Streaming has come a long way since the inception of Netflix’s streaming service in 2007 and expansion in 2010 to offer streaming only service outside of the US. While we here at Behind the Scenes Circus Dot TV are firmly pro-disc, we admit that streaming is where most people get their movies and television content if they don’t have cable or access to over-the-air broadcast TV. With that in mind here are 5 streaming services that are worth checking out in 2024.
Tubi
This ad-supported streaming service provides content in North America – with announced plans to relaunch in Europe – by the Fox Corporation, which is not owned by Disney. Tubi licenses content from many film and television distributors – with the Wikipedia page claiming that the streaming service serves over 40,000 titles from 250 companies. It’s quick, it’s easy, and watching ads both support the content and the creators.
Hoopla
Thanks to your local library, you can access a plethora of fantastic resources for free through services like Hoopla. This includes a wide range of entertainment options such as movies and TV shows. For instance, you can enjoy popular television series from educational television such as “The Magic School Bus” to big budget entertainment of “The Walking Dead: Dead City”, “3rd Rock From the Sun”, and “Doc Martin”. Additionally, you can explore exciting new movie releases like “Uncut Gems”, “Everything Everywhere all at Once”, and “The Whale”. This convenient and cost-effective access to such high-quality entertainment truly adds value to the services provided by your local library.
Dropout.tv
The media College Humor officially rebranded as Dropout in 2023 – to match their 5 year old streaming service. Elder millennials will remember the YouTube golden age of comedy – including College Humor, Funny or Die and Cracked.com among others. These sites supported by blogs and media companies were passed around tech circles before eventually firing many of their YouTube personalities. Sam Reich eventually purchased the media company College Humor running the streaming service much as it exists today. While supported by subscription on the Dropout.tv app – much of the shows and content can be found uncut on YouTube.
Shudder
Shudder is the place for horror, thriller and supernatural movies and television provided as an over-the-top subscription streaming service. Owned by AMC Networks the streaming service launched it’s beta in 2015 – expanding outside of the US by 2016. Home to “Creepshow” and other amazing horror content – and the streaming platform has many films and shows developed exclusively for the platform.
Crunchyroll
This Sony owned over-the-top subscription streaming service offers North America and the world access to the best that anime has to offer. The home of shows from “My Hero Accademia” to “Dragon Ball Z”. Additionally as of 2020, Crunchyroll has launched it’s own line of original anime content – including a 13 episode adaptation of the video game series “Shenmue” which launched in May 2022, developed in association with Telecom Animation Film.
Behind the Scenes Circus 