10 Niche Streaming Services You ve Probably Never Heard Of
MUO
10 Niche Streaming Services You ve Probably Never Heard Of
If you're looking for less conventional content, these streaming services will give you niche shows and movies you probably haven't heard of. With subscriptions to the big streaming services-Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, and the like-you get instant access to tens of thousands of TV shows and movies. And honestly, the mainstream streaming services are fantastic. Not only are their libraries massive, but they all produce entertaining high-quality original content. But these mainstream services tend to carry mainstream content mostly. What can you do if you want to watch something less conventional and more specialized? In that case, you're better off checking out these alternative streaming services that are packed with more niche content. 1
Image Credit: Let's start with examining British TV, as delivered to the US market by two separate but similar streaming services: Acorn TV and BritBox. They both offer new and classic shows from across the United Kingdom, but each has its own unique program libraries. Acorn TV features classic and current programming from a number of British networks. It also offers Acorn Originals created just for this service, as well as some of the best television programming from Australia, Canada, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, and various European countries. It's truly an international cornucopia of quality television. A subscription to Acorn TV runs $6.99/month, and an annual subscription costs $69.99/year. A free trial is available. 2
Image Credit: The second streaming service for British television programming is BritBox, which offers a variety of current and classic shows from Britain's top two networks, the BBC and ITV. BritBox offers popular comedies, dramas, mysteries, and more from across the pond. You may be familiar with many of these shows, as many of them show up on PBS from time to time. BritBox also lets you watch Good Morning Britain and other current BBC programming that isn't otherwise available in the U.S. A BritBox subscription costs the same as one for Acorn TV, $6.99/month. If you opt for a one-year subscription, it's just $69.99/year. A free trial is available. There is very little overlap between the two services, so you might need both if you want the full range of British television programming. BritBox, with its direct BBC connection, offers the most programming that's likely to be familiar to casual viewers. Acorn TV is more for diehard Anglophiles, with shows that may be lesser known to U.S. viewers, as well as content from other countries. Fortunately, the two subscriptions together cost less than a standard Netflix subscription. 3
Image Credit: If you're a big theater fan, check out BroadwayHD. This streaming service offers a mix of recorded Broadway plays and musicals, movies based on Broadway shows, and concerts by famous Broadway performers-plus lots of behind-the-scenes content. It's the only place online to watch Broadway shows like these. BroadwayHD offers a free trial, so you can check what's available. If you like what you see, a subscription runs $8.99/month or $99.99/year. 4
Image Credit: If you're a true movie lover, you probably know all about the Criterion Collection, well-curated DVDs, and Blu-rays of the most influential classic and foreign films in the history of cinema. The Criterion Channel is the streaming service for the Criterion Collection, with many of the same films accompanied by the same superb extras. The Criterion Channel is where you'll find films by legendary directors such as Bergman, Buñel, Fellini, Godard, Kurosawa, Malle, Ozu, Scorsese, Tati, and Truffaut. If these names mean nothing to you, skip this one. But if you're a film aficionado and want a , The Criterion Channel is a must-have service. A subscription to the Criterion Channel costs $10.99/month or $99.99/year. A free trial is available. 5
Image Credit: If you're an anime fan, you can catch some of your favorite shows on Netflix. But if you want a much larger selection of anime programming, Crunchyroll is the service for you. Crunchyroll is one of the . It says it offers the world's largest selection of anime, and it's hard to argue with that. The service offers more than a thousand Japanese anime movies and TV shows, as well as a selection of East Asian dramas. On top of all that, the service's website is a great source for manga and anime/manga news. You can watch Crunchyroll for free with ads. Or you can subscribe for $7.99/month to get rid of ads and simulcast new episodes and chapters as soon as one hour after they air in Japan. (Additional plans are also available with more website-specific features.) 6
Image Credit: If you love to watch documentaries, you know there are very few available on the mainstream streaming services, and that's where Curiosity Stream comes in. Curiosity Stream is a streaming service that only features documentary programming, including thousands of non-fiction films and television series. It also produces original documentaries that you won't find anywhere else. Over the years, its original documentaries have been nominated for several Emmy, Webbie, and BAFTA awards. Curiosity Stream offers two separate plans. The Standard (HD) plan is $2.99/month or $19.99/year. The Premium (4K) plan costs $9.99/month or $69.99/year. 7
Image Credit: Critics watch movies differently than non-critics, which is why critically-acclaimed films tend to get lower ratings from everyday moviegoers. If your own tastes line up with critics more than with ordinary folk, you'll really want to check out Fandor. Fandor is a streaming service that offers a repository of more than a thousand hand-picked classic, foreign, cult, and independent films. You can also create and share movie lists, which is a great way to find new stuff to watch and take part in the passionate community. Fandor offers a 14-day free trial. You can subscribe for $9.99/month or get a discount by subscribing yearly for $89.99/year. 8
Image Credit: MUBI is one of the , and it's similar to Fandor but with a twist. While it also focuses on hand-picked films across the classic, indie, and cult genres, its library is always rotating. Every day, the folks at MUBI add a new film that you can stream, but it'll only be available for 30 days. This means that the library always contains 30 films-no more, no less. If you see something you want to watch, you better watch it soon before you lose the opportunity. MUBI comes with a 7-day free trial, and then you can subscribe for $10.99/month to get access to the entire ever-changing library. 9
Image Credit: Rakuten Viki is a streaming service that specializes in Asian programming, and it's one of the . It offers thousands of movies and TV programs from China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Since Viki is targeted at a global audience, it offers subtitles in more than 200 languages. Some Viki content is free, in SD quality. If you want more content, ad-free, in HD, subscribe to the Viki Pass Standard plan, which costs $4.99/month. To get access to even more exclusive content, including Korean programming from KOCOWA, subscribe to Viki Pass Plus, which costs $9.99/month. Both plans offer a 7-day free trial. 10
Image Credit: Horror lovers finally have their streaming video service in the form of Shudder. The Shudder service offers a wide selection of horror, thriller, and supernatural movies and TV series, completely commercial-free. You'll find Hollywood favorites, cult classics, and original horror programming unavailable anywhere else. A subscription to Shudder costs $4.75/month and a 7-day free trial is available. If you're a lover of B-movie horror films, you may also want to check out the streaming service. There are many differences between both platforms that you'll need to know to determine . Which Services Do You Watch
If you're a casual viewer of movies and TV shows, you really can't go wrong with the big subscription video services- either . Know, however, that the mainstream services simply don't offer a lot of non-mainstream content, and that's where the niche services discussed here make sense. If you're a fan of British or Korean television, you love anime or horror buff; you just won't find a lot of that on Disney+ or Netflix. You have to go to the niche services to find the programming that appeals to you.