |
|---|---|---|
| Paramount+ | 7 days | $11.99 |
| Prime Video | 7 days | $10.99 |
| Hulu | 7 days | $10.99 |
| The Roku Channel | 30 days | $10.99 |
| Sling TV | – | $10 |
| Youtube TV | 14 days (subscription dependent) | $11 |
| fuboTV | 7 days | $10.99 |
| Apple TV | 30 days | $10.99 |
| DIRECTV STREAM | – | $5.50 for the first three months |
Popular Picks: Showtime streams multiple shows currently showing American Gigolo, Yellowjacket, The Circus, Let the Right One In, The First Lady, and many others. Other popular shows include Ray Donovan, The Tudors, Ziwe, Dexter, The Affair and celebrating LGBTQ history month with Shameless, The L Word and The Chi, among others. Showtime also has two categories of schedule: for TV and for On Demand and Streaming.
You can avail a 30-day trial for Showtime below and try the first three months for $3.99.
Subscribe to Showtime here
Disney+ Hotstar
It is an India-based OTT or over-the-top platform that provides content in various Indian languages and English. Initially started as Hotstar, Disney acquired it in April 2020. Their content included live sports, TV series, films, and third-party content from HBO and Showtime. It has expanded to now include other brands’ content as well, namely, National Geographic, Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios, Pixar, and many more.
Disney+ Hotstar has three subscription plans as follows:
| Features | Super Plan | Premium Plan |
|---|---|---|
| TV or Laptop | Yes | Yes |
| Ad Free | No | Yes |
| Compatible devices | 2 | 4 |
| Plans | ₹899/year | ₹1499/year | ₹299/month |
| Video Quality | Full HD (1080p) | 4K (2160p) |
Popular Picks: From various Bollywood movies to Indian shows, Disney+ Hotstar provides movies in 11 languages. It shows all of the old and new original Disney content, alongwith many series. You will also find plenty of upcoming movies and new content to browse. Some of them are House of Dragons, Chernobyl, Wrexham, Modern Family, and The Mandalorian, among many others.
You can check out Disney+Hotstar here
Also read: Why is Hotstar not working? 8 Fixes
Amazon Prime Video
If you are looking for really affordably priced plans and terrific content, Amazon Prime Video is the right place to begin. It is an online streaming platform offered by Amazon, among other features that come with an Amazon Prime subscription. They offer a 30-day free trial period with select credit, debit card, or UPI ID. The website is available in 32 languages and multiple audio languages as well.
Amazon Prime has many economical plans, you can also subscribe to additional channels to get extra content. Additional channels include Acorn TV, Discovery+, Lionsgate Play, Eros Now, Stingray, Hayu, AMC+, DocuBay, MUBI, Hoichoi, NammaFlix, manoramaMAX, and Shorts TV.
| Amazon Prime Video Plans | Cost |
|---|---|
| Monthly | ₹179 |
| Quarterly | ₹459 |
| Yearly | ₹1499 |
Popular Picks: The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, Four More Shots Please!, The Wheel of Time, The Terminal List, The Boys, Hanna, and Fleabag are some famous shows you can binge-watch. Popular movies include The Professor, One Night in Miami, The Blair Witch Project, and The Wolf of Wall Street, among scores of choices.
You can check out Amazon Prime Video here
Also read: Netflix vs Amazon Prime Video vs Hotstar vs YouTube Premium
Always curious, calm, and a little crazy, you can find me daydreaming or studying. An avid reader, traveler, and graduate of Aviation Science, I love gaining new experiences in life and star gazing.
You can contact her here: [email protected]
