Disney cancelled Jimmy Kimmel last week because the FCC chair was following Project 2025 and Trump’s wishes to quell dissent. If you want a great breakdown of what happened, check out Last Week Tonight. And as a reminder, Disney capitulated to Trump in late 2024 and paid him $15 million even though they likely would have won in court. Disney ultimately decided to bring Jimmy Kimmel back after the intense backlash, but they also decided to raise their prices the same day. Sinclair and Nexstar, who own local stations and started this whole mess by trying to comply with the FCC chair’s wishes so they can maintain their business interests, will still not play Jimmy Kimmel on their affiliate channels. Update 9/29/25: Sinclair and Nexstar have resumed airing Jimmy Kimmel. For clarity – Walt Disney Corp owns ABC, Hulu, ESPN, and is in the process of acquiring Fubo and the NFL Network.
So – if you cancelled Disney+/Hulu, good for you! I hope you maintain your cancellation, because them raising prices after f*cking up so badly and capitulating to authoritarianism is a slap in the face. But now – where to stream without giving your money to another bad company? In this list I’ve put together a list of options you can feel good about, and here are borderline options. In my next post I’ll tackle the larger companies’ platforms (Paramount+, HBO Max, Peacock, Netflix, etc) and I’m also planning on covering more options for kids and media management platforms. You can also buy physical media to avoid streaming all together!
Did you know you can stream movies and TV shows for free with no ads from your local library?
Hoopla: Partners with local libraries to provide movies, TV shows, music, comics, eBooks, and audiobooks.
What they have: You can browse their movie and TV show selection, or check out Paste’s Best Movies on Hoopla.
How to stream: Web, iOS, Android; streaming devices Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, LG & Samsung TVs, Chromecast, more info here
Available in: US local libraries, depending on your library’s setup. Hoopla is also available in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
The Details: More info on Hoopla here.
Kanopy: Partners with local libraries to provide quality, thoughtful entertainment – think similar to Criterion Collection. Kanopy has movies, documentaries, foreign films, classic cinema, indies and educational videos.
What they have: You can browse their movie selection, or check out Paste’s Best Movies on Kanopy.
How to stream: Web, iOS, Android; streaming devices Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, Samsung TVs, Chromecast
Available in: US local libraries, depending on your library’s setup. Kanopy is also available in libraries in Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
The Details: Kanopy and Libby are both owned by Overdrive, which in turn is owned by KKR, a private equity investment firm. KKR has ties to Israel through investing in Guesty, an Israeli property management software, and investing in Axel Springer until April 2025. KKR also has historical ties to Israel like building a $1 billion data center in 2021 before the war. KKR spent $6.5 million on lobbying in the last two years and their contributions from management and employees was $5.3 million in 2024. That ranks them 179th out of over 40,000 companies for contributions.
My thoughts on Kanopy/Libby’s ownership issues:
Hoopla is a pay-per-use service that can get too expensive for many libraries, which is why they may use Kanopy/Libby as its more cost-sustainable. Hoopla also has issues with AI-generated content, that librarians have to sort through and try to remove as they can only opt-in to the entire catalog. Libby has more flexible formatting, which can help meet diverse access needs, and other catalog benefits. All this to say – I think librarians are in a bind where based on budget and other factors they may have to choose Libby/Kanopy over Hoopla. It doesn’t seem like libraries have a ton of companies they can work with to add more digital content, whether it’s eBooks/audiobooks or movies/TV shows, so they’re working with what they have to provide patrons the best content options. Given that it’s the library’s decision to work with these companies, and they have limited choices, I feel like it’s okay to use these services, though of course make your own decision. You can also contact your local library to let them know you don’t want them to work with Libby/Kanopy, but again, these libraries seem to have limited options so they may not be able to afford to switch to Hoopla.
UPDATE Oct 2025: More Library Media Options!
MyFilmFriend: is a Germany-based library media service that operates differently from Kanopy or Hoopla. Instead of pay-per-use or loan/ticket-based system, MyFilmFriend has a flat annual fee to cover unlimited streaming of their whole catalog, including any new additions throughout the year. What this means is librarians can have predictable costs month-over-month and patrons don’t have to worry about hitting checkout limits. If you are a librarian interested in partnering with MyFilmFriend, reach out to info@myfilmfriend.com
What they have: They’ve been operating in Europe for awhile so the majority of their content is European films, documentaries, and series. However, since they’ve recently expanded to North America they’ve been working to include more North American film. They’ve been working with Latin American distributors to expand their non-Spain-based Spanish films offering and with Quebecois distributors to expand French Canadian offerings. MyFilmFriend bases their collection expansion on librarian and patron requests, so if you are a library looking to partner with them and have more specific needs let them know. However, they are unlikely to ever carry big titles like Marvel as that’s not their main focus.
How to stream: Web, iOS, Android; streaming devices Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, LG & Samsung TVs, Chromecast, more info here
Available in: Right now MyFilmFriend has only partnered with a few libraries in the US, including branches in Pasadena, CA and Detroit, MI. They’ve also started branching out to Canadian libraries including the Bibliotheques de Saguenay. Beyond Canada/North America, their sister site FilmFriend is one of the largest European film streaming services for libraries.
