Forms of entertainment have been present since earlier periods. In fact, one of the first forms of entertainment started with royalty through court jesters and plays. Like everything else, entertainment has evolved into something better and more scalable. From theater and big-screen films to even Tik Tok videos nowadays, there are so many forms of media entertainment! To rest and relax, some people turn to stand-up comedies to have a good laugh. Others, on the other hand, prefer to tune into documentaries. If you’re one of the latter and want to appease your curiosity through documentaries, consider CuriosityStream.
This CuriosityStream review will tell you all you need to know about this documentary-centered site and why you should get it now!
What Is CuriosityStream?
So, what exactly is CuriosityStream? It is a media and entertainment company that offers documentaries of varying types. In fact, you can see a ton of documentary content in CuriosityStream, ranging from docuseries to short video content about interesting topics.
Also, going by CuriosityStream’s subscriptions, a lot of people do in fact enjoy well-produced and researched documentaries. As of 2020, it already has over 15 million subscribers worldwide!
Let us take a deeper look at this CuriosityStream review and everything it has to offer for your curious mind.
History
CuriosityStream came from humble beginnings. It started as a standalone over-the-top media service back in 2015. It then expanded to Amazon Channels back in 2017. Also, it has partnered with a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) as it also became accessible through two important channels. Namely, Comcast’s VOD platform and the Xfinity Stream portal. From there on, CuriosityStream started to grow more popular as it became more accessible to the public through these platforms and channels.
Here is a brief timeline of the success of CuriosityStream. You can see how fast this media giant grew from its humble beginnings to the documentary empire that it is today. This is partly because of the leadership changes and the strategic partnership it developed through the years.
Partnerships
CuriosityStream also has partnerships with over 50 media and streaming networks worldwide. Here are some of their popular partners:
- Amazon
- Comcast
- Altice USA
- Suddenlink USA
- Com Hem in Sweden
- StarHub in Singapore
- Total play in Mexico
- Multichoice DStv in Africa
- Milicom in Latin America
- Okko in Russia
- Gazprom in Russia
- Liberty Global and Flow in the Caribbean
- Tata Sky in India
Availability
CuriosityStream can be streamed through many different channels. In fact, the list includes most types of players from different systems. Lastly, you can purchase the CuriosityStream app through the following channels:
- Roku
- Sprint
- Google Chromecast
- iOS devices
- Amazon Fire TV
- Amazon Prime Video Channel
- YouTube TV
- Xbox One
- Sling TV
- Android devices
- Apple TV Channel
- Comcast Xfinity on Demand
- LG TV WebOS
Awards and Nominations
Because CuriosityStream offers only the best and most comprehensive documentary platform for you, it has won many awards and nominations from prestigious companies. These include the following:
- An Emmy for Stephen Hawking’s Favorite Places documentary.
- Webby Awards for being the Best Science & Education Channel from 2016 to 2017. The Deep Time History was awarded as the Best Documentary Series in 2017 while the Science Breakthroughs: Gravitational Waves was a nominee for the Science and Education for Film and Video Webby award.
- British Film Academy Award for Light on Earth for Specialist Factual in 2017.
CuriosityStream Subscription & Cost
There are two main plans for CuriosityStream. Do note that in whatever plan you choose, you can avail of the following perks:
- HD, high-quality documentaries.
- Worldwide access
- Unlimited streaming of thousands of documentaries.
- Ability to stream in whatever device you fancy – laptop, TV, phone, or tablet.
- Offline viewing mode
Here are the payment plans, which you can pay using major credit and debit cards:
- Monthly plans are priced at $2.99 per month.
- Yearly plans are priced at $19.99 per month.
- 4k plans are also available at $9.99 per month and $69.99 per year.
CuriosityStream Features
With Curiosity Stream, you can choose from thousands of available documentaries so you can appease your curious mind. The original CuriosityStream offers the following genre for you!
Viewership and Captioning Features
Because of CuriosityStream’s success, it was able to garner more than 15 million subscribers worldwide. CuriosityStream can have subtitles in the following languages:
- Russian
- Spanish
- Serbian
- Mandarin
- Chinese
- Portuguese
Science
One of the most famous science documentaries that CuriosityStream released is Stephen Hawking’s Favorite Places. It is an original docuseries where the late Stephen Hawking stars and narrates his favorite places and explains why it is his favorite place. His favorite places often are linked to his scientific discoveries. Journey together with one of the faces of modern science and reminisce back to his favorite places and important discoveries.
