It is the middle of July, so what does that mean? The return of Prime Day. While I try to skip Amazon for a lot of my purchases, I do use Prime Video because there are many channels that are much more affordable and easily subscribed to/cancelled. And many of those channels are flush with great history content. And luckily for us, Prime Day features many deals of Prime Video channels. So, today I am sharing the best Prime Video channels for history buffs!
Prime Video- Prime Day Deals
Prime Day deals on Prime Video channels vary year to year, and country to country. This year in Canada, almost every Prime Video channel is on sale for $0.99/month for two months (and back to full price after that). It will be different in every country, so I would check your own Prime VIdeo site. The deals are only available through the end of Prime Day on 13 July, so do not wait too long to decide.
How to Get Prime Video Deals
- Make sure you are signed up for a Prime Membership or you will not be eligible for the deals.
- Go on the Prime Video website, and find the channels you are interested in (in the Channels tab), and register.
- Make note of the day that you signed up and the day that you will need to cancel so that you aren’t charged full price if you don’t want to keep them on. (You can cancel your Prime/channel memberships the day after the second month is charged and keep it for the rest of the month.)
TIP: You can get the $0.99/month for two month deal on channels that you have subscribed to previously.
What are the Best Prime Video Channels for History Buffs?
These are general recommendations- check to see what is available on the channel for you before signing up. Not all of these channels will be available in every country, and content on channel A in one country might be on channel B in another. I would recommend scrolling through all of the channels that you are interested in, and seeing what shows and programmes are where before you decide what to subscribe to.
BBC Select
BBC Select is a great channel for history documentaries. The BBC has produced countless history docs over the years, and it’s lovely to have them all in one place. In addition to many royal history documentaries, there are also many on ancient/ Classical history, art history, fashion history, political history, and more.
PBS Masterpiece
Exactly as anyone from North America would expect, the PBS Masterpiece channel features many programmes that have been part of Masterpiece over the years. There are many period dramas, as well as some documentaries on it. This is a permanent subscription for me, and I’m glad I did- when the second season of Sanditon aired this spring, we got each episode a week early on the Prime Channel. New episodes go up very quickly.
Smithsonian
As you would expect, the Smithsonian channel is all documentaries. While not all history, there is certainly a huge range in historical documentaries with several hundred to choose from. And if you are interested in travel and/or nature, there are docs for that too. Adding the Smithsonian channel on satelite can be a pain and/ or expensive depending on your provider, so this is a good way around that.
BritBox
BritBox features shows from both BBC and ITV, and is another haven for period dramas. I’m not sure if shows go on BritBox as they are airing on the Prime Channel, as I’ve only watched completed period dramas, but there are countless fantastic shows. I may be wrong, but I believe that the new season of Sanditon aired first on BritBox in the UK before regular television, so it might be a good option for a lot of my readers!
The Great Courses
Much like the Smithsonian channel, the Great Courses channel has a wide variety of documentaries in any number of subjects. This channel does feature different language learning documentaries/courses, so that is helpful if you are looking to brush up or learn the basics. I will say: Kanopy, an online video service through my public library, offers many of the Great Course documentaries and videos for free there, so I would see if these are available elsewhere first.
Acorn
Acorn is another channel for period dramas! There aren’t quite as many as BritBox, but they still have a great selection and at $0.99/month (in Canada, at least), I will just get both. You can find a good mix of history and travel documentaries on a wide variety of themes. They also have a fair few British crime shows if you are interested in them, as well.
Starz
Most people either love Starz period dramas or hate them. If The White Queen, The White Princess, and The Spanish Princess fill you with rage and forces you to angry tweet, I would skip this one. However, if you do find them entertaining, it is a good deal to watch several series for almost no money.
Tips for Choosing Your Prime Video Channels
- As I said above, make sure you are scrolling through the channel’s offering before subscribing to make sure it actually has content you want to watch. It’s not a good deal if you don’t watch anything.
- Limit yourself to 3-4 channels maximum. Yes, it is a good deal, and you could get 10 channels for $10/month for two months, but you probably don’t have time to actually watch all of them.
- If you are looking for specific programmes, go through all of your streaming services now to ensure that you don’t already have access to it. Also, check YouTube as well. Many documentaries get uploaded there and left up for years and years.
- Again, track when you signed up for the channels and when the deal expires. If you have even two or three channels that are charged at full price on month three, you can be looking at $20+ for a month.
And if you are interested in cultural streaming services, take a look at Marquee TV!
Which do you think are the best Prime Video channels for history buffs?
Cheers,
The Historian
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