Holiday streaming promotions have arrived, with big discounts on add-on subscriptions from Prime Video Channels and The Roku Channel. Headline offers include a slashed price on Paramount+ Premium for Prime members and a three-month Apple TV+ free trial via Roku, as well as steep discounts on MGM+, Starz, BET+, Hallmark, PBS Kids and more. It’s one of the most consumer-friendly promo waves of the season if you’re in the market to binge prestige drama, family content or cult favorites without bloating your monthly bill.
The timing is no accident. Antenna’s most recent account monitoring shows monthly churn above the 6% mark on average as households rotate in and out of services, and Nielsen’s The Gauge is still pegging streaming at well over 35% of all TV usage. Platforms are aware viewers sample during the holidays, and these limited-time add-ons are meant to get you in the door with the least friction for cost.
Best Prime Video add-on subscription savings right now
Prime Video Channels is trying to hawk a batch of aggressive short-term discounts—offers you might find particularly enticing if you’re looking for one login, centralized search and just one bill.
One exception is Paramount+ Premium, which is falling to $3.99 per month for the first two months for new or returning subscribers (who qualify). That’s a nice price break off the standard monthly rate and an intelligent way for folks to catch up on franchises like Halo, Star Trek or the Taylor Sheridan universe spinoffs on TV before committing to an entire three-month period at full pop.
The value extends beyond Paramount+. Another bit of good news: MGM+ and Starz are heavily promoted at $1.99 a month for two months—effectively a 70% to 80% haircut from regular sticker prices, depending on your market. PBS Kids, BET+, Hallmark and MovieSphere+ are also offering two-month promos at around the $1.99 range, whereas specialty genre pick Screambox has slashed prices to $2.99 for two months. The fine print is simple for these deals: Most are designed for new or returning channel subscribers, auto-renew at the current standard rate after the promo window (but you can cancel anytime before renewal), etc.
One reason Channels transactions hold appeal is convenience. The playback is happening inside Prime Video, so you have centralized discovery and fewer app hops. Trade-offs can mean variations in profiles or downloads, niche features versus a company’s standalone app. For most households, however, it’s that cost-per-month math during the promo period that really drives things.
Get Apple TV+ free for three months on Roku Channel
Roku’s holiday lineup fights back with a doozy: Apple TV+ free for three months via The Roku Channel to new and returning eligible subscribers who sign up on a Roku device. With Apple TV+ going for $12.99/month these days, that’s a neat $38.97 worth of savings and hours upon hours to blow through zeitgeist series like Severance and Silo, awards magnets like The Morning Show and Slow Horses, or blockbuster genre swings like Monarch: Legacy of Monsters or Foundation.
Roku’s store also reflects a number of those same third-party promos you’ll find on Prime Video, such as limited-time offers on Starz, BET+, Sundance Now and others. The thinking for selecting Roku’s version over Prime’s typically gets down to your hardware environment and whether you like channel billing inside Roku or Amazon. Get around it: Functionally, both paths make it easy to turn services on for a month or two, and shut off before getting hit with the full rate again.
Why streamers love to push holiday promos
First-time offers are not just seasonal cheer; they’re a strategic reply to subscription cycling. According to Deloitte’s Digital Media Trends, the average U.S. household subscribes to about five different video services, and they’re hunting for deals. Antenna has recorded that promotions make up a substantial percentage of quarterly gross adds, with retention dependent upon what viewers discover in the first 30–60 days. That is why you are seeing deep two-month introductory prices and multi-month free trials — they correspond with common binge periods and billing patterns.
There is also a matter of content timing. Once we get to the home stretch, the award contenders and buzzy finales tend to pile up, and platforms want their pet projects to be what draws you in those weeks. For consumers, it can be a win if you time your watchlist around the promo window and don’t get stuck paying the higher post-trial rate unless you really want to keep going.
How to make the most of these streaming holiday deals
- Confirm eligibility before you click. Most of the deals focus on new or lapsed subscribers to that particular channel, not first-time users of the main service. Even if you previously subscribed directly with the provider, you should still qualify by signing in through Prime Video Channels or The Roku Channel.
- Map a two-month viewing plan. Queue Paramount+ tentpoles like Halo, 1883 or 1923 and the latest Star Trek entries; line up Apple TV+ seasons of Slow Horses, Severance and Ted Lasso; and pencil in a Starz or MGM+ mini-binge if you snap up those $1.99 rates. Then if you still want the subscription, put a reminder in your calendar to re-up (or cancel) it in two or three days.
- Get to know how they differ if you want to try a new one. Channels simplify billing and discovery, but some services restrict access to downloads, profiles or 4K/HDR when you sign up through a marketplace. If family sharing or offline viewing are important to you, make sure feature parity comes first. If convenience and cost are paramount, it’s hard to beat the holiday add-on route.
Bottom line: stack add-ons, binge smart, and save this season
With Apple TV+ free for three months on Roku and a slew of Prime Video channel deals tumbling to the $1.99-to-$3.99 range, this is a rare window in which to try out premium catalogs at a fraction of list price. The terms are simple, the savings are modest and the lineup solid. Stack wisely, binge your shortlist and churn away in your favor.