Nowdays, all people watch a lot more TV and movies. But if people rely on free-to-air broadcast channels, people may have been disappointed. With lots of regular shows cancelled and scaled-down due to the pandemic, almost new programming stalled, getting an increasing diet of repeats, and so many people are turning to streaming services to plug the gap.

But what if you are lacking for cash and every penny counts right now? Well the great news is, there’re ways to stream TV and movies that are safe, free and legal. In this post, we bring you 9 great options for adding some variety and colour to your televisual diet. Note that whether, or not these’re free and the content available does vary from country to country (you may also want to consider getting one of the best).

1. Rakuten

Rakuten based in Japan, it is a streaming service offering movies and TV series for subscription, purchase and rental, but it also features a great selection of ad-supported free contents, including movies, documentaries and kids TV shows. Just hit the ‘Free’ tab at the top to see what is on offer. You just need to provide an email password and address, and then you can start watching on a PC or smartphone (iOS or Android), Mac (not Chromebook) or Xbox One. You can also cast to your TV using chromecast option.

2. Plex

Plex is launched last december by the software company of the same name. The plex is a US-based and ad-supported streaming service, which distinguishes itself from the most of it’s rivals by operating outside of North America and  in fact, it’s in over 200 countries worldwide. It features a large range of TV shows, movies, news shows and podcasts, which you can watch via the web browser or fire stick or cast to your TV via Chromecast. It does not always have the best known movies or TV, to be frank. You will need to subscribe to premium version to get that. But let’s look around and you will probably find some things that pique your interest.

3. BFI Player

BFI Player is website of the British Film Institute, contains a large range of features and shorts that are free to watch, including short films, documentaries, classic TV dramas, home movies, musicals, and even classic British adverts from times past. Almost, the content is black-and-white fare, vintage, but there’re also some short films from modern BFI film festivals. Just hit the ‘Free’ tab at the top to see what is available. There is no signup required, you can watch in the browser, and there is a chromecast to cast to your TV.

4. Popcorn Flix

Popcorn Flix is the website offering free ad-supported streaming video of feature-length,  movies, mainly independent and webisodes. There is no need to sign up, and you can just watch inyour Xbox or Playstation, your browser, or cast to your TV via the Amazon Fire Stick. However, note that the services are currently unavailable outside of North America.

Although popcornFlix.com has one hundreds of TV and movies series available for free streaming. Supported devices include Apple devices, android phones, Roku players, Xbox consoles and samsung Smart TV’s.

5. Crackle

Crackle is owned by Sony, it has an excellent selection of free TV shows, streaming movies, and original content. If you have smartphone, smart TV, tablet, PlayStation 3 or 4, or current Xbox, you can stream Crackle contents for free. Current top movies include Click, Joe Dirt and Underworld, while common TV shows include The Shield, Seinfeld, and Damages. Common programs include the highly acclaimed series The Ropes produced and Sports Jeopardy with Dan Patrick, and directed by Vin Diesel.

6. Hulu

Hulu is by far the most popular service for good reason. While people have a high service that will cost you around $7.99 per month, their free content is pretty amazing as well and worth a look. As  you type this, you can watch last night’s The Daily Show for free, without commercials. Other network programming that you may watch for free, includes Modern Family, Once Upon a Time,  Nashville, and The Mindy Project. It is also worth noting that they offer free 30 day trial.

7. MoviesFoundOnline.com

MoviesFoundOnline.com tends to be indie classics along with some cult favorites. But it is the variety of TV shows available for streaming that making MoviesFoundOnline.com stand out from the crowded. Some examples include BattleBots, The Lucy Show, Mr. Bean, and stand-up comedy acts from Zach Galifianakis and Robin Williams. Watching shows on their website, as they don’t have an app available for mobile viewing.

8. Yidio

Yidio is a common streaming service that allows you to watch TV shows and search and and movies “across Hulu, Amazon, Netflix,  and one hundreds of other providers in one place”. Although, they do have free stand alone contents available, but the power of Yidio is shown when you pair it with a Hulu, Netflix, or Amazon Prime subscription. Essentially, they pull all content available into one handy interface to make viewing and searching a breeze. Yidio is compatible with Android, iOS, and smart TVs.

The amount of free contents available online for free streaming is truly attent. If you are on the fence about satellite from your monthly bills or removing cable, these options are definitely worth a look. It is easy to making an argument of several of these free services can easily satisfy your family’s movie and TV needs.