The TV Trend That's Replacing Premium Streaming Services

Though cable television has been largely left behind for a more customized TV streaming experience, there is still a problem with modern-day TV watching: Prices keep increasing. There are a multitude of streaming services that raise their subscription fees every year. Joining a streaming app due to interest in the show offerings and price can quickly become a problem when the service begins to feel more expensive than it's worth.

This frustration has led to a trend of consumers opting for free streaming services as well. There are a handful of free streaming services and apps that are attractive to people looking to have some entertainment without breaking the bank. For example, the Roku Channel offers free TV shows, movies, and even TV channels that can easily rival what paid-for streaming services offer. 

Free streaming services like these are a much-needed breath of fresh air. Let's take Disney+ as an example of why. When it launched in 2019, it cost $6.99 a month. Now, at the end of 2025, it costs $12.99 a month. Netflix started out at $7.99 a month, and now the monthly price can get as high as $24.99. The habits of these services to provide bundles and variations of plans that have ads or that are ad-free can further overwhelm consumers who just want an affordable, simple watching experience.

The Roku Channel is a popular streaming service that offers free movies and TV channels. Roku TV supports some excellent streaming platforms, and its own Featured Free section includes channels such as CBS News, NFL, CBS Sports, and Haystack News. Other free movies and television show offerings include "Outlander," "The Masked Singer," "2 Broke Girls," "Yellowjackets," and more. Though the free offers are limited in quantity, Roku TV likes to switch it up so that you can always look forward to something new in the Featured Free section.

Tubi is another app you can get for free on mobile and streaming devices. It has hundreds of thousands of free movies and TV shows that are similar to paid-for streaming platforms, including original shows for something unique to watch. It offers Tubi Kids and a Spanish channel, as well. Live TV on Tubi consists of channels like NFL, NBA, Dateline, and EbonyTV. Movie highlights include "Titanic," "Coraline," "Tomb Raider," and "Spider-Man: Homecoming." Among its plentiful TV shows are "Empire," "Merlin," "Master Chef," and WWE's "NXT."

Kanopy is unique in that the free movies it offers come through university and library support. You can get Kanopy through the Apple or Google app stores, streaming devices, and smart TV app stores. Some of its films include "Memento," "The Truman Show," "The Mask You Live In," and some foreign films.

It still can be easy to find free streaming offerings if you go looking, such as the popular Freevee streaming app that's merged with Prime Video. These options are attractive due to increasing prices and the complexity of managing more premium services. If free movie and TV streaming options like the ones mentioned above don't appeal to you, there are other strategies people are using to save money that you can copy.

One way is to unsubscribe from a streaming service after a show you want to watch has ended. So if you are paying for an app just to watch the latest season of a television show, after that show is done, cancel your subscription so you don't waste money. You can also go for cheaper options within these streaming apps, like paying less per month and dealing with the ads when they come up, rather than paying more to avoid ads. A third alternative is to look for certain streaming services that offer bundled options that let you save some money. For example, Disney+ offers a bundle that includes Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max for $19.99 a month with ads, or another that offers Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Unlimited for $29.99 a month with ads.