11 Best Streaming Services You Might Not Have Heard Of

22% of US households who responded to a JD Power survey said they subscribed to seven or more streaming services last year. It is almost double the amount compared to the previous year. In that same survey, an average household reportedly spent $55 per month on all their streaming services combined. That is an increase of 45% in spending from April 2020.

Streaming overload has gotten so real that even a budding industry of paid apps helps users manage their increasing list of subscriptions. The sick irony here is that despite this cornucopia of choice, it has never been more challenging for many users to find something worthwhile to watch on TV. Whether it is live TV online or curated niche catalogs, there is something for everyone if you know where to look.

11 Best Streaming Services

There are other alternatives to the streaming powerhouses where you can get popular titles, different and unique programs, including trending videos. Below are the 11 best streaming services you might not have heard of that can help you find new programs and save money.

Hoopla
Kanopy
MagellanTV
PlutoTV
Vudu
Tubi
Xumo
IMDb TV
Popcornflix
Stirr
Snagfilms

More Details on Best Streaming Services

There are a lot of niche or specialty streaming services that offer a completely new selection of content. Details on the best streaming services listed above will be explained here.

1. Hoopla

The digital service of Midwest Tape, Hoopla, a primary provider of media products to public libraries, can be accessed if you have a library card. Hoopla allows library patrons to borrow audiobooks, movies, ebooks, TV shows, music etc., on the device or smart TV.

The ad-free service has hundreds of thousands of titles, allowing library cardholders to borrow content without the waitlist. Another best perk of Hoopla is that it includes titles of Miramax, the studio owned by famous creep and convicted sexual predator Harvey Weinstein.

2. Kanopy

Kanopy, one of the best streaming services, offers no-cost and ad-free services to member library cardholders and university staff. Every month, new titles are added to reach viewers globally with thoughtful entertainment. As a part of the service, Kanopy Kids offers a collection of TV shows and movies for your little library enthusiasts.

3. MagellanTV

Magellan TV is a documentary streaming service created and curated by documentary filmmakers, providing its content ad-free and high-definition to its subscribers. The company says that it adds new content every week and has over 2000+ titles. With curated playlists to guide your all-night binge session, take a deep dive into history, science, space, nature, and true crime documentaries.

4. PlutoTV

Pluto TV is one of the best streaming services that offer thousands of on-demand movies and live TV in endless categories and trending videos. Search movie categories, including pop culture, anime, music documentaries, surf movies, creature features, and many more.

It is a free, ad-supported streaming service and is the content source for Vizio’s WatchFree service. It offers some popular networks as well as more than 240 channels.

5. Vudu

Vudu provides over 150,000 movies, 10,000 of them being ad-free. No subscription is needed to watch films that are not free. You must pay for the movies or TV shows you want to watch.

You can search movies conveniently labeled as “free with ads,” “sale,” “new to rent,” or “early access.” Early access films allow viewers to watch new releases weeks before they appear on Hulu, Netflix, Blu-Ray and DVD.

6. Tubi

Tubi claims to be the largest ad-supported video-on-demand service in the world, experiencing record growth in 2019, with more than 163 million hours watched in December 2019, 160% higher than the previous year.

In 2020, the company planned to spend more on content to expand its library, building on its 250+ content partners. The special categories like Highly Rated on Rotten Tomatoes and Not on Netflix can be checked out.

7. Xumo

Xumo is also one of the best streaming services that offer a massive library of free live and on-demand entertainment, with over 190 channels, adding more each week. It is an excellent place to keep up on breaking news, offering network news channels and Local Now for “hyper-local” news.

It also features NowThis (“all the videos you need to stay on the news”), comedy channels, pet channels, black cinema, court drama, action movies, sci-fi, and more. Xumo and its applications, including Channel Plus and LG Channels are currently available in North America, Brazil and some European nations.

8. IMDb TV

IMDb TV is the free ad-supported video channel of the film information site, offering TV, movies, and IMDb originals. See comedies, documentaries, date night films, family, sci-fi, real-life dramas, and more. Watch through the IMDb website on your laptop or desktop or via the Amazon Prime Video app and Amazon Fire devices. It is available within the United States and its territories.

9. Popcornflix

The parent company of Popcornflix, Screen Media Ventures, LLC, is one of the largest indy distributors of motion pictures, with over 1,500 titles. Search TV shows, movies, web series, and viral videos. You can browse the categories, and no registration is required. It is the right place if you need a dose of the latest dog or cat videos.

10. Stirr

Stirr is one of the best streaming services from Sinclair Broadcast Group. It gives you access to local news and entertainment in your market. Search by genre for popular TV programs and movies with a channel guide for TV stations.

Users can access classic TV and stations such as Charge! and Comet, which play older movies and programs.

11. Snagfilms

Snagfilms is one of the best streaming services and is free. You can discover over 2,000 TV shows, original comedy shorts, intriguing documentaries and independent films. The mission of this service is to promote “filmanthropy,” the power that documentaries have to inspire action (a term coined by SnagFilms’s chairman and founder Ted Leonsis).

Browse movies by categories, including Celebrate Pride, Climate Change & The Environment, History Lessons, Refugee and Immigrant Stories, and more.