It’s hard to miss the ‘old days’ of television. Taken as we are by the familiar flicker and whine of the old-school cathode-ray TV, it’s a simple fact that we’ve come a long way from the meagre handful of channels and their narrow scope of linear programming. And given the choice, we’d never go back. There are many modern conveniences that make today’s TV simply better, but our watching habits have been most greatly impacted by one key thing: the streaming revolution.
Untrammelled by the confines of the TV schedule, we’re now deep into a world of on-demand TV and film. Endless libraries stretch out before us, of drama series old and new, films blockbuster and independent, and even reality TV shows camp and kitsch. Of course, choosing which library is worth diving into is no easy task.
So, let’s make that task a little easier. Shame as it is that streaming didn’t quite solve the problems of the late satellite TV era, it’s still a much better environment for picking and choosing the kind of content that appeals the most to you. Here, I’ve gone through six of the best streaming services going, with a cursory glance at what music docs and live shows live on each.
If you’re not sure about the nuts and bolts of streaming – or if you have wider questions about how best to enjoy the TV and film you intend to stream – you’ll find a wealth of information (including a handy glossary of terms) at the bottom. Read on, though, to find out the best streaming services for TV and film.
- How to watch BBC iPlayer from anywhere: Stream music documentaries, Glastonbury and more
Best overall
📺 Netflix is probably the best-known of all the TV streaming networks and it's positively rammed with content. Like the majority of streaming services, I'd like more music programming, but there's a decent chunk to get stuck into and enough variety to keep everyone happy.
Let’s be honest; when someone says “streaming service”, the first one that comes to mind is Netflix. It was the catalyst for the modern age of subscription media and the disruptor that birthed a million streamers.
Netflix, then, sits pretty as the best all-rounder for all things streaming. As with any library, there’s a rotation of available titles – but, as far as music is concerned, you’re still able to watch such seminal delights as Metallica's Some Kind Of Monster and Trainwreck: Woodstock 99.
Indeed, there’s a veritable glut of documentarian brilliance here: there’s Hip Hop Evolution and David Bowie: The Man Who Changed The World; there’s ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band From Texas, Becoming Led Zeppelin, and Depeche Mode: M; for the Beatles enthusiasts, John Lennon: Love Is All You Need, and for the Stones-heads, Keith Richards: Under The Influence.
Throw in podcast graduate Song Exploder: How Music Gets Made, which itself features the likes of Nine Inch Nails and R.E.M., and you have a decent amount of music content that should keep you occupied for some time.
Aside from music, there's also a vast library of licensed films and shows available and a dense selection of in-house productions too – from early Fincher-helmed true-crime thriller Mindhunter to nostalgia-culture phenomenon Stranger Things.
Best all-rounder
📺 Amazon Prime Video is the place to go if you want to relive the joy and chaos off The Osbournes, with every season here to dive into at your leisure. There's loads of classic movies and series to explore too - and it's a hub for a variety of platforms making it a great all-round option.
If you’re after an outrageous selection of TV shows, movies, documentaries, animation and concert films, then Amazon Prime Video is definitely worth a closer look. Not only will you get as much TV as you can filter into your eyeballs, but, if you get it bundled with Amazon Prime, you’ll also get access to all the related perks of the broader e-commerce platform – including music streaming service Amazon Music Prime. (If the music side of things appeals, you can also upgrade to Amazon Music Unlimited which will give you ad-free, shuffle-free access to the entire library - but it's worth noting that’s not included in the basic Prime membership.)
Amazon Prime Video’s key draw is its commitment to abundance. There’s a great deal of licensed content here, from music docs to thrillers to horror; unfortunately, some of this is locked behind add-on subscriptions like Shudder (for horror) or MGM+. There’s also a conventional rent-or-buy system, like the good video stores of old.
Music-wise, there's a massive amount of diverse content for you to get stuck into, and that includes all four seasons of The Osbournes, Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase The Blues Away and obligatory Beatles-adjacent retrospectives like Paul McCartney: Man On The Run. There’s also a stack of live offerings such as Amazon Music Live: Foo Fighters and Guns N' Roses Live Rarities. You could spend hours going down the music rabbit hole here.
It’s sometimes frustrating to encounter something you’re excited to watch, only to discover it seems arbitrarily paywalled as an add-on rental – a UI issue, more than anything, for a streaming platform that seemingly aims to have everything. Still, it’s refreshing to see such a buffet of music-centric content on one platform.
