As another busy week in streaming comes to an end, we’re taking a look back at some of the more interesting news stories that emerged, including the closing down of Netflix’s mailing service, the confirmation that an ad-supported AMC Plus subscription is coming, and YouTube TV’s first Technical Emmy.
No more Netflix DVDs
One of the more interesting pieces of news from the past week was the confirmation that Netflix is shutting down its DVD mailing service. Mailing DVDs to homes was pretty much how Netflix started, and even though most of us now use the digital version, there are plenty of people that continue to use the mailing service.
However, that will change this year as the option to have DVDs mailed to you will officially be gone by the end of September. Netflix confirmed the change during the release of its Q1 2023 results where it also confirmed that it finished up the last quarter with more than 232 million subscribers.
AMC Plus ‘With Ads’ is coming
While the option to rent Netflix DVDs will be gone by October, we will have the option to sign up to an ad-supported AMC Plus plan by then. As of right now, a standard AMC Plus subscription costs $6.99 per month. Assuming no price increase is announced, it is likely the ad-supported AMC Plus plan will cost around $4.99 or less each month.
It is worth keeping in mind that ACM Plus is a bundle subscription. Subscribers not only get access to AMC content, but also content from Shudder, IFC Films Unlimited, and Sundance Now. According to AMC, the ad-supported plan will also be a bundle subscription, making it an even cheaper way to subscribe to all of these streaming services.
YouTube TV’s award-winning feature
An unexpected but interesting story from this week was the confirmation that YouTube TV’s Key Plays is now an award-winning feature. It was the general Views feature that officially won the AI-ML Curation of Sports Highlights award at the 74th annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards.
In other YouTube TV-related news, we got to find out some additional details this week on how Sunday Ticket will work when it goes live later this year. For example, why you shouldn’t sign up to YouTube TV through a mobile carrier or internet provider (if you want Sunday Ticket as well), and how watching on multiple devices at the same time will work.
Improvements and price drops
This week also saw a few improvements and deals. For example, fans of NewsNation will be able to watch 24 hours a day on weekdays starting from next week, while those with a Vizio smart TV can now sign up to Frndly TV or check out Vizio’s new Spring Showcase to see what’s new on WatchFree+.
If you’re more of a Fire TV user, Amazon’s operating system got a very nice DirecTV Stream integration improvement this week. Speaking of DirecTV Stream, subscribers can watch MGM Plus for free over this weekend, thanks to a new free preview which ends on April 23rd.
If you are in need of a new streaming player, the Chromecast with Google TV HD is currently on sale at just $20. Alternatively, Walmart’s new Onn Google TV 4K Streaming Box can also now be picked up in stores at the same price.
If interested in Walmart’s new streaming player, you can also now read our first impressions. Hopefully, we’ll have the full review up and ready to read this time next week.
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