The Details: My Film Friend is privately owned by Filmwerte in Germany, who also runs FilmFriend and other digital services. Filmwerte is partially subsidized by the public program “Creative Europe-Media of the European Union” and has one publicly traded investor, Chapters Group.
PBS Passport: PBS’s subscription streaming service for their shows and international programming. PBS Kids is a separate, FREE app. I personally use PBS Passport and I LOVE it. PBS was partially defunded by the Trump administration but now more than ever needs help from viewers like you!
What they have: You can find all shows here, including PBS classics like This Old House and The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross.
Top Shows: Beyond great PBS Kids content, PBS Passport has great British dramas like Grantchester and The Marlow Murder Club, French dramas like Munch and Astrid, science programs like NOVA, cooking and food shows like America’s Test Kitchen
How to stream: Web, iOS, Android; streaming devices Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, Vizio & Samsung Smart TVs, Chromecast
Cost: $5/mo or $60/yr, but can vary by local station.
Available in: US, but Canadian PBS members can also access through PBS Passport
Dropout.tv: Dropout has some of the most original, hilarious content out there right now. I’ve been subscribed to Dropout for a few years, and their content just keeps getting better and better. I’ve been wanting to watch only comedic shows lately because I can’t handle anything serious with everything going on in the world right now, and Dropout has been such a gift of fun, silly shows that still can touch your heart. I love Dropout.
The Details: Owned by Sam Reich, Dropout also profit shares with their employees, talent and crew. Here is a very in-depth conversation on Dropout’s founding with Hank Green and Sam Reich. Dropout does not have a profile on OpenSecrets. While Dropout doesn’t have a public diversity policy, their programming is very diverse and they have been lauded for their diversity representation.
What they have: Full series list here. All Dropout.tv shows are original programming.
Top Shows: Game Changer, Dimension 20 (my favorite seasons are A Starstruck Odyssey and Never Stop Blowing Up), Very Important People, Smartypants, Gastronauts
How to stream: Web, iOS, Android; streaming devices Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, Vizio, LG, & Samsung Smart TVs, Chromecast, XBOX
Cost: $6.99/mo, or $69.99/yr
Available in: Globally
Viki: Asian TV shows and movies from South Korea, China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and other countries with English subtitles.
The Details: Owned by Rakuten, a Japanese company that’s publicly traded on the Tokyo Exchange with company insiders as the largest shareholder group at ~34%. Rakuten supports diversity and inclusion and has not spent any money on lobbying the last two years.
Top Shows: Tons of K-dramas, their top 20 list includes shows like My Youth, When Destiny Brings the Demon, Desire the Series, and Legend of the Female General.
How to stream: Web, iOS, Android; streaming devices Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, LG & Samsung Smart TVs, Chromecast
Cost: Ad-free streaming for $7.99/mo for Viki Pass or $11.99/mo with Viki Pass Plus, which enables you to play on more devices and download and watch offline.
Available in: Globally, though what content is available will vary by country.
MHz: Specializes in international programming from around the world, though MHz is more European-focused.
The Details: Owned by Kino Lorber, which as far as I can tell is a privately-held company. Kino Lorber does not have a profile on OpenSecrets and does not have public diversity policy.
What they have: All series here, but you can also look by country
Top Shows: Babylon Berlin, The Bridge, The Killing
How to stream: Web, iOS, Android; streaming devices Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, LG & Samsung Smart TVs, XBOX
Cost: $7.99/mo or $79.99/yr in the US, $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr in Canada
Available in: US, Canada
Distro TV: I’m not sure of the quality of Distro.TV app experience, but they do have a ton of content, especially if you’re looking for non-European international shows and movies.
The Details: Owned by Distroscale, which is privately held. Distroscale does not have a profile on OpenSecrets or a public diversity policy.
What they have: Live news, TV shows, movies, music, and radio and OnDemand TV shows and movies. Distro.tv has a Spanish-language collection, live Desi news and entertainment and live African channels and shows.
Top Shows: Live streaming from well-known channels like Bloomberg Television, EuroNews, TED Talks, but tons of programming across a variety of genres and topics
How to stream: Web, iOS, Android; streaming devices Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, LG, Vizio, Sony & Samsung Smart TVs
Cost: Free, ad supported
Available in: Globally
Airy TV: Classic TV shows and movies from the 1950s through the 80s, available live and on-demand.
The Details: Owned by Showfer Media LLC, indicated by Airy’s app store page. Showfer Media does not have a profile on OpenSecrets nor a public diversity policy.
What they have: Generally older content, though they do have some more recent content from the 90s and early 2000s.
How to stream: Web, iOS, Android; streaming devices Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, LG & Samsung Smart TVs
Cost: Free, ad supported
Available in: US-only
Here are the questionable streaming platforms I found for you to make your own decision on, and next week will dive into the big platforms.
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