What is the Most Popular Streaming Service in the UK?

 by Attish Das

(image: Nicolas Leclercq)

There's no dearth of streaming services to watch in the UK, but with so many options available at different prices, which ones are really worth your money? Each of the services cater to slightly different audiences and are available at different price points – some even have a free trial that you can avail yourself of, while others don't. Read on to find out if you're getting your money's worth in terms of content, video quality, simultaneous device usage and offline content.

Regardless of what your interests are in entertainment, you will definitely find something that you will adore in every platform. Both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video offer a free trial for new customers, unlike Disney Plus. This trial period length differs from service to service, from one week to one month. While all the streaming services require your UK bank account details when you first sign up, you will need to cancel the service within the first few days if you want to avoid being charged. The ability to download content differs from service to service, but almost all streaming services offer the feature in some form. Services such as Disney Plus allow the platform’s entire catalogue to be downloaded for offline viewing, whereas Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have the feature in a more limited capacity depending on what you intend to download offline.

What have the people of Britain said about the three entertainment streamers?

1.   1. The people of Britain have selected Netflix to be the best, at just £5.99 a month. The coronavirus pandemic has proved why no other streaming service comes close to competing with Netflix. Not only did it release fresh new content regularly in the last six months, but it also smartly purchased content that was on other platforms to popularise it on Netflix – namely Cobra Kai, previously available on YouTube, and BBC series, The Fall. And how can I not mention Squid Game, the number one show in the world right now? This has boomed in popularity ever since it came out on Netflix, and still is. Squid Game is only available on Netflix. Our biggest gripe with Netflix is its prices, which tend to rise slowly every year. The Standard plan will set you back more than £100/year and this restricts you to HD-quality streams on two simultaneous devices. To unlock UHD content and streaming on four devices you need the Ultra plan which costs £144/year. 

       2. Followed closely is Disney Plus, at £7.99 a month. Despite its amazing recent discount going down to £2.00 a month, the people of Britain have still voted Netflix to be the best. While Netflix has been scoring one hit after another since the pandemic hit, Disney Plus has been relying on their existing catalogue and five main brands - Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic - to gain loyal subscribers. The pandemic may have proved to be a blessing in disguise for Disney Plus because it had the answer that every home-schooling parent was looking for - lots of child-friendly content.

      3. And finally, Amazon Prime Video, at a reasonable price of £5.99 a month. One of the reasons why this is the least voted is because lots of movies are for sale and you will have to buy them if you want to watch them. When it comes to diversity of content, Amazon Prime Video is unmatched. From smash-hit US television series, such as Grey's Anatomy and The Walking Dead, to a well-rounded collection of classic and contemporary movies, Prime’s catalogue has plenty worth watching. The service has also recently ventured into broadcasting live sporting events, giving it a USP that no other streaming service can boast of. The service broadcast live coverage of the 2020 US Open tennis tournament and it also broadcasts select Premier League games in the UK. If Amazon can capitalise on expanding this part of its repertoire, then it will certainly stand out from the other streaming services on this list.