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Best streaming deals for Black Friday 2020

The Black Friday shopping season is starting early this year as more people make their purchases online thanks in large part to the global coronavirus health pandemic.

Streaming hardware makers are offering steep discounts on their gear, and streaming TV services are likewise offering deals on their subscription services that are sure to save most households more than a few dollars.

Here’s the best streaming hardware and service deals for Black Friday 2020:

Click/tap to jump to a section: Amazon | Roku | Televisions | Streaming TV

(Image: Amazon/Handout, Graphic: The Desk)

Amazon Fire TV

Amazon is known to offer great deals on its streaming TV devices several times a year — and the Black Friday holiday shopping season is no exception. The retailer has marked down its streaming TV hardware and other Internet-connected devices to rock-bottom prices.

Amazon’s best streaming TV hardware deal is the Fire TV Stick Lite with Alexa Voice Remote at $18 (reduced from $30). Don’t be fooled by the word “lite” in the name — this streaming stick packs a powerful punch: It offers full high-definition streaming from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, YouTube, HBO Max and many others.  It doesn’t have are volume and power buttons for the TV set itself, so if that’s important, pick up the Fire TV Stick for just a few dollars more.

Looking to replace your whole TV and don’t want to bother with separate streaming hardware? This Insignia 43-inch 4K TV with Amazon’s Fire TV platform built-in is just $200 (reduced from $300) and is one of the cheapest ultra-high definition TVs on the market this season.

Prone to lose the remote? No problem: Pick up one of these 3rd-Generation Amazon Echo Dots with Alexa voice assistant for $19 (normally $40) and control your streaming TV hardware with the power of your voice.

One small aside: As of mid-November, Amazon did not have native access to Comcast’s Peacock streaming app, so if that’s important, you might want to buy a Roku device instead.

Other notable mentions:

(Image: Roku, Inc. / Graphic: The Desk)

Roku

Roku’s days of being an open and welcoming platform to all apps may be over — it still doesn’t have HBO Max, though a deal is close — but its hardware is still among some of the best, most-versatile and easiest to use in the streaming TV space, and customers who pick Roku as their main streaming platform tend to be extremely satisfied with it over the long term.

Which makes Roku’s Black Friday deals hard to pass up, especially with the rollout of Airplay 2 across most of its devices. The Roku SE at $17 (sold exclusively at Walmart) is a great option for homes that are new to streaming TV or for a secondary TV in a garage, kitchen or bedroom. Pick one up while supplies last, because it’s only sold during the holidays.

Looking for something a little more high end? The Roku Premiere 4K is on sale for $25 (Best Buy, reduced from $40) and is, by far, the cheapest way to stream content in ultra high-definition from a wide variety of sources, including YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus and Netflix (with appropriate subscription). And it’s compatible with streaming TV services like YouTube TV, Sling, Hulu with Live TV, Philo, Fubo TV and others.

For those who want to replace their TV altogether, the TCL 32-inch HDTV with Roku built-in at $120 (Best Buy, reduced from $130) is a terrific deal year-round, but pick one up during the holiday shopping season to save a little bit of cash. Want something bigger? Check out the TCL 65-inch 4KTV with Roku built-in for $430 (Best Buy, reduced from $470).

Once you get your Roku gear, you’ll need something to watch. Roku makes it easy by offering discounts on premium movie networks and other apps through its Roku Channel, which is available by default on all new streaming TV devices and TVs with Roku built-in. Currently, Roku is offering Showtime, Starz and Epix $1 a month each for two months (reduced from $7 a month to $11 a month).

Other notable mentions:

  • Roku Streaming Stick Plus: $30 (Best Buy, reduced from $50) — great 4KTV option for travelers or those who want to hider their streaming hardware out of sight.
  • Roku Ultra: $70 (Best Buy, reduced from $100) — this is the ultimate streaming player with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.
  • Roku Streambar: $100 (Best Buy, reduced from $130) — a small-space sound bar with Roku’s streaming platform built right in.
  • Westinghouse 32-inch HDTV: $110 (Best Buy, reduced from $140) — the perfect Roku-powered TV set for small spaces like bedrooms and dorms.
  • TCL 65-inch Series 5 QLED 4KTV: $630 (Best Buy) — a premium Roku-powered television set that’s great for living rooms and gamers.
(Stock image via Pexels)

Televisions

Black Friday is one of the best time to find deals on TV sets, whether you’re looking to upgrade your living room hardware or buy a new TV for a bedroom, kid’s room, garage or kitchen.

