As internet streaming is hitting its peak due to most people being at home through this current worldwide pandemic one of the most common inquiries we have received is:

‘what’s the best streaming service?’

Ultimately the answer is going to be different depending on what you like to watch and what you have access to.

The first thing we always tell any new cord cutters is that you don’t have to decide what streaming services you want to use before you cut the cable cord. This isn’t like picking a name for your kids. Your not going to be locked into any decision you make. Cord cutting is about freedom and not being locked into any one service.

Most streaming services are monthly subscriptions. That means you can sign up and start a 30 day subscription on any day of the month. After 30 days most streaming services auto renew your subscription, but you can always cancel that auto renewal at any point before the 30 days are up.

Since most streaming services are on demand, it also means that you can stagger when you start up your subscriptions for each service. You don’t have to subscribe to each one on the 1st of the month. Most clients we help setup have busy lives and we remind them that the content will be available to watch if and when they want to watch it. So don’t go crazy and oversubscribe to services, because that means paying for things you may not use.

Move your spending around each month. It will help stretch your budget and save you money. In my household we always have a discussion about what everyone is looking forward to watching and then I’m in charge of unsubscribing or subscribing to the appropriate streaming services that has that content on it.

Everyone has their own approach though, but the key thing to remember is that the streaming world offers a ton of flexibility. If there is a particular series or movie you want to watch you can turn on a streaming service subscription in a matter of minutes to gain access to that content.

We tend to be binge watchers in our household so we like to wait until a full season of a show is available before we subscribe to a service. That way we don’t have to wait weeks or months for episodes to get added.

Most people’s tastes in what they like to watch change and evolve over time, because entertainment changes and evolves.

The other key factor to remember is that in this big new world of streaming content comes and goes from various streaming services.

Keeping Track

On any given month you will find a host of online websites that publish articles that will tell you what is coming and going from various streaming services.

In the US tons of websites will do a full roundup of all of the big streaming services telling you what is coming and leaving Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple+, Hulu and HBO Max. Again though the key is to know if these websites are talking about US Netflix or Canadian Netflix.

In Canada though it’s rare to find any kind of major publication that will regularly publish a list of what is coming and going from Netflix Canada, Amazon Prime Canada, Crave, Disney+, Apple+ and other Canadian based services like CBC Gem, Stack TV & others.

At best you can find a few articles that may have one of the streaming services.

Content Shuffle

TV shows will occasionally move from streaming service to service, individual movies often move around and so do full franchises. This is all because the studios who produce and distribute movies will sell the streaming rights to movies to different streaming services throughout the year. Sometimes streaming services buy the rights to TV shows and movies for a few years. Most of the time though movie rights get bought for several months.

Sometimes you will see a movie or franchise on several streaming services at the sametime, so there can be some overlap. As an example the (2004) movie Troy is currently available on Netflix Canada, Crave & HBO Max. Although the HBO Max iteration is due to expire off the service in September.

Other times after being on one specific streaming service or several for a few months certain movies or franchises disappear from any service, but rest assured they will show up someplace eventually. A good example of that is all of the James Bond movies, they get shuffled around different streaming services all the time.

As an example Hulu, Epix Now and Crave all had a different collection of James Bond films available on their services in Nov 2020.

There is a whole world of movie and TV show rights shopping and purchasing that goes on behind the scenes and it’s not always clear how each streaming service decides what content to license since many of these deals are made months before they actually show up on the service.

This is why when we setup clients we try to emphasize the idea of having access to choose from the widest choice of streaming services.

Canadian Streaming Options

As of right now the options in Canada have grown, but still lag behind what’s available in the US and other countries. However we always remind clients that streaming is still in its infancy and is always changing and evolving. Six years ago there were barely any Canadian based streaming options and now you have all of the below services to choose from.

When we set up new clients we take them through all of the options, showing them what all of the below services offer how to subscribe to them and helping people match up with the right services for what you want to watch. We’ve tried them all in fact we’ve written reviews of services like Stack TV, Crave, TSN & RDS, CBS All Access Canada, HBO Max and NBC’s Peacock service and there are more reviews upcoming.

You can also check out our Quick Look video series which includes walkthroughs of CBC Gem and CTV.

One of the biggest issues with Canadian streaming is that some channels and content still remain non existent. Channels like TLC, Discovery, AMC, HGTV, Food Network, Comedy Network are missing their own independant streaming apps in Canada.

Update: Discovery+ launched their own service in Canada as of October 19th, 2021. Read our review here.

Worse there are Canadian owned and operated channels that still are nowhere to be found when it comes to streaming. Channels like CP24, TVO, BNN, OLN, Much & CHCH.

UPDATE 2022: TVO has now launched their own free streaming service both for TVO and TVO Kids.

While in the US many of these channels do at least have their own TV Everywhere app that you can use with a valid cable subscription they still don’t have the option to subscribe directly as of yet, but the big difference is most of these channels can also be accessed via a subscription to a live tv service like Sling TV, Philo, YouTube TV or Hulu Live. These kinds of live TV streaming services just don’t exist in Canada.

Even with certain services that offer apps in both Canada and the US there can be a differences. Most people know that services like Netflix and Amazon Prime have different content on them compared to the US and Canada. What people don’t realize is that even services like CBS All Access, Fubu TV and Tubi are different in Canada and typically that means that Canadian version of these services offer a fraction of what the the US services offer.

Beyond Canada

Outside of Canada is where streaming has really grown and blossomed since Netflix first launched their streaming business in 2007. Since then many of the major US broadcasters and content producers have slowly tried to follow Netflix’s lead. Some have done it better than others.

Today in the US there is a huge selection of direct to consumer subscription based streaming services, TV Everywhere apps as well as live tv services even some free ad based streaming services. Most Canadians would love have access to all of these options.

Beyond the US there are some amazing free apps in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Sweden and other countries.

The benefit of using some of these international apps is that you get a mix of US content and local shows and movies that you might never see on any domestic network.

Now imagine being a cord cutter who has access to all of these apps all in one device.

Update - Apple TV App Scroll Kutko GIF.gif

That is what we mean by choice.

This is what we mean when we tell people that we help them navigate the world of streaming, we mean the world. You can see all of the options here.

If you are interested in cutting the cable cord and not sure where to start then get in touch with us and arrange your free phone consultation today.

You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Check out our other Kukto blog posts:

A guide to Canadian streaming options, picking the right services for you.

‘what’s the best streaming service?’

Keeping Track

Content Shuffle

Canadian Streaming Options

Beyond Canada