gowatching.com

The world of online TV and movie streaming is constantly growing, changing, and evolving. In fact, when it comes to streaming digital content online, we have really just begun. Who knows where this industry will be headed in the next 10, 20, or 50 years into the future? It is still largely a fledgling industry, even though it can sometimes feel like we have been streaming movies and TV shows online for as long as we can remember. Streaming is such a convenient and beloved way to watch movies and TV series that it is easy to forget how relatively new it is. That being said, there are new streaming platforms going up all the time. Disney Plus, for instance, just took the world by storm in the last year, immediately becoming a cultural phenomenon thanks to its iconic library of classic Disney films, but also thanks to a smash hit original Star Wars episodic series, The Mandalorian. HBO Max, too, just finally launched a few months ago. And NBC is poised to release its own streaming platform in the summer of 2020 called Peacock. It is safe to say that the streaming industry is booming and will only continue to grow in the coming years.

However, choosing a streaming service can be a stressfull endeavor. The more specialized the industry becomes, with each network and production studio putting forth its own streaming option, the more segregated content will come to be. Each network, after all, has the right to its original programming. And unfortunately it is looking like each network also wants a slice of the streaming pie.

Soon, streaming services will no longer be able to be differentiated from cable TV services in terms of the number and variety of channels they provide. This is disappointing, as streaming platforms were once considered much more affordable and convenient than traditional cable TV.

If you want access to multiple streaming services, it can cost a lot of money these days. Each one of them has its own separate monthly price tag. But if you want to be able to access all of your favorite shows and movies, unfortunately, it is commonly seen as the only option. Just having subscriptions to Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, HBO, and Disney Plus can run you upwards of $60 or maybe even $70 a month. Streaming is no longer an affordable alternative to cable TV in many cases.

Which is unfortunate because there is nothing better than coming home after a long day of work and just turning your brain off, flipping on a show. Entertainment should not be reserved for only the affluent. I believe that movies and television should be available for all, no matter what socioeconomic situation you may be in. This is why I am happy to report that, in addition to the main, big-name, popular premium streaming platforms, there are countless free streaming sites to choose from as well.

Another issue with free streaming sites is the quality of the internet connection. Too many free streaming sites exist as little more than ads, which can be unsafe because they are not useful. However, some free streaming sites can be malicious, containing viruses, trackers and trojans. You need to be careful when choosing a new free movie and TV streaming site, and beware of any that may be risky.

I strongly recommend - regardless of what you do online, but especially if you are looking for a free movie and TV streaming site - that you load your online artillery with solid lines of defense. Everyone, if you don't have one already, should get a Virtual Private Network (VPN) in order to protect their data online, for starters. You can find some valuable internet safety programs in the Useful software category.

The bottom line is that there is no guarantee that any of these sites will be good, but I have reviewed them all for your safety so you don't have to. However, even with this review, it's up to you to decide if any of these sites are worth your time.

Let's take a look at the site Go Watching to see where it falls on this spectrum.

Design

Upon landing on Go Watching, I am pleased with the first impression. The site looks good, with a sleek grayscale theme and only a search bar in the middle of the page. This is a strong start, indicating that Go Watching will not suffer from common problems of free streaming sites: subpar design, cluttered pages, or sloppy work. It has a very professional feel to it. Once you start your search, the site continues to impress. The results will be listed in the middle of the page, and to the left you'll find a few filtering options. Filter by genre, content type (movie or TV), and year of release (choose a year from a convenient grid). The site is very user-friendly and easy to use. It doesn't appear to be too overwhelmed with ads, but there are a suspicious number of Amazon Prime ads. But more on that in a bit.

Content

I find it disappointing that Go Watching does not offer direct links to sources of content that allow you to watch content without subscribing or signing up for a free trial. Their entire model appears to be built around providing you with links to streaming services that require you to sign up for a free trial. In other words, this site would be more accurately classified as a free trial streaming search engine. That explains the strange concentration of Amazon Prime ads. Go Watching seems to be little more than a database of films and TV shows, all of which link to Amazon Prime. Although this is annoying, especially if you came to this site looking for a free resource to actually watch movies and TV shows, it can be viewed as a potential alternative to using Amazon Prime in order to find what you're looking to watch - a streaming service with a notoriously bad interface.

However, it appears that Go Watching also links to Discover Channel, Hay U, MGM, and ITV Hub Plus.

Pricing and Plans

Yes, Go Watching is technically free to use. However, after your free trial expires, you will have to pay whatever monthly fee is associated with the streaming service in question. For example, Amazon Prime Video is $8.99 a month. So, 'free' is unfortunately rather misleading in the case of this site.

Suggestions that I have for Go Watching

I would definitely like to see Go Watching become more useful as a free streaming service. Even if they offered just a few titles that I could stream without signing up for a third-party service, that would be great. However, until then, I cannot say that this site is extremely useful.