15 Best Streaming Services for Science-Fiction Fans

cord-cutting • December 5, 2022 • Staff

With the likes of Star Wars, Star Trek, and Doctor Who dominating TV screens, it's clear that sci-fi isn't the niche enterprise it once was. It makes sense, then, that plenty of streaming services have carved out a space for it. Among the major streamers, Amazon Prime seems to be the most interested in the genre as it produces shows like The Peripheral, The Expanse, Paper Girls, and Night Sky on the regular. Meanwhile, Netflix has Black Mirror, Disney has Star Wars, and Paramount+ has Star Trek.

Live TV streaming services aren't missing out as well since a number of them include the premier sci-fi channel SYFY in their lineups. This channel alone is home to hundreds of sci-fi content, both licensed and original. Below, we list the best streaming services, on-demand and live, for science-fiction fans.

Sling Orange

Sling Orange used to be more expensive than Sling Blue but they now both cost $40 each, or $28 if you get both of them ($55/month if you get Sling Orange+Blue)

Go to Sling Orange

Price: $40/month

Device availability: AirTV, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Cox, iOS, LG TV, Mi Box, Roku, Samsung TV, TiVo, Vizio, Windows 10, Windows 11, Xbox, Xbox One

Channel lineup: A&E, AMC, AXS TV, BBC America, Bloomberg Television, Cartoon Network, Cheddar, Cheddar Big News, CNN, Comedy Central, Disney Channel, EPIX Drive-In, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, Food Network, Freeform, Fuse, HGTV, History, IFC, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, Newsy, TBS, TNT, Travel Channel, Tribeca Shortlist, Viceland

Sling Blue

Sling Blue used to be cheaper than Sling Orange, but they now cost the same - $40 per month. If you get both of them, they cost $55 for the bundle, so around $27.5 each.

Go to Sling Blue

Price: $40/month

Device availability: AirTV, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, LG TV, Roku, Samsung TV, Xbox

Channel lineup: A&E, AMC, Android, AXS TV, BBC America, BET, Bloomberg Television, Bravo, Cartoon Network, Cheddar, Cheddar Big News, CNN, Comedy Central, Cox, Discovery Channel, E!, EPIX Drive-In, Food Network, FOX, Fox News, Fox Sports 1, Fuse, FX, HGTV, History, HLN, IFC, Lifetime, Mi Box, MSNBC, National Geographic, NBC, NBC Sports Network, Newsy, NFL Network, Nick Jr., SYFY, TBS, TiVo, TLC, TNT, Travel Channel, Tribeca Shortlist, truTV, USA

Sling Orange + Blue

At $55 a month, subscribers to Sling TV Orange and Blue treat themselves to the best of both worlds. You can live in the moment with 51 live channels, or tune in whenever you want, choosing from a host of on-demand content. If you’re hesitant to cut the cord completely, this package definitely eases the transition.

Go to Sling Orange + Blue

Price: $55/month

Device availability: AirTV, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Cox, iOS, iPhone, LG TV, Mi Box, Roku, Samsung TV, TiVo, Vizio, Vizio Smart TV, Windows 10, Windows 11, Xbox, Xbox One

Channel lineup: A&E, AMC, AXS TV, BBC America, BET, Bloomberg, Bravo, Cartoon Network, Cheddar, CNN, Comedy Central, Comet, Discovery Channel, Disney Channel, E!, EPIX Drive-In, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, Food Network, FOX, Fox News Channel, Fox Sports 1, Freeform, Fuse, FX, HGTV, History, HLN, IFC, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, Local Now, MotorTrend, MSNBC, National Geographic, NBC, NBCSN, Newsy, NFL Network, Nick Jr., Stadium, SYFY, TBS, TLC, TNT, Travel Channel, truTV, USA, Vice

Hulu with Live TV

Hulu, being owned by The Walt Disney Company, started their Live TV service in May 2016, starting with Disney's other subsidiaries like ESPN. The service was priced at around $40, but after a series of other raises, in December 2022, the cost of the platform was raised to $75.

