One of the newer streaming services out there, Acorn TV has become more popular over the last few years. It’s an alternative option to other services like Now TV and Netflix.
And with so much choice out there at the moment, there’s more different TV providers than ever before. This can make it pretty difficult to know which of them would be the most suitable for your needs.
So, what reasons are there to opt for Acorn TV over the rest of them? Well, it does have a few shows that you won’t be able to find anywhere else. Let’s look at Acorn TV in detail to find out.
What is Acorn TV?
Although it’s available in the UK too, Acorn TV is an American streaming provider that specializes in drama shows, documentaries and especially mystery shows too. They provide many different options to other services like Netflix.
Acorn TV is stocked up with primarily British shows, which makes it a great choice for Brits who are living abroad from the homeland. Although you can sign up to it if you’re in the UK, it’s typically going to appeal to those that are overseas in the United States or elsehwhere.
As well as some of the best of British, they also have a selection of Australian and Canadian shows to choose from too. I’m told there are also some good shows from New Zealand on there too, like The Brokenwood Mysteries, though I haven’t got round to watching them myself yet.
Acorn TV have actually been around for while, and they’ve been available to international customers for almost a decade. However, they only launched in the UK in mid 2020, which is why there’s been an increase in popularity of the brand.
What are the best shows on Acorn TV?
If you’re looking to find out exactly what television shows are on Acorn TV, then there’s quite a lot of different options to choose from. There’s not quite the same amount of content on there as Prime Video or Disney+, so we expect to see some more added in the near future.
However, here’s a short summary of the best Acorn TV shows that are currently on the streaming service.
Is Acorn TV Free?
Although the service do offer a free trial for you to use, unfortunately it’s not actually free for you to use it. At the moment in the UK, they charge £4.99 for one month of the service. In the US, paid subscribers have to pay an equivalent $5.99 per month.
You can cut this down a little bit by opting to pay the £49.99 yearly charge if you’re happy to sign up for the full years though. So, a full annual subscription can save you a little cash, and it could be the better choice.
So Acorn TV isn’t free with Amazon Prime?
Although you can access the service through your Amazon Prime account, Acorn TV doesn’t come free with the service. So whilst you could sign up for the free trial through your Prime account, you will have to pay the standard fee if you want to keep the service long term.
It’s a good way to watch British television that isn’t included in your Amazon Prime or Netflix subscription.
Where can I watch Acorn TV?
As well as finding Acorn TV on your Amazon Prime account, you’ll also be able to access it through various different other methods too. You can also use Acorn TV on a Fire Stick, Roku, Apple TV and even your Android or iOS phone too.
You can also access Acorn TV on the majority of smart TVs out there as well (check our smart TV guide this article), and you could also stream it via Chromecast as well.
Is Acorn TV better than Britbox?
As the two of these streaming platforms primarily focus of giving international viewers the chance to watch British TV shows, they’re often compared to one another. And although Acorn has been around for longer, Britbox has proven to be fairly popular, with more than a million users signing up to the service in the UK alone.
The comparison mainly comes because the top shows on Acorn TV – like Doc Martin and Midsomer Murders – are both ITV shows in the UK. And if you didn’t know, Britbox is the brainchild of ITV and the BBC together, meaning that they also have these shows on Britbox too.
As well as this, Britbox has a good array of more well known shows to choose from, like every season of Doctor Who to the new remake of Spitting Image.
So what does Acorn TV have going for it? Well, it is the cheaper option of the two, and it does have a different array of options than Britbox, especially for those from Ireland, Australia or New Zealand. However, Britbox has the larger selection to choose from.
Conclusion
Overall, it’s pretty easy to see that Acorn TV is a sign of the future for television in the UK and even worldwide. It seems more likely now that soon, we’ll be getting rid of the TV licence fee in the UK, with most people preferring to use that cost for services like this.
And to be honest, it makes perfect sense if you can find more value in a service like Acorn TV than you can watching the BBC. For those who like older TV shows and mysteries, Acorn TV might have some good shows for you, although overall they still have a fairly limited selection to choose from.