Best for families
📺 Disney+ is a brilliant TV and film streaming option for all the family. The Beatles: Get Back is perhaps the star of the show when it comes to the music on offer, but there's more than that available. However, the draw of Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and, of course, Disney makes this a top choice.
Disney+ is, 100%, the streaming service to get if you have kids at home – a foregone conclusion, borne out by that very familiar logo and all the mascots that come with it. While some were initially quick to dismiss Disney+ as just a platform for cartoons and kid’s movies, the streaming service has come to be so much more in its six-ish years of existence.
I would like to see more music content included with Disney+, but what is here is high quality – particularly when it comes to Peter Jackson's acclaimed three-part documentary The Beatles: Get Back. Documentary-wise, there’s a lot to like here old and new, from Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story to Summer ’82: When Zappa Came To Sicily, from 2024’s The Beach Boys to 2026’s comeback-chronicling Oasis: Don’t Look Back In Anger.
Along with all the classic Disney films, you also get access to all things Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars, National Geographic and Hulu – which means a massive amount of content upon which you may deign to feast your eyes. Star Wars, in particular, has really hit hyperdrive – from the runaway success of limited series The Mandalorian to Tony Gilroy’s prestige masterpiece Andor.
I'll also give a special shout out to the brilliant comedy crime drama series Only Murders In The Building starring Steve Martin, Selena Gomez and Martin Short. It's a binge-worthy series that'll see you comfortably through a long weekend.
"Disney+ is a must-buy for families, owing to its comprehensive coverage of animated media; it’s also the home of Star Wars and Marvel. As for music, Peter Jackson’s epic trawl through one week of archival Beatles footage in Get Back is worth far more than the price of entry alone. However, I'd like to see more music content spread throughout the service."
Read our full Disney+ review
Best for original content
📺 Apple TV might not be the pinnacle of music content, but there are some gems scattered into the mix. But the real draw is the sheer range of high quality original programming which makes it a strong option for binge-worthy series. The price is also good value for what you get.
It’s safe to say that Apple has carved out a unique place for itself in the streaming market, with a surprisingly principled focus on high-quality and auteur media that has led to compelling limited series from the best in the biz; Ben Stiller’s mindbending workplace thriller Severance was a runaway success, as has been Gary Oldman’s remedial-spook series Slow Horses – all building on the star power built by such shows as The Morning Show and Ted Lasso.
However, when it comes to original music content, I found Apple TV to be a little lacking. Sure, you can buy or rent music-themed films and shows and stream them through the service, that's going to be an additional cost. What is available, though, is undeniably high-quality – and that includes Beastie Boys Story, The Velvet Underground, Bruce Springsteen: Letter To You, Bono: Stories Of Surrender and 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything.
Apple TV+ won’t be for you if all you want is rockumentaries and related music content, but there's plenty of excellent programming if you want something a bit different from other film and TV streaming services. It may also be more accessible if you’re planning on getting Apple Music (via Apple One, which bundles everything including the excellent Apple Music into one well-priced subscription), or even an Apple device; you can get three months of Apple TV+ free if you buy an eligible Apple device.
Best for UK
📺 NOW TV has five separate channels to choose between - all with their own price structures. While the Sport channel includes football, F1 and the NFL, the Entertainment package is the one for music fans. Sky Arts lives here and there's a bunch of great music content to discover.
NOW is a UK-only service owned and operated by Sky, and sharing something of the conventional channel-based model Sky represents. NOW contains features three separate channels – Movies, Entertainment and Sport – as well as optional access to HBO Max’s streaming library. Each channel can be subscribed to separately, or as part of a bundle; upgrades in the form of Boost and Boost Ultra unlock ad-free-ness and increasingly high resolutions.
Movies costs £9.99 a month and opens the door to more than 1000 films across Sky Cinema’s channels and library, and in a huge variety of genres; a mecca for the film buff. Meanwhile, Entertainment boasts a total of 14 channels and also costs £9.99 a month. For your cash you’ll have instant access to channels including Comedy Central, MTV, SYFY, Sky Atlantic and Sky Arts.
Indeed, the latter channel is an especially welcome inclusion for us music fans, who are well catered-for in Sky Arts’ multitude of concert films and documentaries: Metallica S&M2, Black Sabbath: The End Of The End, Guns N' Roses: Appetite For Democracy, Brian Johnson’s Life On The Road and Discovering Music, which covers such artists as Jethro Tull, The Eagles and Meat Loaf, amongst a great many others.
