Apple TV?

[cellio]

My new Mac came with three months of Apple TV, which I started recently. I thought their model was: pay $X/month and stream what you like (like Netflix). It appears, though, that it's "watch some stuff for free but pay to rent or buy other stuff". For example, I watched the first episode of Picard, and then it wanted me to buy subsequent ones (which I didn't do).

What can I watch on Apple TV for free (not counting the monthly fee) that I might like? Their interface does not make it easy to answer this question; I don't see a way to search by genre, for example, or to filter for only free shows. The pictogram tiles, shown a few at a time without accompanying text descriptions, are frustrating to navigate. (Netflix drank that kool-aid too, but at least they have something you can click on to get more information without changing to another page. Apple TV does not.) Apple and Netflix assume that (a) I can read the titles in their sometimes fancy fonts with sometimes poor-contrast colors or small sizes right from the (small) art, and (b) that even if I could, the name alone would be meaningful. I'm afraid I need at least brief text descriptions; just art is not helpful.

If you know of specific shows or movies that you think I might like, please let me know. And if you know a way to find the no-additional-fees content, I'd love to hear about it. Thanks.

Comments

[metahacker]

I canceled Appletv for this very reason: too much guesswork about what things will involve extra fees on top of that monthly vig. Kinda felt like when cable started showing commercials.

[cellio]

The default is that Ill cancel when the three free months are up. (I set a calendar reminder the day I activated the free trial.) I would have thought that the free trial would be accompanied by easy paths to usage, to try to hook me, and that they would understand reluctance to spend money during a free trial. I guess I was wrong.

[madfilkentist]

Same here; I got the offer when I got a new iPad. It seemed that the "free" Apple TV came with little or no free programming. I cancelled it within a few days.

More recently, when Primephonic (a classical music streaming service) went away, they offered me a free period on Apple Music. I didn't bother to touch it. Apple is notorious for not understanding classical listeners.