If you’re looking for a big TV, the Sony 75-inch X800H 4KTV powered by Android TV is on sale for $1,000 (Best Buy, reduced from $1,400) and is one the most-recommended TVs on videophile websites and social media communities. If that’s too big, there’s also the highly-rated LG 60-inch UN7000 Series 4KTV powered by WebOS for $400 (Best Buy, reduced from $450) that has access to all of the popular streaming apps built right in to the set. If you prefer Roku, the TCL 55-inch 4KTV Roku TV is just $280 (Best Buy, reduced from $330) has a great picture with best-in-class smart features and plenty of HDMI ports if you want to add another streaming device later on.

Need something smaller? The Westinghouse 24-inch HDTV with Roku built-in for $90 (Best Buy, reduced from $110) and the Insignia 24-inch HDTV powered by Amazon Fire TV at $80 (Best Buy, reduced from $150) are great options for smaller rooms like kitchens, dens and even small living rooms — and they don’t require a separate streaming device. If you’re after something that’s more premium, the Samsung 32-inch Q50R QLED 4KTV is rarely marked down, but you can pick up the Tizen-powered smart TV for just $398 (Best Buy, reduced from $500). Its bigger sibling, the Samsung 43-inch Q60T QLED 4KTV, is also marked down to $428 (Best Buy, reduced from $530).

Other notable mentions:

The logo of Internet cable TV alternative Philo. (Image: Philo/Graphic, The Desk)

Streaming TV services

Black Friday is a great time to try out a new streaming TV service or return after a lapsed membership, especially if you’re buying a new smart TV or streaming TV device.

There are several streaming services offering special deals and deep discounts during the holiday shopping season, including Philo, a live TV service with more than five dozen streaming channels from ViacomCBS (Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV), Discovery (Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Travel Channel), A+E Networks (A&E, History, Vice TV), AMC Networks (IFC, AMC, BBC America) and others. Normally $20 a month, Philo is offering new subscribers 25 percent off their first month of service with the promo code Black Friday 20 from November 25 to November 30 and again with the promo code Cyber Monday 20 on November 30.

Want to save even more? Buy a Philo subscription through Best Buy for just $10 (reduced from $20) for the first month of service. You can also get one month of Philo for free with the purchase of certain streaming hardware and smart TVs at Best Buy. Both deals are available in-store, too, and each automatically renews at Philo’s normal rate of $20, which is still a terrific deal for streaming, cable-like TV. (Read more about Philo by clicking or tapping here)

Other notable mentions:

  • Disney-owned Hulu is offering 12 months of its ad-supported streaming TV and movie for $2 a month (reduced from $6 a month), but you’ll have to wait until Thanksgiving at midnight to sign-up. This offer is available to new customers and returning customers whose subscriptions have lapsed for at least three months.
  • Dish Network-owned streaming service Sling TV is offering new customers access to its popular Sling Blue (Fox, NBC) and Sling Orange (Disney, ESPN) channels for two months at just $30 (reduced from $60). New customers who are willing to pay the regular $30 a month rate and commit to two months of service can score a TiVo Stream 4K device powered by Android TV for free (reduced from $50).
  • Though not technically a streaming service, over-the-air DVR hardware maker Tablo is offering great Black Friday deals over the next few weeks on its refurbished inventory. The entry-level Tablo Dual DVR is also on sale at Best Buy for just $100 (reduced from $150). When paired with a streaming service like Netflix, Philo or HBO Max, Tablo’s DVRs are a great way to cut the cable cord and save a lot of cash.
  • Comcast’s Peacock streaming service is offering access to its premium tier for $40 a year (reduced from $50). Its commercial-free tier is also on sale for $90 a year (reduced from $100). Peacock offers a ton of TV shows and movies from NBC, USA Network, Bravo, Universal Pictures, Dreamworks, NBC News and NBC Sports and is the exclusive streaming platform for Paramount Network’s hit cable series Yellowstone.
  • CBS All Access is giving new subscribers one month to try out its service when they sign up for a new account and enter the promo code TURKEY. The promotional code works for All Access’ ad-supported and commercial-free tiers. Along with CBS broadcast shows and original programs, the service offers back episodes of popular series from CBS Sports, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, BET, the Smithsonian Channel and MTV as well as movies from Paramount Pictures and other partner studios.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys covers the business of broadcast and streaming TV, radio broadcasting, social media, technology and telecommunications. A journalist for over 15 years, Matthew previously worked at Thomson Reuters, KGO-TV in San Francisco, KTXL in Sacramento and McNaughton Newspapers. He received 9 California Journalism Awards between 2018 and 2020, and is a member of IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors).
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