Doubling up on plans can get expensive, but there’s always a new-customer offer in the offing – for UK consumers, at least. Would-be consumers from the US are only able to access NOW TV as an add-on to an Xfinity internet plan, a frustrating hoop to jump, but one that gets you access to the same excellent UK programming.
Best value
📺 Paramount+ is a fairly new entry into the streaming universe and more music content is needed. However, what is here is great, and that includes Ozzy: No Escape From Now and Nothin' But A Good Time. Add in Star Trek and classic flicks & TV series for a good price and you've got a nice family-friendly streaming option.
For the best value of the bunch, it’s hard not to pick Paramount+. In channel terms, you’ll find familiar content from Paramount, Showtime, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and the Smithsonian. Trekkies will be particularly interested in Paramount+, then, thanks to the comprehensive range of Star Trek shows and films, across the entire history of the IP, hosted lovingly on the service.
For music fans, Paramount+ has folded in content from MTV. This means access to docs like Ozzy: No Escape From Now, Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bassists Human Too?, and the nostalgia-filled docuseries Nothin' But A. Good Time: The Uncensored Story of '80s Hair Metal. Unfortunately, it also means wading through a lot of MTV’s latter-era bilge before finding anything of value - and for rock fans, there's just not enough content.
If you’re in the US and a Walmart member, you can access Paramount+ for free; there’s also the opportunity to access some of Paramount+’s programming via Amazon Prime Video, as an add-on channel within Amazon’s own sprawling network. Note, though, the operative word ‘some’, as content is missing from Amazon’s platform – a shame when Paramount’s UI is less effective. Still, a great option for value.
"Paramount+ is a nifty streaming platform with some excellent IPs to its name, both original and licensed. An unfortunate lack of music content wouldn’t count for much, unless MTV was one of the core brands under the Paramount+ umbrella – and it is. This trove of missing MTV Unpluggeds is ultimately (at least partially) forgiven by the relatively low cost of entry, and the platform’s smooth in-app performance with regards to 4K streaming."
Read our full Paramount+ review
Glossary
1080p/4K: 1080p and 4K are both high-definition display resolutions. The ‘1080’ in 1080p refers to how many pixels are displayed vertically on a 1920x1080 (or HD) screen, and the ‘p’ stands for ‘progressive scan’ – meaning each row of pixels is displayed in sequence from top to bottom. 4K, meanwhile refers to UHD screens with a horizontal pixel display of around 4000 (typically 3840 for TV), an increase that equates to four times the detail over HD.
Ads: It’s common to see TV and film streaming services offer their baseline subscription with adverts included. It’s a way of encouraging you to upgrade to a higher tier to get rid of them. Some streaming platforms front-load ads before your programme of choice starts, while other place them throughout the stream. While this can be annoying in my experience, they’re never as intrusive as something like YouTube adverts, which seem to pop up with alarming regularity. If you don’t mind putting up with un-skippable ads, you can often pick up a streaming service for a knockdown price.
Auto-renew: All streaming services contain an auto-renew feature, meaning you don’t have to access your account every month to update your payment. I find it wise to set up a streaming service subscription just after pay day as there’s nothing worse than being hit with a payment at the end of the month when money tends to be tight.
Bundle: Many platforms offer bundle subscriptions that add one or more channels to what you’re signing up for. This is usually cheaper than subscribing to them individually. Just make sure the extra content being offered is something you’re interested in, otherwise you could be paying more than you really need to.
Definition: Some TV and film streaming services lock higher definition viewing options to more expensive price tiers. Baseline subs are often presented at a lower resolution such as SD (Standard Definition) which comes it at 480p or 576p, while HD (High Definition) ups that to either 720p or 1080p. For the best image quality, you want to go for 4K/UHD (Ultra High Definition) and HDR (High Dynamic Range) which improves colour palette and enhances contrast. Just make sure your TV has these capabilities before putting down your cash otherwise you might be paying more than you need.
Free trial: Some (but not all) streaming services offer free trials so you can try out the product before you shell out your hard-earned cash. Many of them will offer a 7-day trial, while others will give you 30 days. After your free trial ends, you’ll be automatically charged the full monthly subscription price if you fail to cancel.
HD/UHD: HD stands for High Definition, and UHD stands for Ultra High Definition; HD describes a display resolution of 1080p, while UHD describes a display resolution of 4K.
HDMI: HDMI stands for High-Definition Media Multimedia Interface. HDMI is the conventional format for physical transmission of digital video and audio information; it’s the cable that connects most media players and games consoles to modern TVs.
