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Where to Find Free or Discounted Entertainment While Hunkering Down for Coronavirus


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Need a distraction while you’re cooped up in quarantine? Comcast, and other internet providers and organizations, are offering free deals due to coronavirus.

Out of all the major deals we could find, Comcast is doing the most to help low-income families, students and teachers access the internet during this time.

Streaming is especially popular right now – so we’ve also included major streaming platforms offering 30-day trials.

The amount of time people spent streaming increased more than 20 percent in early March, according to TV advertising company Wurl Inc.

Here are ways you can do the same, but save money doing it:

Internet/WiFi

Most colleges have announced that they’ve gone entirely online for the remainder of their school year. With classes being entirely online, it’s important for students to have quick and easy access to the internet and other educational tools.

But it’s especially important for financially-struggling families for it to be free. Here’s what different companies are offering:

Spectrum

What it is: Need to join a Zoom call but don’t have internet or WiFi available at home? Spectrum will give you both for free as part of their Remote Education Credit if you’re a K-12 student, college student or teacher.

Spectrum’s site says they’ll even waive any installation or prepayment fees to help you get started. The offer lasts until May 15.

How to get it: Call 855-243-8892.

Comcast

What it is: Comcast’s offer is similar to Spectrum, but has more benefits. It comes with:

  • Free WiFi with Xfinity hotspots
  • Free unlimited data and internet for 60 days (for existing Comcast customers)
  • No late fees or disconnects if you can’t afford the bills
  • New educational collections for all grade levels (for existing Comcast customers)
  • An $150 Comcast gift card for students only

Comcast also announced it’s raising the internet speed for Internet Essentials, its internet service provider for low-income families. The speed, they announced, is a move that’s here to stay even after the virus is gone.

How to get it: Go here.

Kanopy

What it is: Kanopy offers your local library’s video collection, along with other indie, foreign and documentary films. There are not many fictional films on this platform, and many universities use this for educational purposes. This was free before coronavirus, and it’s still free now.

How to get it: Log in here with your student or professor ID or your public library card.

Entertainment

If you already have access to the internet and just want something to watch, here are a few unique options. Although many mainstream services like Netflix and Hulu don’t have any COVID-19-specific deals running, they still have month-long free trials.

The Metropolitan Opera

What it is: After canceling the remainder of their 2019-2020 season, the Metropolitan Opera in New York City announced it would be running live streams of previous plays on their site and on-demand apps. They’ll show a different show every night at 7:30 p.m. and have it live on their site for 23 hours.

The streams are scheduled to last through April 5. You can view the schedule here.

How to get it: Go here.

Entertainment

Sling TV

What it is: Sling TV is offering free news and thousands of shows and movies, including a 24/7 stream of ABC News Live and a family-friendly section. You don’t even need an existing paid Sling TV account to get access.

How to get it: Go here.

VidAngel

What it is: VidAngel is a traditional streaming service packed with TV and shows. What makes it different is its different filters allow you to skip what it deems as profanity, racial slurs, and violence. You can filter out specific words and different kinds of violence if that makes you uncomfortable or if you’re watching with kids.

It’s offering everything for free until March 30. You don’t have to put your credit card information in the system, either.

How to get it: Go here.

Free trials

While some popular streaming services aren’t making their services free right away, many still have 30-day free trials – compared to many companies’ 7-day trials – you can take advantage of.

You just have to remember to cancel before the 30 days are up.

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