This also includes the NFL, MLB, NASCAR, and the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup. In Oct. 2025, Apple TV and Peacock teamed up to offer a discounted bundle that will save you over 30% every month. Peacock Premium (ads) with Apple TV costs $14.99/month and Premium Plus (ad-free) with Apple TV costs $19.99/month. We’ve found that this service has the most well-rounded selection of local channels in a base plan and the most variety, especially with the newly-released Genre Packs. Though Philo recently increased prices $5 to $33/month, you’re getting so much bang for your buck because a Philo subscription now includes HBO Max and Discovery+ at no additional cost. When you bundle, you’ll also be able to watch all of Hulu’s content in the Disney+ app.
Comcast unveiled plans to spin off its news, sports, and entertainment assets (which include USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC, and others) in 2024. That will enable the company to focus on growing its broadband, wireless, streaming, studios, and theme park operations. Almost all streaming services hiked up their rates and drove subscription prices high in 2023.
Top Streaming Service Stocks to Add to Your Portfolio
As it navigates this path, investors have an opportunity to capitalize on its pivotal and emerging role in the booming streaming industry. In order to compile a list of the 7 best streaming and TV stocks to invest in, we sifted through ETFs, the Yahoo Finance stock screener, the Finviz stock screener, and online rankings to create an initial list of stocks. Moving on, we shortlisted the top 7 stocks from our list which had the highest number of hedge fund holders. The 7 best streaming and TV stocks to invest in have been arranged in ascending order of their hedge fund holders, as of Q2 2024. Apple Inc., a symbol of innovation and excellence in technology, is the world’s largest company by market capitalization.
Streamers are also trying to score exclusive agreements and partnerships with sports leagues as live sports has become a hot commodity in streaming. Simultaneously, the cost of original content comes at reduced profitability. Additionally, cloud gaming is being integrated into streaming services considering 70% of Gen Z appears to be interested in it.
Apple
Our favorite indoor TV antenna is the Mohu Leaf 50 Amplified, which you can pick up for about $50. It covers up to 60 miles, which should reach most local affiliates, assuming you live within an hour of a major city. If you want to see your local channels, you can enter your address at AntennaWeb. I created a grid of the top 100 channels according to Nielsen to better understand what each service offers. DirecTV is expensive, for instance, but it doesn’t have major holes in the channels lineup like Sling TV, which you have to make up with paid add-ons. While Roku faces challenges in cost control, monitoring its journey toward sustainable profitability is crucial.
Low-Cost Ways To Start Investing If You Feel Priced Out of Stocks
SmartAsset Advisors, LLC (“SmartAsset”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Financial Insight Technology, is registered with the U.S. As with all investing in streaming tv investments, it is prudent to diversify your TV and movie portfolio across different projects to lower the risk of losing on any single investment. You may also want to work with a financial expert on the entertainment industry to help you analyze and manage risks for your investments. This is a form of investment that typically only works with new and not-yet-established properties.
‘Slow Horses’ Season 6: Premiere Date, ‘Joe Country’ And ‘Slough House’ Book Info, And More
To get rid of ads, plans start at $17.99/month for full high definition, and $24.99/month for streaming in up to 4K UHD on up to four screens at a time. Similarly to Paramount+, Peacock is a streaming service that debuts their own original content while also being the streaming home for an entire family of cable networks, namely the NBC Universal ones. Well, much like ice cream, there are streaming services that offer something yummy for just about everyone’s taste. ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox are all broadcast through local affiliates, so you’ll need a live TV streaming service that can deliver local affiliates. YouTube TV, Hulu Live TV, Fubo, and DirecTV support all four, but some services are different. Sling, for instance, includes NBC, ABC, and Fox, but it doesn’t have CBS.
Peacock currently has three plans after eliminating their free plan in early 2023. HBO Max (formerly known as Max) is a service that combines all things HBO with all things Discovery (TLC, Food Network, etc.), Warner Bros., and more. There’s a vast library of current and classic TV and film just waiting to be explored with HBO Max.
This surge in adoption is fueling a content boom, with streaming platforms increasing their production of shows and movies to meet the rising demand. Together, movies and TV shows are worth hundreds of billions of dollars each year. The most successful products, like a new Marvel movie or live sports, can make hundreds of millions of dollars in profits on their own.
As companies seek to advertise via streaming media and content producers look for businesses wanting to purchase ad time, The Trade Desk (TTD -2.89%) and PubMatic (PUBM -4.37%) are well positioned to profit. Half of the battle with live TV streaming services is even understanding what you’re getting. Although some of the confusion of cable’s past is gone, a lot of it remains. Sling Orange & Blue, for instance, includes local affiliates, but unlike other services I looked it, it doesn’t comes with CBS. There are dozens of examples just like this if you go through all of the channel lineups. On October 18, Ben Silverman, Propagate Content Chairman & Co-CEO, appeared on CNBC giving examples of the aforementioned streaming industry trends.
- Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, is a global powerhouse in technology, ranking as the world’s third-largest tech company by revenue.
- Over the past six years, the company has achieved exceptional growth in users, revenues, and gross profits-as highlighted in the chart below.
- ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox are all broadcast through local affiliates, so you’ll need a live TV streaming service that can deliver local affiliates.
- Let’s prepare to unveil the first of these contenders, setting the stage for a portfolio that’s as dynamic as the streaming world itself.
Roku has become the largest TV platform in the U.S., distributing content via The Roku Channel and acting as a hub for households to manage all their streaming subscriptions. In Oct. 2025, Peacock and Apple TV teamed up to offer a discounted bundle that will save you over 30% every month. Premium with Apple TV costs $14.99/month and Premium Plus with Apple TV costs $19.99/month. The same goes for all things Bravo; Real Housewives, Below Deck, Southern Charm, and more are all streaming in full on Peacock.
Like many entertainment and media companies, streaming services depend on a combination of subscriptions and ad revenue to earn money. GOBankingRates works with many financial advertisers to showcase their products and services to our audiences. These brands compensate us to advertise their products in ads across our site.
Our streaming habits are generating a growing stream of revenue for content companies from subscriptions and advertising. The streaming market is on track to grow from almost $345 billion in 2025 to more than $465 billion in 2030. Streaming stocks are publicly traded companies that provide content directly to consumers via the internet. New streaming TV options have launched at a frenzied pace over the last few years. With many subscription internet TV services to choose from, streaming entertainment has become ubiquitous in U.S. homes.
We’re at the height of the Streaming Wars, and deciding for which platform you’re willing to pay a premium can be as challenging as figuring out your favorite ice cream on a hot summer’s day. There are countless options, each offering a similarly satisfying selection, with something new debuting seemingly every week. One of Netflix’s key strategies for international growth involves producing content in local languages, catering to diverse audiences worldwide.
These strategies can help the scaling up of streaming services, manage operating expenses through sharing infrastructure costs (mainly in second-tier international markets), and reduce churn. After years of heavy investment, Disney’s direct-to-consumer streaming services are now profitable. That helped boost the entertainment, sports, and experiences giant’s overall profitability. The streamer currently offers three plans, with the cheapest being the most recent addition to its lineup. For $7.99/month, you can stream Netflix in standard definition with ads.
- However, our IRR does not fully reflect this growth due to the cash flows involved in building our position.
- One way to get in on the action is to invest in companies like Roku and Fubo, which focus on products that deliver streaming content rather than producing the content themselves.
- Investing in movies and TV shows can be a good way to access a market worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
- With Roku reigning as the largest TV platform in the U.S., boasting over 90 million active accounts as of 2025 worldwide, it’s clear why investors are drawn to its potential.
- We’re at the height of the Streaming Wars, and deciding for which platform you’re willing to pay a premium can be as challenging as figuring out your favorite ice cream on a hot summer’s day.
- You can add-on content from MGM+ for $5.99/month and Starz for $9.99/month.
Trends and News in the Streaming Services Market
Roku distributes its smart TV software and streaming devices at minimal cost, making money instead through advertising and subscription management. As Netflix recently cracked down on password sharing, you can add profiles for people who don’t live in your immediate household to your account for $6.99/month extra if you have either of the two ad-free plans. Though the days of Apple offering a one-year free trial are over, you can still take advantage of a three-month free trial by purchasing a new eligible Apple device or a seven-day free trial without a new device. Once that trial is over, or if you’re ineligible, Apple TV costs $13.99/month. If shows like Andor and Ironheart are on your radar, you’ll want to purchase a Disney+ subscription.
There are several FAST services available, with some of the more popular options being Tubi, Roku TV, Pluto, and Peacock. The channels you find on FAST services don’t mirror those of a traditional live TV provider, so you shouldn’t expect to see major networks like Discovery, at least in the same form you find them on cable. There are thousands of FAST channels, and most of them focus on a specific genre or even a specific series. Additionally, Apple emerges as a standout choice among streaming stocks because of its large cash reserves and expanding services segment, including the popular shows and growing content following of Apple TV+. In addition to Disney+, the company also boasts ownership of other popular streaming platforms like Hulu and ESPN+ in the U.S. With its well-established brand and diverse content offerings, Disney is poised to capitalize on the streaming boom.