Giving or getting a Roku this Christmas? The streaming pioneer has lined up an impressive array of free trials. Some of the more compelling offerings:
Some of the promos, like Netflix can be applied to (certain) existing accounts, whereas Hulu and HBO require new identities. But while the terms may slightly vary, the bottom line is you’re going to need to link up a Roku account with your credit card and remember to cancel any subscription before the trial is up. Unless you’re so enamored with the service you choose to carry on — which, of course, is their hope.
Having recently outfitted both our kitchen and guest bedroom with 32″ Roku TVs, I took advantage of the Hulu trial. Despite the commercial interruption, we thoroughly enjoyed the first season of Manhattan and are currently bingeing the Hulu-original Casual. We have until 1/16 to activate any of the others before the promotion period expires… and it sounds like I’ll want to catch up on new seasons of Showtime’s Homeland and The Affair.
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The extra $4/month for ad-free Hulu is most definitely worth it. Lots of great stuff on there, including lots of French New Wave films. Law & Order without commercials is pretty boss too.
"The extra $4/month for ad-free Hulu is most definitely worth it. Lots of great stuff on there, including lots of French New Wave films."
Not just French New Wave. Lots of other foreign classics, plus plenty of great US indies too. Much of it is Criterion Collection, of course. But there a goodly amount of film-lovers delight on Hulu even beyond Criterion.
I first signed up only when the ad-free option appeared. (Down with Xenu!) I expected to cancel when my free month was up, but I'm still there. The teevee selection has been a total and complete bust for me, but given that I've been watching more Hulu than Amazon Prime, not ready to cancel.
(BTW, Alan, assuming that like all sane folks, you agree with me that the Apple OTT service is Forever Vaporware, have you ever written anything about it? I'm always amazed how folks don't see the obvious just cuz it's Apple...)
The Qello 30 day free trial doesn't appear to be tied to a new Roku activation. Anyone know how to sign up for it?