Go to Hulu with Live TV

Price: $75/month

Free Trial: 7 days

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, iPhone, LG TV, Nintendo Switch, Roku, Roku TV, Samsung TV, Vizio Smart TV, Xbox

Channel lineup: A&E, ABC, ABC News Live, ACC Network, Adult Swim, Animal Planet, Big Ten Network, Bloomberg, Boomerang, Bravo, Cartoon Network, CBS, CBS Sports Network, CBSN, Cheddar, CNBC, CNN, CNN International, Cozi TV, CW, Dabl, Discovery Channel, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, E!, ESPN, ESPN College Extra, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNews, ESPNU, Food Network, FOX, Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Freeform, FX, FXM, FXX, FYI, Golf Channel, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HGTV, History, HLN, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, MotorTrend, MSNBC, Nat Geo Wild, National Geographic, NBC, NBCSN, NFL Network, Olympic Channel, Oxygen, Pop, QVC, SEC Network, Smithsonian Channel, Start TV, SYFY, TBS, TCM, Telemundo, The Weather Channel, TLC, TNT, Travel Channel, truTV, Universal Kids, USA, Vice, WGN America

Fubo

Fubo is a live TV and on-demand streaming service. The platform had it beginning as a soccer stream service, but it quickly became popular as a viable alternative to expensive cable subscriptions in the U.S, offering an attractive bundle of more than 100 live channels as well as an endless array of on-demand movies.

Go to Fubo

Price: $64.99/month

Free Trial: 7 days

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, Roku

Channel lineup: A&E, ABC, ABC News Live, ACC Network, AccuWeather, AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, Bein Sports, Bein Sports 4, Bein sports 5, Bein Sports 6, Bein Sports 7, Bein Sports 8, Big Ten Network, Bravo, CBS, CBS Sports Network, CBSN, Cheddar, CMT, CNBC, Comedy Central, Comet, Cozi TV, CW, Discovery Channel, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, E!, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, Estrella TV, Food Network, FOX, Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Freeform, fubo Sports Network, FX, FXX, FYI, Galavision, GetTV, Golf Channel, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HGTV, History, IFC, Investigation Discovery, Local Now, MotorTrend, MSNBC, MTV, National Geographic, NBC, NBCLX, NBCSN, Newsmax, NFL Network, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, Olympic Channel, OWN, Oxygen, Paramount Network, Pop, SEC Network, Smithsonian Channel, Sundance TV, SYFY, Tastemade, Telemundo, The Weather Channel, TLC, Travel Channel, TUDN, TUDNxtra1, TUDNxtra10, TUDNxtra11, TUDNxtra2, TUDNxtra3, TUDNxtra4, TUDNxtra5, TUDNxtra6, TUDNxtra7, TUDNxtra8, TUDNxtra9, TV Land, TVG, Unimas, Universal Kids, Universo, Univision, USA, VH1, Vice, WE tv, WGN America

Disney+

Disney Plus is a streaming on-demand service owned by the Walt Disney Company available in 59 countries at the time of writing.

Pricing starts at $8 a month in the US, while plans differ from region to region. New theatrical releases cost up to $30 in addition to the subscription fee.

Disney Plus can be accessed via a full range of services including Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Fire TV, Roku, Xbox One and is compatible across Apple and PC computers, and Android and Apple phones and tablets.

Go to Disney+

Price: $6.99/month

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, iOS, PlayStation, Roku, Xbox

Netflix

Netflix is an ad-free streaming platform that operates on a monthly, or annual, subscription.

There are three pricing plans – Basic, Standard and Premium – and the one you choose will determine the number of devices that you can simultaneously use to watch Netflix, in case you want to share the account with someone else.

There are three plans, though pricing differs from region to region. First up is the Basic plan, which allows you to watch on one device at a time. Upgrading to the Standard plan allows you to watch shows and movies, and download them for offline viewing, on up to 2 different devices at a time. The top-tier Premium plan lets you watch and download on up to 4 different devices, and comes with the options to watch videos in HD and Ultra HD.

Once subscribed, you can watch movies and TV shows directly on your browser via Netflix.com.

