Why Prime Video Add-Ons Can Make Your Streaming Experience Better

Aubry D'Arminio October 14, 2018, 5:00 pm

Truth: Streaming makes life easier. No more rushing home to catch your favorite show live. No more kicking yourself if you forget to set your DVR. You’ll just stream it later!

But for all its pluses, streaming can get overwhelming. Along with the big services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video, there are a deluge of smaller ones. The cable offshoots: HBO Now, Max Go, Showtime Anytime.

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Love Australian and British telly? Then you need Acorn TV, which has the riveting crime series Jack Irish, starring Guy Pearce. You’ll also want BritBox to get U.K. dramas, soaps and game shows just days after they air abroad. CBS has also gotten in the game with CBS All Access, offering originals like Star Trek: Discovery (with Sonequa Martin-Green), plus CBS series such as Madam Secretary.

But no matter which streaming device you use (a Roku, the Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV or a smart TV), you end up with several applications on your screen, each offering different shows. You’re basically left “flipping channels,” just like the old days.

STAR TREK: DISCOVERY - Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham of the CBS All Access series STAR TREK: DISCOVERY.

Sonequa Martin-Green as Michael Burnham in Star Trek: Discovery.

Amazon has a simple solution: Prime Video Channels. Prime members — you can become one for as little as $8.99 per month — may add these services (BritBox, Acorn TV, etc.), plus more than 100 others, to their accounts for the same cost as buying them each independently. (Prices vary. For instance, Acorn costs an additional $4.99 per month, while CBS All Access goes for $5.99. There’s even the bridal-themed TLC Say Yes Weddings channel for $3.99.)

More good news? You can cancel channels at will and many offer a free seven-day trial, so you can test drive the add-ons before committing.

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Then, when you pull up Prime Video on your streaming device, all your services (or “channels”) are in one easily searchable app. All are accessible from the home page and Amazon will even occasionally highlight suggestions from each channel. See? Streaming does make life easier.