HDMI eARC: ‘eARC’ stands for ‘enhanced Audio Return Channel’. HDMI eARC outputs are used to send audio received by a TV from another device back out to another device – i.e.: a soundbar, amplifier or speaker set. eARC can also send control messages through the TV, so the TV’s volume controls can control the volume of the new audio destination.
HDR: HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. HDR describes TVs with larger differences between bright and dark – a contrast that leads to more believable blacks, and better detail in brighter images.
Offline viewing: Some streaming platforms allow you to download films and series so you can watch them at your leisure when you’re offline. This is a great option if you watch on a tablet and are planning a trip away. Not all services offer this option though, so be sure to check.
On-demand: On-demand programming (or catch-up TV) occasionally features on some services, allowing you to watch an event/programme after it’s been broadcast. For example, as a North American sports fan based in the UK, this is ideal, as I can watch sport when I want and not have to stay up into the wee small hours cheering for my favourite team.
Parental controls: If you have a young family and don’t want them having full access to all content on a streaming service, you can set parental controls so you can oversee exactly what they can and can’t watch.
Resolution: Resolution is simply how many pixels a given screen has. 1080p and 4K are HD resolutions.
TOSLINK: TOSLINK stands for Toshiba Link. TOSLINK is a standardised connector system for optical audio, which sees digital audio signals delivered using pulses of light through fibreoptic cables. TOSLINK is capable of delivering uncompressed PCM audio signals in stereo; it’s a robust option for connecting TVs to stereo speaker systems, and can be beneficial for your streaming experience due to its inability to be negatively affected by electromagnetic interference – something that conventional copper-cabled connection standards are vulnerable to.
VPN: Virtual Private Networks essentially allow you to change the location of your IP address so you can log in and watch your favourite streaming service if you’re out of the country on holiday.
FAQ
What’s the best streaming service for TV and film?
There are many excellent streaming services for TV and film out there – more, arguably, than there should be. But many of these excel at some specific things, meaning, instead of shelling out half your salary for a dozen different subscriptions, you can cater your services to your own viewing habits.
As explored in the guide above, different platforms have different strengths. Netflix was the first streaming service to ‘make it big’, and has used that clout to fund some ambitious, high production-value original programming. Alongside a formidable collection of licensed blockbusters, Netflix also has limited series and sitcoms galore – and, naturally, a healthy tranche of music docs (including Dave Grohl’s Sound City). Disney+, meanwhile, draws on its history as a pioneering animation studio to bring kid-friendly content from all corners (including its own vast library of in-house productions).
There are some subscriptions that didn’t quite make the cut for this guide, but not because they aren’t any good. MUBI, for instance, is a phenomenal platform for rare and independent cinema; it’s likely too niche for a majority of consumers, but it’s a non-negotiable for true-born cinephiles – and was also there at the start of the streaming revolution, initially partnered with the Criterion Collection to bring arthouse cinema to the masses.
In terms of pure music programming, many streaming services simply don't offer enough. Sure, there's gold to discover, and Amazon Prime Video perhaps has the largest selection, but in general, music content could be better represented across the board.
What makes a good streaming service?
There’s a lot that goes into our opinions of a good TV and film streaming service, but these thoughts are easiest broken down into three criteria: library, stream quality and user experience.
Each platform has licenses and access to different IPs, and these accesses change over time too – as such, platforms ebb and flow with respect to how much content they have, and how much the content they do have resonates with you. This is why it’s a good idea to re-evaluate what you’re watching, and your subscription to certain services as others refresh their libraries. Besides which, different platforms have different strengths, as explored above. What content do you prefer?
For stream quality, this is dependent on two things: the quality offered by a given subscription tier, and the behind-the-scenes tech that enables that stream to reach your broadband. For the former, shelling out for a higher tier will get you 4K Ultra-HD, and maybe even spatial audio for some platforms; for the latter, some streamers are more persnickety about the devices you watch them on than others, in ways that can throttle the quality of stream you receive. This is an ongoing issue, related partially to anti-piracy DRM.
Finally, user experience is an all-encompassing criterion that touches on the speed and responsiveness of the app itself, the suggestion algorithms that push new content, the efficacy of the search bar and even the prevalence of ads in lower-tier subscriptions.
Are streaming services high-definition?
High-definition is something of an expectation we have towards the media we consume today. Our TVs are typically 4K-ready from the jump, and our wireless headphones often capable of hi-res Bluetooth streaming – so why shouldn’t we expect music streaming services to offer CD quality as standard? Or our TV and film streaming services to offer HD as standard?
