With television licence fees now costing over €150 per year, and Sky packages costing €59 a month (that’s €708 a year!), Irish consumers are now paying more than ever before for the privilege of kicking back and relaxing in the evenings in front of a movie or TV series. And while many Irish people are actively looking to cut corners and save money, their television package is the one thing they are unwilling to give up. In our mission to help you save money, we are setting out to persuade you of the impossible, that you may be able to forfeit your television package saving hundreds per year in the process, while still having access to movies and series without paying a cent. In this article, we will highlight (some obvious, some not so obvious) opportunities for legally accessing and watching free TV and free movies in Ireland. All you will need is laptop, internet connection and HDMI cable if you wish to connect your laptop to your TV.
Free One Month Trial with Netflix
Netflix now offers new customers a free month of unlimited access to its extensive catalogue of movies, TV series and Netflix Original series. In order to sign up for this offer, you will need to go to netflix.com and provide your name, email and select a payment method. You will not be charged for your first month, and you may cancel at any time. Netflix will helpfully email you a reminder when your free trial is almost over, so you can cancel your account and avoid being charged. Providing new email address and payment information will secure another month of free viewing. So find out what all the fuss is about and sign up! As well as an extensive, regularly updated catalogue of movies, documentaries and TV series, Netflix has produced a range of highly popular series for you to enjoy, including ‘Orange is the New Black’ ‘13 Reasons Why’ ‘House of Cards’ and ‘Stranger Things’.
Free One Month Trial with Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime is another example of a video streaming service, which, similar to Netflix, offers a free one month trial for new Irish customers. Like Netflix, in order to sign up you must provide payment information when you register first. As well as movies and TV series, Amazon Prime Video offers original content including ‘Black Sails’ ‘The Man in the High Castle’, ‘Constantine’ and ‘Transparent’ . Head on over to primevideo.com to view Amazon’s current library, to see if this free month long trial is something for you. Be careful with Amazon Prime Video however! Unlike Netflix, you will not be notified at the end of your free trial, instead you will automatically be upgraded to a paid membership, so you will need to remember to cancel your membership before you are upgraded.
RTE Player
If you would like to catch up on programmes shown by Irish broadcaster RTE, for free, head on over to www.rte.ie/player/ie. RTE Player is a free on-demand video streaming service run by RTE, which enables Irish consumers to catch up on their favourite shows. Not only will you be able to access irish made shows for free, including ‘Fair City’ ‘First Dates Ireland’ ‘All Round to Mrs Browns’ ‘The Sunday Game’ and ‘The Late Late Show’ you will be able to enjoy the international shows for which RTE have secured streaming rights. These include ‘Home and Away’, ‘Ellen’ ‘Call the Midwife’ ‘Greys Anatomy’ and ‘Homeland’. Shows can be accessed for free, on RTE player for up to 21 days after they have been broadcast.
TV3PLAYER
TV3 Player is a similar on demand streaming service, which makes shows available to stream for free, for up to 28 days after they are first broadcast on TV3. Popular shows, including Britain’s Got Talent, UEFA Europa League Update, Celebrity Juice, Goggle box, The Graham Norton Show and Expose can be accessed, completely free at www.tv3.ie/3player.
Big Five Glories
Feeling like a weekend of good old fashioned relaxation, escapism and old Hollywood glamour? Get over to www.bigfiveglories.com , where you can access and stream a wide collection of classic cinema for free. This site has collected old movies in the public domain and categorised them by decade and genre, making it easier than ever to find what you’re looking for.
Local library
Though it may seem unlikely, your local library is a great place for finding free entertainment for all ages and interests. You may be pleasantly surprised when you check out the Media section of your local library, and see what DVDs, videos, and even audiobooks are available. You may even be able to order in movies and boxsets from other library branches around the county, or request that a specific one be bought and added to the library catalogue if it is not already available.
Free TV and Films for Kids
YouTube is an obvious no-brainer when it comes to watching free films and TV online. It is also a particularly useful site to keep in mind when entertaining kids. Channels such as Peppa Pig English Episodes, Donald Duckson, and TopToons TV, contain full episodes of children’s TV and will keep little ones happily occupied for a few hours. Channels such as ABCkidTV, Toddler Fun Learning, and The Learning Station may be channel names to remember. They produce quite slickly edited and free educational videos, which will help kids learn colours, numbers, songs, rhymes and little dances.
