7 Black Friday streaming deals to avoid (and 6 you should jump on)

Black Friday is a great opportunity to save money on streaming with deals from Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, and other streaming service as well as on streaming devices, but it can also be a big waste of money.

With so many companies offering streaming deals this week, you’ll need to be judicious with your spending. Otherwise, you’ll wind up overspending, subscribing to services you never use, or watching on subpar streaming devices.

Here are the Black Friday streaming deals that I think are overrated, along with the genuine bargains you should consider instead:

Skip: Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Select for $20

While Amazon’s other streamers run a modified version of the Android operating system, the Fire TV Stick 4K Select runs a new OS called Vega, which has a much more limited app selection and severe restrictions on sideloading software from outside Amazon’s store.

Largely because of those restrictions, Fire TV Stick 4K Select holds the dishonorable distinction of being Amazon’s only streaming player with a customer rating less than 4.5 stars, currently sitting at 3.7. (Amazon is also reportedly suppressing negative reviews that might’ve driven the score even lower.)

These are better deals

If you really want a Fire TV device, spend the extra $5 on Amazon’s Android-based Fire TV Stick 4K Plus. Better yet, pick an all-around better streamer like the Roku Streaming Stick Plus ($19 at Amazon, 50% off) or the Android-based Walmart Onn 4K Plus for $30 at Walmart. You can even sideload apps on the latter without Amazon potentially removing them.

Skip: Amazon’s Starz deals

Amazon’s Prime Video Channels marketplace is currently offering two months of Starz for $2.75 per month, plus a $3.50-per-month bundle with AMC+ Premium and a $4-per-month bundle with BET+. Given the short terms, you’re not saving much.

This is a better deal

Instead of those short-term deals, consider getting a full year for $12 directly from Starz (you’ll need to provide your email address to see the offer). While the total price is a little higher, the cost per month is much lower and you’ll have access until the next Black Friday rolls around.

Skip: Amazon’s AMC+ deals

Amazon is also offering two months of AMC+ with ads for $1.75 per month, or without ads for $2.50 per month. It’s a solid discount, but AMC itself offers a 30-day free trial of AMC+ ad-free with a promo code (currently AMC30FT4). That offer has been available year-round, and while it only gives you one month instead of two, you can sign up whenever it’s convenient instead of trying to cram in all your AMC+ viewing by the end of January. With so many other short-term Black Friday deals available, you might not have time to dip into AMC’s catalog right now anyway.

Skip: Roku Premiere for $20

As of this year, Roku no longer sells any streaming devices with remotes that don’t include volume, power, and voice controls. Those controls are extremely handy, and I’ve long encouraged folks to avoid buying any streaming devices that don’t have them.

But apparently Walmart hasn’t gotten the memo. Search for “Roku” on Walmart’s website, and you’ll see the $20 Roku Premiere as one of the top results (and labelled a “Rollback”). This is an outdated streaming player that doesn’t appear in Roku’s current lineup, and it lacks those aforementioned volume, power, and voice controls.

This is the better deal

With Walmart selling the Roku Streaming Stick Plus for $19 ($1 less than its price for the Premiere), there’s no good reason to buy the lesser model.

Skip: Two months of Paramount+ with ads for $3 per month

Paramount+ is rolling out the same Black Friday deal for 2025 as it did in 2024, offering two months for $3 per month.

The price is the same whether you choose Paramount+ with ads, or the ad-free Premium plan with Showtime, so there’s no reason to choose the former. Just sign up for the ad-free plan, then switch back to the ad-supported plan (or cancel entirely) before your two months are up. (Setting up a limited-use payment card can help you avoid getting auto-billed at the regular price.)

This is an even better deal

Alternatively, you can avoid that whole rigamarole by getting a year of Walmart+, currently half-off at $49. This will give you access to either Paramount+ or Peacock (both with ads), and you can switch between the two every three months.

Skip: Fox One and Fox Nation for $200

Fox is currently offering a bundle of its new streaming service and existing news/lifestyle service that brings the price to $200 for the next year.

This is the better deal

Starting November 27, Fox One will have a standalone deal of $150 for the next year. Fox Nation, meanwhile, has its own standalone offer of $35.49 for one year. That adds up to $185.49 if you subscribe to each service separately for a year, versus $200 for the bundle.

Maybe skip: Hallmark+ annual deal

Hallmark+ has two deals running on the week of Black Friday: You can get three months for $1 per month with code BF3MO, or one year for $40 with the code BF50.

So, the question to ask yourself is how much Hallmark+ do you intend to watch outside of the holiday season? If your intention is to dip in just for Christmas fare, you should steer clear of that annual offer.

Skip, with one exception: Hulu’s $3-per-month Starz upgrade

Disney’s 2025 Black Friday deal gets you 12 months of Disney+ and Hulu for $5 per month with ads or $15 per month with no ads. If you sign up for this offer through Hulu, you can also add 12 months of Starz for $3 per month.

The aforementioned standalone Starz deal, which gets you a full year for $12, is a much better offer for practically everyone.

But there is one exception worth calling out: If you have an American Express Blue Cash card, you can claim a Disney streaming credit of either $7 per month (with Blue Cash Everyday) or $10 per month (with Blue Cash Preferred). That would bring the cost of the ad-supported Disney bundle with Starz to either $1 per month or free, depending on your card. Unlike the standalone Starz deal, you could also cancel anytime instead of paying for the entire year up-front.

More Black Friday streaming deals that are worth getting

Having called out the worst of the Black Friday deals, here are some that are pretty decent:

For a full rundown of every streaming deal available on (and around) Black Friday, check out the big list of streaming deals on my Cord Cutter Weekly website, and consider signing up for my newsletter, so I can help you save money year-round.

This story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best live TV streaming services and the best media streaming devices.