WASHINGTON – Many individuals and families in the US are afraid to even leave their houses this month. Or have been ordered not to venture outside by various state governors. But now fearing certain death by coronavirus, what are all these people to do? Watch TV, mainly. Which is why free coronavirus deals are coming soon to a TV near you. Free stuff, for real!
Yes, you heard that right. Free stuff from streaming premium TV channels and more arrives this month. Some stuff is already here. And it's all just in time to save the mass quantities of Americans now ungainfully unemployed (and effectively condemned to house arrest) from going stir crazy, all brought to you by the W***an coronavirus.
Why all the free stuff from expensive streaming video entertainment channels?
Greed may be good, according to Gordon Gekko. But free stuff supported by hidden greed could be even better if deployed as an advertising gimmick during the ongoing coronavirus panic and quarantine regime. So why not get April’s captive audience hooked on this or that premium service on the outside chance that they might just pony up for new subscriptions to those services as soon as life resumes something resembling a normal pace.
Image via thisdayinquotes.com. Lo-res image from "Wall Street," copyright 1987 by 20th Century Fox. Fair use.
Communications companies reason they can convincingly write off all the $$$ they lose during their April Freebie Fest and start raking in the revenue after the “all clear” sign appears on the coronavirus horizon. (At least until this fall.)
It seems that all of a sudden, the Big Media Rapid Response Team hatched their Big Idea for redeeming what looks like a dismal Q2 dominated by zero earnings. They’re turning it instead into the biggest streaming video promotion in the history of the televised universe.
Taking advantage of a bargain basement bonanza in free coronavirus deals
Want to take advantage of this bargain basement bonanza! Here’s a listing of what’s currently available for free on TV that you normally couldn’t (or wouldn’t) afford. Like our earlier listing of special coronavirus store hours for senior citizens, the deals listed here may get extended, shortened or otherwise changed. But as of this writing these are the deals we’ve found thus far. All deals, of course, depend on your having access to some kind of TV or streaming network to begin with.
Apple TV+:
As it was in the cloud, Apple is a little behind the curve with its slowly expanding list of in-house and out-house (?) content. But they’re trying harder to get noticed. And one way of doing this is their current offering of free access to their new streaming service for an entire year. All you have to do is purchase a new Apple device
AT&T:
AT&T subscribers who already subscribe to HBO can now get HBO Max free.
PeacockTV logo
Comcast:
Later this month, Comcast will offer the souped up version of Peacock (get it?) for free, exclusively for Comcast subscribers later this month. Also, see NBCUniversal.
Disney +:
See paragraph #3 under Verizon, below.
Fox News:
Fair and balanced as always (but slowly tilting leftward, alas), Fox News is letting viewers watch its popular content live and for free.
HBO:
Starting today, April 3, and available for a month, HBO is offering free access to a selection of its top shows, movies and series.
NBCUniversal:
NBCUniversal has unveiled a limited version of Peacock that streams for free. Also, see Comcast
Quibi logo. Fair use.
Quibi and / or T-Mobile:
A new streaming service, Quibi will materialize on April 6 in the U.S. and Canada, and will cost new subscribers $0.00 for a full 90 days to new subscribers who sign up during the month of April. T-Mobile, which just absorbed Sprint this week (finally), will offer Quibi free to some T-Mobile subscribers for a year. You can get a similar freebie offer from Netflix via the all-new and much bigger T-Mobile.
T-Mobile:
See Quibi, above.
Verizon FiOS:
Those subscribing to Verizon’s FiOS streaming TV service can now access what’s billed as a free weekly streaming entertainment series apparently directed at small businesses and featuring streaming home concerts featuring artists like Dave Matthews and Ryan Tedder.
Even better, those FiOS TV subscribers who don’t subscribe to various premium channel services (like me) now have free access to certain premium services like Epix and Showtime for 30 days.
And finally, Disney+ is offering its new streaming service for a year for select Verizon subscribers. Check the link for details.
Your streaming mileage may vary
Our current listing of streaming TV freebies may continue to grow over the next 30-60 days. Or change. Whatever. Apparently, it’s all up to Mr (or Ms) coronavirus. And / or your friendly state, local or Federal government as to how long America’s House Arrest Edicts persist.
It’s clearly the intent of communications services and a select number of streaming channels to offer the current coronavirus deals not only to gain goodwill among the growing number of US citizens starting to get a bad case of cabin fever while worrying about getting something worse. But they clearly hope this goodwill will jump start new, paying subscriptions for at least some of those viewers who’ve enjoyed the free premium content.
They could be right. But then again, depending on how badly household finances are gouged by America’s currently indefinite unpaid vacation time, maybe many won’t be able to afford new and not exactly cheap premium subscriptions once the free windows slam shut. Guess we’ll all just have to wait to find out. And if we’ll actually get our jobs back.
And so, as they used to say on some of those old 1950s TV shows, “Don’t miss the next thrilling episode!”
*– Headline image: Image by DarkAthena from Pixabay.*
