This new streaming service raises the bar with a cleverly curated roster of films that will take you round
New York to
Kabul via a
Brussels hair salon
![Streaming: in praise of new documentary platform True Story](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/653a16f3e30d543a0f29ca69aca852a170092dab/0_205_3800_2281/master/3800.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdG8tZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=530a7b86dde21791ac76441dd37194e5)
Even with a larger captive home audience in times of
Coronavirus, launching a new independent streaming service is a challenge these days. With the best of artistic intentions, trying to get a suitably large subscriber base to support your niche programming amid the spangly distractions of
Netflix and the like isn’t easy. Still, I recently encountered one that merits a second glance: True Story, a new-on-the-scene, UK-based global streaming service dedicated to documentaries.
A handful of similar nonfiction-focused platforms have popped up over the years, sometimes stymied by a library of films too small to encourage a monthly subscription, however carefully curated. True Story, smartly, offers punters both subscription and pay-per-view options: you can feast on their entire (and not insubstantial) selection of documentaries for £6 a month — following a free trial — or simply rent films individually at £3.90 for a week.