CuriosityStream Review
CuriosityStream is a new Netflix-like service that lets you subscribe to over 1,000 documentaries for $2.99 per month. Here’s our review of how Curiosity Stream works.
What is Curiosity Stream?
Curiosity Stream is a video streaming service that promises to help “grow curious minds.” The service currently has over 1,000 nonfiction programs available for live streaming online.
Those nonfiction programs include documentaries about nature, history, space, sociology, the future, and other topics.
These documentaries don’t work like normal documentaries: they’ve been specially chosen for the Curiosity Stream service. Many of them are 8 minute video clips, for example, hand-selected from programs from the BBC or Japanese broadcaster NHK. So instead of watching an hour long documentary about a topic, you can watch shorter videos.
Of course, longer videos are also available. All videos are provided commercial-free and available for instant, unlimited streaming on-demand.
There’s also a free month trial offer. After that trial is over, you’ll need to pay $2.99 per month.
Curiosity Stream can be streamed over Roku, Chromecast, phone, tablet, or Apple TV. This isn’t some flash-in-the-pan streaming service made by some low-quality company: Curiosity Stream has recently been featured in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, TIME, Wall Street Journal, Mashable, and other major publications. So yeah, it’s the real deal.
Mashable called Curiosity Stream “Netflix for nonfiction”. If you use Netflix to watch shows like House of Cards, then maybe you should consider using Curiosity Stream to watch shows like Next World with Michio Kaku – at least, that’s what the creator of Curiosity Stream wants you to think.
Curiosity Stream was launched in spring 2015 by John Hendricks, who also happens to be the guy who founded the Discovery Channel.
How to Watch Curiosity Stream
Curiosity Stream is available on the wide range of devices you would expect.
You can watch it on your computer, TV, tablet, or smartphone.
It’s also available on Roku, Chromecast, and Apple TV. Basically, if you have a popular internet connected device, then it should work with Curiosity Stream. And if it doesn’t work today, then support may be coming in the near future.
CuriosityStream Programming
Curiosity Stream promises to offer something for “everyone in the family”, including the world’s highest quality programs from the world’s best documentary makers.
As mentioned above, that programming isn’t just like scanning through hour-long documentaries on Netflix. Curiosity Stream has aimed to make “curiosity-based” programming more accessible by providing a wide range of documentaries in all different formats.
Some of these formats are short, 8 minute videos. They might have been taken from another TV program – like a general science program.
Nevertheless, there are specific documentaries and programs available through Curiosity Stream. You can select all of these programs as easily as you would choose a program on Netflix. Some of the top documentaries and series include:
-Destination Pluto: Follows the timeline of the New Horizons mission to Pluto from its date of inception to its recent encounter with Pluto.
-Curious Minds: “Interviewing 20 new luminaries each month, Curiosity Studios explores the questions of our time, with expertise from today’s innovative thinkers.”
-The Rise & Fall of T-Rex: Covers the reign of the T-Rex as he ruled the earth 65 million years ago.
-Ancient Builders: Shorter show that explores the engineering marvels created by the ancient world – like the Pyramids and Machu Picchu.
-Behind the Artist: 10 part series that discusses the inspiration and hard work behind some of the world’s most renowned artists.
-William the Conqueror: Traces 60 years of history across the Middle Ages against the background of William the Conqueror’s life.
-And many more. There are over 1,000 programs currently available on Curiosity Stream (the service also advertises 500+ hours of programming).
You can watch a short video preview of all of these programs at the Curiosity Stream homepage here: https://www.curiositystream.com/
Some of these programs are made by Curiosity Studios, which aims to produce programming similar to the way Netflix produces its own programming today. Others are licensed from other providers like BBC.
How Much Does CuriosityStream Cost?
Realistically, Curiosity Stream will cost you around $72 per year, although that doesn’t sound as good as saying $2.99 per month.
It also doesn’t sound as good as saying $2.99 per month for standard definition. That’s right: it’s 2015 and Curiosity Stream has still decided to separate its pricing tiers based on SD and HD:
-Curiosity Stream in SD: $2.99 per month ($35.88 USD per year)
-Curiosity Stream in HD: $5.99 per month ($71.88 USD per year)
The creators of Curiosity Stream clearly know that shows about nature, space, and other documentary-like shows all benefit enormously from HD. Whether you’re watching on your smartphone, tablet, computer, or TV, you’ll notice a significant difference between the two resolutions.
Nevertheless, even Curiosity Stream’s HD subscription plan is cheaper than Netflix.
All prices are in US dollars and your payment needs to be made in US dollars when you order Curiosity Stream online from the official website (curiositystream.com).
Curiosity Stream was only available in the United States at the time of launch but has recently expanded to Canada. According to a recent interview with Reuters, however, Curiosity Stream will “expand worldwide over five years”.
To check if your country is currently supported by Curiosity Stream, you can visit the service’s international landing page here: https://www.curiositystream.com/international
There are also plans to launch a 4K resolution streaming service later this year. It’s unknown how much that would cost.
You’re free to cancel your plan at any time. All plans also come with the first month totally free. You can cancel before that month is over at no cost – just like Netflix.
Conclusion: Who Should Subscribe to Curiosity Stream?
It’s normal to compare Curiosity Stream to Netflix. Netflix currently has thousands of documentaries that cover a wide range of subjects.
However, most of these documentaries are of the commercial variety. Not all of them are of a high level of quality. Netflix is also not primarily a documentary network: it’s primarily for scripted TV series and movies.
Do you miss the programming that used to air on the History Channel and the Discovery Channel? Are you sick of hearing about annoying auctioneers and people who live in swamps instead of real history and science? If that’s the case with you, then Curiosity Stream aims to satisfy your curious mind with its $6 per month HD streaming service with real science, real history, and high-quality documentaries.
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