Here's how to stream TV shows and movies for free (including Disney Plus)

Best streaming trials and deals 2020: where to watch TV and movies for free
(Image credit: Sky)

If you're all up to date on Corrie and Killing Eve and feel you have exhausted Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, you might be looking for your next couch potato fix. And thanks to these free trials and offers on some of the best streaming services, you don't have to pay a penny.

Considering the times we are living in, it isn't surprising that several video streaming services are currently offering extended free trials, promotional deals, and new ways to watch TV shows and films for free. 

To save you searching for a streaming steal, we have rounded up the best ways to stream movies and TV shows for free (or for very little money). The free trials alone will keep you going for several months!

Here are the best free TV show and movie streaming deals around...

Apple TV Plus: free TV shows

Apple has a gift for all of us stuck at home under lockdown – it's made a number of shows on its Apple TV+ streaming service free to watch. It already made season premieres free to watch, but now it's unlocked entire series and feature-length movies for no fee at all.

Free shows include The Elephant Queen – a documentary about a family of elephants as they travel across the African savannah, narrated by Chiwetel Ejiofor – and For all Mankind, a space drama from Star Trek's Ronald D. Moore.

To watch the streaming service's most popular, premium content – including Jennifer Aniston-hosted The Morning Show and Jason Momoa-starring See – you can sign up for a seven-day free trial before parting with any cash.

The Roku Channel

Roku has launched its free, ad-supported TV streaming channel in the UK. The Roku Channel, which debuted in the US in 2017, offers free access to over 10,000 movies and TV episodes to anyone with a Roku streamer, Roku-based TV, Now TV device or Sky Q boxes. The channel requires no subscriptions, fees or even logins, but it is supported by adverts. Expect everything from Hollywood blockbusters The Wicker Man and Les Miserables to British TV series Homes Under the HammerSkins and Fifth Gear

NOW TV pass promos

Sky's contract-free NOW TV service offers live and exclusive on-demand access to the likes of Sky Cinema, Sky One, Sky Atlantic, Sky Arts, FOX and Syfy content. 

There are often deals available to existing customers, so to find them simply head go into 'My Account' > 'Passes & Vouchers' > 'Offers for you'),

Best streaming trials and deals 2020: where to watch TV and movies for free

(Image credit: Shudder)

Disney Plus: 7-day free trial

Disney's new Netflix-rivalling service offers a whole new world of Disney content in a polished service. Disney Plus is well-stocked, easy-to-navigate catalogue is a mix of new and old and original titles that Disney fans are bound to enjoy, and that's backed up with vast picture and audio quality support and an intuitive user experience.

With the whole first season of The Mandalorian now on the service, now's a great time to take advantage of that free trial.

  • Disney Plus is a very reasonable £5.99 per month, but you can get a free seven-day trial before you make any long-term commitment.
Disney+ streaming annual subscription £71.88 £59.99

<a href="https://disneyplus.bn5x.net/c/221109/564546/9358?subId1=hawk-custom-tracking&sharedId=hawk&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.disneyplus.com%2Fen-gb%2Fwelcome" data-link-merchant="disneyplus.com"">Disney+ streaming annual subscription £71.88 £59.99
Get access to Disney's Marvel, National Geographic, Pixar, and Star Wars material – including breakout hit The Mandalorian – plus classic and new Disney shows including The Simpsons. Best of all, you can save over 15% when you sign up for a 12 month subscription!

Rakuten TV: 150+ free TV and movies

Rakuten TV has expanded its free TV and film offering to help entertain us while we're stuck at home. Head to Raktuen's online catalogue and you'll find that its collection of free kids TV programmes, and films for adults too, now number more than 150.

  • Raktuen is free to sign-up to. No subscriptions, no commitment – watch what you like of the free content and pay for anything else you want.

Best streaming trials and deals 2020: where to watch TV and movies for free

(Image credit: Apple)

Sky ReWatch campaign

OK so this freebie is only for Sky TV subscribers. Sky has now made 100 boxsets and 2000 hours of content available to all Sky+, Sky Q and Sky Go subscribers (bar Sky Essentials customers) throughout May and June for free. Expect everything from Big Little Lies and The Wire to Sky Originals such as Chernobyl and Riviera. 

Just head to the on-demand section on your Sky box to start watching, no subscription change required.

Quibi: 90-day free trial

Just launched, the new short-form, mobile-first streaming service is solely comprised of videos 10 minutes or less in length. The catalogue currently has over 50 shows – 'Movies in Chapters' (films broken into clips between seven and 10 minutes), 'Daily Essentials' (five-to-six-minute news and entertainment snippets) and 'Unscripted and Docs' (fictional and factual programmes shorter than 10 minutes). 

The most high-profile programmes available now include Chrissy Teigen's Chrissy's Court, in which she presides over small court disputes, and Punk’d, which sees Chance the Rapper revive the popular MTV series. Then there's the Jennifer Lopez-produced Thanks a Million, an "emotional and inspiring series" that features grateful public figures who kickstart a chain of kindness by gifting $100,000 to an unsuspecting individual who must pay it forward.

  • Download the Quibi app on your phone for a 90-day free trial before you decide whether to commit to the £7.99 monthly fee

(Image credit: Quibi)

BFI Player: 14-day free trial 

The British Film Institute takes its classic and cult films conveyance seriously, offering a streaming catalogue that’s not only distinguished and expansive but also spans decades, so you’re as likely to see a contemporary Korean psycho-sexual thriller as you are a classic 1950s Ingmar Bergman drama.

Details on the subscription streaming service are below, but anyone can also take advantage of the BFI's free archive content.

Britbox: 30-day free trial

BritBox is a joint effort from terrestrial broadcasters the BBC and ITV. It aims to bring together the best of British TV, including comedy, drama, soaps, factual programming, light entertainment and everything else in between. TutankhamunCold Feet, Silent Witness, Broadchurch, McMafiaLast Tango in HalifaxLes Misérables and Gavin & Stacey – you name it, it's on there.

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Becky Roberts

Becky is the managing editor of What Hi-Fi? and, since her recent move to Melbourne, also the editor of Australian Hi-Fi magazine. During her 10 years in the hi-fi industry, she has been fortunate enough to travel the world to report on the biggest and most exciting brands in hi-fi and consumer tech (and has had the jetlag and hangovers to remember them by). In her spare time, Becky can often be found running, watching Liverpool FC and horror movies, and hunting for gluten-free cake.