Video and music streaming apps

Streaming apps have the biggest choice of content

Streaming service apps offer a huge range of content, including the latest movies, classic movies, TV shows, documentaries, and content just for kids. To view all this content, you’ll need to install the service’s streaming app on your device.

Examples of streaming apps

Content available via streaming is divided among individual services. Services are a bit like TV channels, in that each service has its own collection of content. Each service has its own app, and a separate account and subscription. Examples include:

• Netflix
• Disney+
• Prime Video
• Stan
• Apple TV+
• Binge

Streaming apps have exclusive content

Often, a movie or show that is available on one streaming app, such as Netflix, won’t be available on any of the others. This means you might need to subscribe to more than one service to get all the shows and movies you’re interested in.

Searching for content in a streaming app

You can find content in the streaming app by using the Search feature. You can search by name or scroll by category for a show or movie, then tap that content to watch it.

All about subscriptions and extra payments

To use a streaming service, you’ll need to sign up for a monthly subscription. This costs from about $10 a month up to $25 and allows you to watch most of the content on the app as often as you like.

However, some new release films and seasons of TV shows require an extra payment, usually around $5 or so. If you don’t want to pay this extra fee, you can just wait until the content is no longer categorised as a new release.

Streaming apps work with smart TVs too

If you have a compatible smart TV, you can sign in to the app via your TV’s interface and watch your content on the big screen too. Some apps allow you to search and select content on your mobile device, and then play it back on the TV.

Streaming apps remember what you’re watching

If you need to stop watching a movie or show, the streaming app remembers where you got up to so you can resume from where you left off next time you open the app. A section of the interface called Continue watching or similar, keeps track of everything you’ve started but haven’t finished.

The app will also use your watched history to suggest other things you might be interested in. You can find these in a menu called Suggested or something similar.

How to find content on any streaming service

Sometimes you’ll know about a show or a movie you’d like to watch, but not which provider broadcasts the content. Instead of checking every streaming app to find the show, you can use a service like JustWatch.

This lets you search by show or movie, then shows the catch-up and streaming apps it’s available on, and if you need to pay an extra fee to view.

You can access JustWatch via a website or an app from the official app store for your device.

There are also music streaming apps

As well as movie and TV show streaming apps, there are streaming services for music, too. These include YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple music, and more. They have huge music collections, and you can search for a song, album, or artist. Like video streaming, these apps charge a monthly subscription fee, usually less than $20.

Well done!

This is the end of the Video and music streaming apps activity. You’ve learned how these streaming apps work and how you need to subscribe to use them.

Up next, in the Internet radio and podcast apps, you’ll find out how to get access to thousands of radio stations, and how to download podcasts to your device.