But knowing where to look doesn’t just save you time and frustration; it will also help you decide which services to subscribe to and which streaming devices to buy. Luckily, we have a few tips to help you track down that elusive content. Follow these steps to work out where you can access digital versions of the movies and television shows you want to watch.
How to find where TV shows and movies are streaming online
When you stream videos through your web browser, you can find them by visiting a different site altogether. Several online portals let you query multiple streaming services at once. Simply type in the name of the television show or movie you’re interested in watching, and you can instantly see where it’s available.
How to find where TV shows and movies are streaming on your phone
When you’re on your phone, you don’t need to visit a separate site to find out where to stream your planned viewing. A couple of the primary video apps will dig these options up for you.
How to find where TV shows and movies are streaming on an Apple TV
To use this feature, you have a couple options. You might head to the home screen’s Search app and type in your keywords. Or, wherever you might be in the Apple TV interface, you can hold down the remote’s Siri button and speak your search terms aloud. As you would expect, the Apple TV defaults to showing you the options available in the Apple TV app. However, if other apps have the same content, you can find these alternatives by hitting the Open In button on the results page.
How to find where TV shows and movies are streaming on an Android TV
If you own an Android TV or an Android TV box, you can search for content in multiple apps, as well as the default Google TV portal. Based on our testing, an Android TV device can dig up content from Apple TV Plus, YouTube, and Hulu, among other services. From the home screen, just move up to the top of the screen and type the name of a show or movie into the search box. Once you’re there, you can also tap select and speak your keywords out loud. If your device has a remote with a microphone button, you can also hold down this key to run a voice search from anywhere in the interface. The results appear in a pop-up pane on top of the interface. Then you can select one of the apps—Disney Plus, Google TV, or wherever the film or show is available—that has the content you want. To search for your favorite film or show, navigate to the Search icon (the magnifying glass) in the top left-hand corner. As you tap out your query, you should see results start to appear on screen, allowing you to pick the right one. If your Fire TV device supports voice search, you can also hold down the microphone button on the supplied remote and state your search terms.
How to find where TV shows and movies are streaming on a Roku device
Start by heading to the home screen of the Roku interface and selecting Search. Then begin to type out the name of the TV show or movie you’re seeking—after a few characters, the right match should show up. Select the entry to see your viewing options across the supported Roku channels. If you don’t have the relevant channel set up on your device yet, you’ll see a prompt to install it. With some Roku devices, you can search with your voice as well: Press the microphone or magnifying glass button on the remote and speak your query out loud. Finally, you can run these searches through the free Roku apps for Android and iOS.
