Is This Streaming Service Real or Did We Make It Up?
ByJames Grebey,
a Vulture contributor who writes about genre TV and movies.
This is getting out of hand.
Photo: HBO
There are a lot of streaming services out there. Sure, there are Netflix and Disney+, but there are also a shocking amount of smaller, niche services, all of which need a name — and not every company can just slap a “+†at the end of its own and call it a day. We all made fun of Peacock when NBCUniversal announced it, but now that we’ve seen the confusingly named HBO Max rebrand as just Max (a straight-up proper name that could belong to actual people you know), “Peacock†doesn’t sound quite so silly. But a lot of them have crazy names. Are they gobbledygook? Too clever by half? Or have they pulled together a string of syllables that conjure a coherent vision of what sort of content lies in the streamer’s library? With these questions in mind, we pose a challenge:
Is This Streamer Real, or Is It Made Up?
See if you can tell the Netflix from the Netfakes.
Correct! Acorn TV is an Anglophile streaming service that features lots of BBC content and titles from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and more.
Incorrect — but keep a stiff upper lip! Acorn TV is an Anglophile streaming service that features lots of BBC content and titles from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and more.
Correct! This is part of the name of a video-game series called Viewtiful Joe, but it’s not too hard to imagine that there’s an all–The View, all-the-time streaming service out there. (New this month: Meghan McCain’s greatest hits!)
Incorrect. Nah, we got this name from the video-game series Viewtiful Joe. But it’s not hard to imagine that there’s an all–The View, all-the-time streaming service out there. (New this month: Meghan McCain’s greatest hits!)
Correct! While there are anime-focused streaming services out there, like Crunchyroll and Hidive, ShonenStream is not real.
Incorrect. While there are anime-focused streaming services out there, like Crunchyroll and Hidive, ShonenStream is not real.
Correct! Kocowa is owned by the three big Korean TV networks, and it collects many of their channels’ hit dramas, variety shows, and K-pop programming.
Incorrect.Kocowa is real. It’s a streaming service owned by the three big Korean TV networks, and it collects many of their channels’ hit dramas, variety shows, and K-pop programming.
Correct! OVID is a home to independent, international cinema — mostly documentaries and art-house fare.
Incorrect.OVID is real and home to independent, international cinema — mostly documentaries and art-house fare.
Correct! View-Masters are toys from the ’80s, not a streaming service in the ’20s. (At least not yet … you never know what they’re gonna do with old IP.)
Incorrect. View-Masters are toys from the ’80s, not a streaming service in the ’20s. (At least not yet … you never know what they’re gonna do with old IP.)
Correct! Popcornflix, which has a wide assortment of movies (with some good ones in there) is indeed a real streaming service — one that’s owned by [checks notes] Chicken Soup for the Soul?
Incorrect.Popcornflix, which has a wide assortment of movies (with some good ones in there) is a real streaming service — one that’s owned by [checks notes] Chicken Soup for the Soul?
Correct — Not only is Eastern European Movies a real streaming service, but it is affiliated with Soviet & Russian Movies Online and Asian Movies — two other very real sites.
Incorrect.Eastern European Movies is a real streaming service affiliated with Soviet & Russian Movies Online and Asian Movies — two other very real sites.
Correct! This is not a real streaming service … for now.
Incorrect. This is not a real streaming service … for now.
Correct! It’s Cartoon Network for boomers, basically, though it has cartoons from the ’90s and 2000s too. Boomerang hosts a ton of classic Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera cartoons.
Incorrect. It’s Cartoon Network for boomers, basically, though it has cartoons from the ’90s and 2000s too. Boomerang hosts a ton of classic Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera cartoons.
Correct! Tadafuq means “streaming†in Arabic, but it is not the name of a streaming service with Arabic-language titles in its library. (Shahid is a real Arabic-language streamer, though.)
Incorrect. Tadafuq means “streaming†in Arabic, but it is not the name of a streaming service with Arabic-language titles in its library. (Shahid is a real Arabic-language streamer, though.)
Correct! Film Movement Plus started in 2002 as a monthly DVD club, but you can subscribe today for indie titles, short films, festival faves, and foreign-language hits.
Incorrect. This one is real and has been since 2002. Film Movement Plus started as a monthly DVD club, but you can subscribe today for indie titles, short films, festival faves, and foreign-language hits.
Correct! Although it’s kind of hard to access, Walter Presents is a real streaming service full of international dramas personally curated by Italian producer Walter Iuzzolino.
Incorrect. Although it’s kind of hard to access, Walter Presents is a real streaming service full of international dramas personally curated by Italian producer Walter Iuzzolino.
Correct! This one is bogus.
Incorrect. This one is bogus.
Correct! Dekkoo is a streaming service with LGBTQ+ content with a special focus on movies and shows by and for gay men.
Incorrect.Dekkoo is a streaming service with LGBTQ+ content with a special focus on movies and shows by and for gay men.
Correct! This is not real, but, ugh, can you imagine?
Incorrect. This is not real, but, ugh, can you imagine?
Correct! MHz Choice offers a broad range of international series with an emphasis on European shows.
Incorrect.MHz Choice offers a broad range of international series with an emphasis on European series.
Correct! Kanopy is your local library but a streaming service.
Incorrect.Kanopy is your local library but a streaming service.
Correct! Shriek! is not real, but Shudder, a horror streamer, is real. ShoutFactoryTV, which features a bunch of fun cult-classic content, is real too. And Screambox, which has a bunch of indie movies, is also real. Not Shriek! though.
Incorrect. Shriek! is not real, but Shudder, a horror streamer, is real. ShoutFactoryTV, which features a bunch of fun cult-classic content, is real too. And Screambox, which has a bunch of indie movies, is also real. Not Shriek! though.
Correct! Qwikster was Netflix’s ill-fated attempt to split its streaming and DVD services into two separate entities back in 2011. Qwikster would have been the DVD-by-mail service, but Netflix didn’t go through with the plan and will stop offering DVDs this year. RIP.
Incorrect. Qwikster was Netflix’s ill-fated attempt to split its streaming and DVD services into two separate entities back in 2011. Qwikster would have been the DVD-by-mail service, but Netflix didn’t go through with the plan and will stop offering DVDs this year. RIP.
Correct! Mubi is a highly curated streaming service for cinephiles that offers about 30 movies — both classics and newer releases — each month.
Incorrect.Mubi is a highly curated streaming service for cinephiles that offers about 30 movies — both classics and newer releases — each month.
Correct! StarGo is Waystar Royco’s streaming service from Succession.
Incorrect. StarGo is Waystar Royco’s streaming service from Succession.
Correct!ToonGoggles features a bunch of children’s content. It has a mascot — a little white critter named Yeti.
Incorrect.ToonGoggles is real, and it features a bunch of children’s content. It has a mascot — a little white critter named Yeti.
Correct! This is fake, but an all-espionage streaming service sounds kinda neat.
Incorrect. This is fake, but an all-espionage streaming service sounds kinda neat.
Correct. This one is also from Succession.
Incorrect. This one is also from Succession.
Correct! KweliTV offers content by Black creators from around the world.
Incorrect.KweliTV is real, and it offers content by Black creators from around the world.
Correct! Pantaya's library contains more than 300 Spanish-language movies and many Latin-American series.
Incorrect.Pantaya is real, and its library contains more than 300 Spanish-language movies and many Latin-American series.
Correct. Quibi never made it to “+†status.
Incorrect. Dog, there isn’t even a Quibi- anymore.
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