Watch thousands of films for free thanks to streaming service Kanopy – so long as your local library is signed up
With
Apple TV+ freshly landed and a host of new streaming services on the way – as previewed in this column a few weeks ago –
British viewers are on the verge of being spoilt for choice in the video-on-demand market. They’re also on the verge of being a bit strapped for cash: streaming service subscriptions of £5 to £10 a month don’t sound like a lot individually, but those who want a piece of everything are likely to find themselves paying more for home entertainment than ever before.
Any free streaming options, then, are more welcome than ever, and a new one is slowly making inroads into the
UK via the most venerable no-cost entertainment service of them all: the public library system. It’s been 11 years since video streaming service Kanopy was founded in Australia, initially as an educational resource for university students, before extending to public library users across the country. It offers a selection of more than 15,000 films, shorts, documentaries and educational videos to be digitally “checked out” on a standard library card, whereupon they’re available for home viewing for three days.