DistroTV is ready to shake up the system! Hands up who has spent a lot of COVID lockdowns flicking through Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime? I’m guessing a lot of you nodded your heads in agreement at that one. It’s been a tough year for all of us, but it’s safe to say that streaming has managed to keep me feeling sane, or as sane as can be.
The market for streaming services has become increasingly saturated since Disney launched the imaginatively titled Disney+ in early 2020, but one thing that has been missing is a genuinely free service that people can use without paying for that costly subscription.
Wonder no more! DistroTV is the new kid on the block and it’s here to carve a new path in the streaming service offering. In this article, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on what the service is like, and what you should be checking out.
What is DistroTV?
DistroTV is a free-to-air AVOD service (I’ll touch more on that later) where audiences can consume 150+ live channels and thousands of hours of content for free without having to subscribe or paying any fees.
How is DistroTV free?
Good question! Where DistroTV differs to streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime is in its acronym – AVOD. AVOD stands for advertising-based video on demand, where the service is free to consumers but like traditional television, users will have to sit through the occasional advert. Think 4OD, YouTube, ITVHub and the like.
What can I watch on DistroTV?
While you won’t be finding any of the latest blockbusters on DistroTV, this is a free service after all, there is a huge variety of films in a number of different genres. Many of the films available to users are of the lesser-known, low-budget variety but I always find something comforting about sitting down with a bag of popcorn at home and watching low-budget films for the fun of it – you don’t notice the lacklustre CG that way.
There is also the opportunity to watch live television through channels you won’t find on your typical Freeview box. The variety here is really great, from sport to business and the latest news. From a movie perspective, DistroTV includes a Cinepride channel which shows award-winning LGBTQ cinema – including underground cult hits and critically acclaimed dramas. For fans of Christmas all year round, there is even a Christmas Classics channel.
If that all sounds too sweet and saccharine to you, how about horror? One thing I did notice was the number of horror films available to watch. There are four dedicated horror movie channels which is fantastic for fans of the genre (sadly I’m too squeamish to take too much enjoyment here).
Finally, for documentary fans, you can learn about our very existence, or even Ancient Egypt if you fancy. One particular highlight for me was Walking with C.S. Lewis – a 10 episode series of episodes of about 30 minutes in length that looks at the life and writings of one of the world’s greatest authors (The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe being one of my favourite books) – this series comes highly recommended.
Is DistroTV good for kids?
There are some great options for the young, and young at heart for that matter – though if you are expecting mainstream brands and TV shows and films you have heard of before, you might find your options to be quite limited. However, if you just want something to pop in and stick the kids in front of while you’re busy doing whatever, there is plenty to choose from.
Sounds great, any cons to DistroTV?
I would say there are two main cons to using DistroTV that I can see, but they wouldn’t stop me using the service. Firstly, the options available to users are quite limited at the moment. While there is definitely something for everyone to watch, the lack of big names and mainstream content may be too much for some to swallow.
Secondly, the user interface itself through browsers is quite clunky and difficult to use. It took me around 5-10 minutes to find out how to navigate through the menus, so this is something I’d like to see looked at in the future.
However, some good news is that there is an app available which is much, much smoother and easier to use. This is ideal for those on the go and is available on Android/iOS/FireTV/Roku/AppleTV where you can search for the DistroTV app (look for the icon to the left).
Final thoughts
As more and more streaming services come online in the near future (and we know the habits of film and television watchers have changed dramatically in the last 12 months alone), the cost of owning subscriptions will become a key factor in household spending.
Therefore, it’s nice to see services like DistroTV being set up and breaking that chain. In the future, I’d like to see more content added – if you cast your minds back to the beginning of Netflix, the same was true – and the rest, as they say, is history.
The best way to support the guys behind this platform is to watch the content – the more people that watch, the more larger series’ and films we can expect to see in the future.
This article has been sponsored by DistroTV, and therefore Movie Metropolis has been compensated to bring you an honest and unfiltered opinion on this emerging service.
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