You also have the option of downloading the app on pretty much any mobile device, including iOS, Android, or Windows. The app also works on computers using Windows XP or later and Macs with OS X Tiger or later.

Go to Netflix

Price: $8.99/month

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Changhong, Chromecast, Haier, Hisense, iOS, LG TV, Nvidia SHIELD, Panasonic, Philips, PlayStation, Roku, Roku TV, Samsung, Samsung TV, Sharp, Skyworth, Sony, TiVo, Vestel, Vizio, Wii, Xbox

Dig deeper:

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Amazon Prime

Amazon's premium membership program includes access to the streaming platform Prime Video, more commonly referred to in this publication as simply “Amazon Prime.”

If you live in the US, the UK or Germany, you have the option between paying a yearly or monthly subscription fee for an Amazon Prime account, which comes with a bulk of other retail and delivery services. People in other countries where Amazon is not operating may be able to access it from a browser only.

In addition to on-demand streaming, you can rent or purchase TV shows that are not on the service for an additional fee. As well as Amazon devices, the app is available on any mobile device, including iOS, Android, or Windows. The app also works on Apple and Windows computers, on a wide range of TVs, mobile devices, and games consoles.

Go to Amazon Prime

Price: $12.99/month

Free Trial: 30 days

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple TV, Changhong, Chromecast, Haier, Hisense, iOS, LG, Nvidia SHIELD, Panasonic, Philips, PlayStation, Roku, Samsung, Sharp, Skyworth, Sony, TiVo, Vestel, Vizio, Wii, Xbox

Paramount+ Premium

Paramount plus is mostly a Netflix-style streaming service, offering movies and TV shows on-demand like The Good Fight or Yellowstone.

The premium plan of Paramount Plus gives you access to Live TV from CBS: CBS local channels, CBS News (CBSN), CBS Sports, ET live, and some live sporting events like NFL on CBS Live. It also offers on-demand access to programming from Comedy Central, MTV, BET, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Paramount Pictures and Smithsonian Channel.

Go to Paramount+ Premium

Price: $9.99/month

Free Trial: 7 days

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS, LG TV, PlayStation 4, Portal TV, Roku, Samsung TV, Vizio, Xbox, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, Xfinity Flex

Channel lineup: CBS local channels, CBS Sports HQ, CBSN, ET Live

YouTube TV

Youtube TV launched in some areas in the U.S.in mid-2017, first with a limited offering but quickly signing deals with providers like Turner Warner, Warnermedia, and Viacom CBS. This allowed it to carry channels as varried as the BBC and HBO.

Go to YouTube TV

Price: $64.99/month

Free Trial: 7 days

Device availability: Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, iOS, LG TV, PlayStation, Roku, Samsung TV, Sharp, Vizio, Xbox

Channel lineup: ABC, ABC News Live, ACC Network, Adult Swim, AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, BBC World News, BET, BET Her, Big Ten Network, Bravo, Cartoon Network, CBS, CBS Sports Network, Cheddar, CMT, CNBC, CNBC World, CNN, Comedy Central, Comet, Court TV, Cozi TV, CW, Dabl, Discovery Channel, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, E!, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNews, ESPNU, Food Network, FOX, Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Freeform, FX, FXM, FXX, Golf Channel, HGTV, HLN, IFC, Investigation Discovery, Local Now, MLB Network, MotorTrend, MSNBC, MTV, MTV Classic, MTV2, Nat Geo Wild, National Geographic, NBA TV, NBC, NBC News Now, NBC Universo, NBCLX, NBCSN, News Nation, Newsy, NFL Network, Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Olympic Channel, OWN, Oxygen, Paramount Network, PBS, PBS Kids, Pop, QVC, SEC Network, Smithsonian Channel, Start TV, Sundance TV, SYFY, Tastemade, TBS, TCM, Teen Nick, Telemundo, TLC, TNT, Travel Channel, truTV, TV Land, TYT Network, Universal Kids, Universo, USA, VH1, WE tv

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Sling Orange

Sling Blue

Sling Orange + Blue

Hulu with Live TV

Fubo

Disney+

Netflix

Amazon Prime

Paramount+ Premium

YouTube TV

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