History
One of the featured documentaries about history is Pompeii: Disaster Street. This is their first excavation in Pompeii in over 70 years, and you will be surprised at what they have unearthed!
Mathematics
A great documentary from CuriosityStream that combines both nature and mathematics is aptly named Nature’s Mathematics. This is a documentary produced by the legendary Chris Haws. It talks about situations where people find patterns and symmetry in nature, and it usually is because of certain rules by nature. These rules combine elegance with efficiency. These are also the same rules that shape trees and river estuaries.
Technology
The Living Universe documentary from CuriosityStream talks about an interstellar universe searching for an exoplanet that supports complex life. In this documentary, scientists try to explain through technology if there are such types of universe. But the most important question that this documentary answers is how people can travel to these types of the universe in the future.
Robotics
An interesting documentary about robots from CuriosityStream is called, “Can Robots Rule the World?” This robotics documentary explores how robots are made, including the complex algorithms that make them seem smarter than humans. It also tries to answer a very important question—can robots rule the world?
Nature
CuriosityStream offers documentaries about technology and space; however, they also offer ones that talk about the natural world. In fact, some of the titles include “The Secret Lives of Big Cats” and “Ant Mountain.”
In Ant Mountain, David Attenborough travels to the Jura mountains to find one of the world’s largest animal societies. Surprisingly, there are about a billion ants who are living in peace.
In June 2020, CuriosityStream added CuriosityStream in partnership with Doclights, a wildlife production company.
Other Documentaries
In November 2020, CuriosityStream announced that they were adding another documentary to their already growing list of available documentaries. The new documentary is called “Beyond the Spotlight.” The executive producers of this docu-series are Leonardo di Caprio and Stephen David. As part of this docuseries, selected celebrities talk about their life outside the big screen. In fact, it will include casual conversations about their personal lives, how they grew up, and their inspirations and goals in life. Lastly, some of the celebrities are Samuel L. Jackson, Kristen Bell, Shaquille O Neal, and Mr. Beast.
CuriosityStream Pros & Cons
What We Like
Educational Content
CuriosityStream offers quality educational content where you, your family, and friends can enjoy and learn at the same time. This is especially useful if you have children at home who want to broaden their minds and learn more about history, nature, science, technology, and even math!
Thousands of Documentaries to Choose From
You will never get bored with CuriosityStream because no matter what genre you are interested in, there is always something that you can see that is worthy of watching.
Parental Controls in Place
Another neat feature that CuriosityStream offers is parental controls. If you are a parent and do not want your children to watch something inappropriate for them, you can easily restrict and monitor their watching activity and only allow shows appropriate for their age.
Playback Option
Some parts of the documentaries are dragging, while some users prefer to have the option of fast-forwarding some scenes to get to the exciting parts. Thus, it is a good thing that CuriosityStream offers the playback option so you can fast forward or go backward as necessary.
Flexible Streaming
You can get your documentary fix by watching CuriosityStream through your laptop, phone, TV – name it, and you can watch it through any smart gadget.
Affordable Plans
At $3 per month for unlimited documentaries, some cups of coffee cost more than CuriosityStream!
Referral Program
If you refer someone and they purchase CuriosityStream, you get cool freebies like an awesome shirt!
What We Don’t Like
Expensive 4K
Even if the direct subscription for CuriosityStream is under $3 per month, their 4K option is quite expensive compared to other documentary streaming sites.
No PayPal Payment Option
CuriosityStream subscriptions can be paid through major credit or debit cards, but you cannot pay for it through your PayPal account.
Better TV Video Player
The video player works well on most gadgets, but there are limited functionalities if you play it on your TV.
CuriosityStream vs Other Documentary Streaming Sites
Criterion Channel
Criterion Channel does not only offer documentaries but it also offers films. In fact, it has on-demand streaming of curated Criterion Collection films. However, users have reported that not all movies are available for streaming. Lastly, there are also no parental controls or user profiles available.
PBS Documentary
PBS Documentary offers an impressive and comprehensive documentary portfolio with modern content. Also, it offers no ads while being cheaper than other documentary streaming sites. However, the reviews say that it is only accessible through Amazon Prime, and it does not offer subtitles.
Is CuriosityStream the Best Service for Documentaries?
For just $3 per month, you can have access to thousands of documentaries that you can binge-watch with your friends during the weekend. Also, CuriosityStream offers many genres of documentaries ranging from history to science as well as the lives of your favorite celebrities! It is accessible globally and has subtitles in many different languages. You can get all of this and more with CuriosityStream.