This is, again, where services can differ. In many cases, streaming services use their tiered subscription models to paywall high-definition or ultra high-definition streaming. Netflix and NOW, for instance, offer standard-definition streaming, or 720p, as part of their lowest subscription tier.
Most other streaming services offer 1080p, or HD streaming, as standard – but most services also hide 4K streaming in the upper echelons of their subscription structure – alongside other posh add-ons like local downloads and multi-device streaming.
Is streaming better than Blu-ray?
The streaming era offers hitherto unexperienced levels of convenience when it comes to finding and watching media. No longer do you need to visit a physical outlet to source a physical copy of something you’d like to watch; sometimes, you don’t even need to wait until a film is out of the cinemas before you can watch it at home. All of this is great – and all the greater when high- and ultra-high definition streaming is possible (dependent on your streaming subscription, of course).
With cost and convenience in mind, streaming services have clear value over the purchase and collection of physical media. But this doesn’t mean streaming is necessarily better. For instance, even if you’re getting a 4K UHD stream from a service, this doesn’t guarantee the best possible viewing quality. That information still needs to be compressed quite heavily to reach your TV, meaning lossier results than the uncompressed feed from a Blu-ray player.
There’s also the undeniable gratification that comes from building a physical media collection you can access at any time, without the familiar fear of a film you were ‘about to watch’ disappearing from the library of your streaming service. There are positives to each, but which is better is up to you.
Using a VPN
Virtual Private Networks are used to change the location of your IP address, enabling you to watch your streaming subscription if you're out of the country on holiday or travelling with work. Nord VPN is Louder's service of choice and it's currently available with 70% off the usual price - and there's a 30-day money back guarantee.
Setting up and using a VPN is straightforward - here's what you need to do to get up and running:
1. Install a VPN. As I've just mentioned, Nord VPN is Louder's favourite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN. If you're currently outside the US or UK on holiday or on on business and want to log-in and watch your favourite TV and film streaming service, just select your country, then log into your streaming service account.
3. Sit back and relax . That's it - you're all set to watch your chosen streaming platform on your tablet by the pool or back at the hotel after a long day of exploring.
Why you can trust us
⚡ Louder was established in 2017 and founded on long-running brands including Metal Hammer, Classic Rock and Prog (launched in 1986, 1998 and 2009 respectively)
⚡ Over 80,000 products reviewed on site, from music listening tech to albums and box sets
⚡ Our reviewers are all passionate music fans who draw on decades of testing experience
Louder’s reviewing team consists of music fans, musicians and professional product testers, who between them have accumulated decades of product reviewing experience, writing thousands of words on music listening gear, streaming services and more across thousands of reviews on Louder.
As lifelong music fans and avid TV and film buffs, we're always on the hunt for something to watch in our spare time, whether that's a new music documentary, concert film, pop culture classic, or celebrated animation. We regularly share with each other what we're watching and pay for our subscriptions services from our own pockets. Like you, we want to watch content that's enjoyable on a dependable, easy to navigate and price-focused streaming service.
In this guide to the best TV and film streaming services, we watched a hours of content and scoured through each of them to specifically find music-related content, but we also mention other favourites outside of the music world. Streaming services tend to change their content pretty regularly and we'll update the guide to reflect those programming changes.
Meet the experts
James Grimshaw is a freelance writer and music obsessive with over a decade in music and audio writing. They’ve lent their audio-tech opinions (amongst others) to the likes of Guitar World, MusicRadar and the London Evening Standard – before which, they covered everything music and Leeds through their section-editorship of national e-magazine The State Of The Arts. When they aren’t blasting esoteric noise-rock around the house, they’re playing out with esoteric noise-rock bands in DIY venues across the country; James will evangelise to you about Tera Melos until the sun comes up.
Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more - and watches a lot of TV. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky.
Latest updates
01/10/26: The guide has received a complete audit to ensure that programming and pricing are up to date. In addition, we've updated and expanded the FAQ section and added a more in-depth glossary of key terms. 10/02/26: The guide has been updated from the ground up to include new entries, a quick links section and trailers for each of the TV and film streaming services featured. Each entry now has an 'at a glance' box, while expert verdict panels have been added where applicable. There's also brand new FAQs and a section detailing why you can trust the Louder team. Finally, we've included a 'meet the experts' section highlighting the authors of the guide.
