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As cable TV bills continue to rise, plenty of people are starting to cut the cord—and understandably so. Streaming services can be more inexpensive than traditional cable, after all.
If you want to catch up on some of the best series from Hallmark Movies and Mysteries, like Mystery 101, Sweet Revenge and Matchmaker Mysteries, your best bets are Frndly TV, Philo and Sling TV.
But there are more to streaming services to consider than just having the channel you want. There are DVR, simultaneous streams, trial periods and many more to take note of. Knowing these pieces of information will help you make an informed decision, so stick around to find out which service fits your household best.
Hallmark Movies and Mysteries on Frndly
- $5.99 per month (Basic); $7.99 per month (Classic); $9.99 per month (Premium)
- 20 Channels
- 7-Day Free Trial
Frndly TV currently has three plans: Basic, Classic and Premium. The prices between all three plans are relatively negligible, and so are their differences in content and features.
One notable difference comes in the form of video quality. You can only view shows and movies from the Basic plan at standard definition. On the other hand, high-definition quality comes packaged with the Classic and Premium deals.
Moreover, you can only watch on a single screen with the Basic plan. This is improved to two streams with the Classic deal, but for larger households, you might want to opt for the Premium plan’s four simultaneous screens.
Unfortunately, you do not have the option to record your favorite shows with Frndly’s Basic plan. Only Classic and Premium offer unlimited DVR storage.
Nevertheless, if you want to catch up on missed episodes, the service has a 72-hour playback feature for you to make use of.
In terms of content, all three plans share the same family-oriented channel lineup. They all offer three Hallmark networks (Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies and Mysteries and Hallmark Drama), INSP and more. They recently added four new channels to their lineup: Recipe.TV, getTV, Local Now and FETV. In addition to this, Frndly TV allows users to watch more than one thousand on-demand titles.
Despite being a live TV streaming service, it does not offer local news or sports broadcasts. Thankfully, since Frndly TV costs as much as a box of paperclips or a store-bought shirt, you can couple it with a decent-quality antenna that will grant you access to the local networks in your area. For more information on local channels and TV antennas, you can read our many articles about the subject here.
You can stream Hallmark Movies and Mysteries on Frndly TV through these platforms: Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, mobile devices and web browsers.
Make use of the service’s 7-day free trial by clicking here.
How good is Frndly TV?
When compared to other live TV streaming services, Frndly TV is outmatched in terms of content.
The service lacks big-name networks, such as ESPN, Fox, HBO, CNN and the likes. Frndly TV’s channel lineup revolves around content the whole family can watch, and, even then, it is still missing Disney and Discovery-affiliated networks.
However, these are also why the service remains inexpensive while having some of the most popular cable networks of 2020.
Its price is relatively the same as Netflix and Disney+, if not less. This allows you to be creative, pairing the service with another subscription, depending on your needs. Doing so can make you get all the channels you want for a lower monthly price.
How long do recordings last on Frndly TV?
As mentioned, only the Classic and Premium plans of Frndly TV have a DVR.
The Classic deal allows you to keep the recordings of your favorite shows for three months. With Premium, you can keep them for nine months before they are automatically deleted.
Regardless of which plan you choose, both plans offer unlimited DVR.
Hallmark Movies and Mysteries on Philo
- $25 per month
- 60+ Channels
- 7-Day Free Trial
Philo costs more than Frndly TV, but it also targets cord-cutters on a budget looking to stream live TV for a low price. The service only has one tier, which is priced at $25 a month.
Philo may be a little more expensive than Frndly TV, but the former still cuts out local sports and news networks. Regardless, the service offers enough entertainment channels to keep households satisfied.
With Philo, you get more than 60 cable channels. This includes, but is not limited to, AMC, Discovery, TLC, INSP, A&E, MTV and all three Hallmark channels. It is a paradise for all things entertainment.
Sadly, when it comes to news and sports, the service only has a few options. For news, Philo has BBC America, BBC World News and Cheddar News. As for sports, there is MotorTrend and not much else.
Additionally, aside from STARZ and EPIX (which cost $9/mo and $6/mo, respectively), there is also no way for you to add channels to the service’s lineup.
Thankfully, like Frndly TV, Philo is relatively inexpensive enough for most cord-cutters to couple it with a good antenna or another subscription.
In terms of DVR, Philo has unlimited storage space. You can keep your recordings for a year.
However, some shows and channels are unavailable for recording. You can work around this issue by utilizing Philo’s 72-hour playback feature.
If you want to watch your favorite Hallmark Movies and Mysteries show on your phone, computer or TV set, Philo has you covered. The service is compatible with web browsers, mobile devices, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Roku and more.
You receive more than what you pay for with Philo—plenty of entertainment channels, unlimited DVR, three simultaneous streams and much, much more.
Sign up for Philo here. There is a 7-day free trial, so you can test drive the service first before fully committing.
Hallmark Movies and Mysteries on Sling
- $35 per month (+ $6 for Lifestyle Extra); $10 for your first month
- 30+ Channels (Sling Orange); 40+ Channels (Sling Blue)
- 3-Day Free Trial
Frndly TV and Philo are not the most customizable streaming services in the market, but Sling TV is the opposite. Unlike the two previous services, Sling TV provides users with upgradable features and plenty of extras.
Unfortunately, Hallmark Movies and Mysteries is not a part of Sling Blue and Sling Orange’s basic channel lineup. The only way to stream it on Sling TV is by purchasing the Lifestyle Extra add-on, which is an additional $6 a month. So instead of the regular $35 a month price of both Sling plans, you would have to pay $41 a month.
You can purchase Lifestyle Extra on both Sling Blue and Sling Orange, so getting one over the other entirely depends on the contents and features that come with their respective plans.
Sling Orange provides you with 30+ channels full of top-tier networks like ESPN, Disney, Freeform and more. Sadly, local broadcasts are entirely absent.
Sling Blue’s channel lineup revolves around bringing you some of the best news and entertainment networks. Included with this plan are Newsy, Discovery, TLC and more. Aside from the 40+ channels, you also get NBC and Fox local broadcasts.
Additionally, the two plans sometimes differ in add-ons. Check out the tables below to see which channels are included in which package:
| SLING ORANGE EXTRAS | PRICE | CHANNELS OFFERED |
| Sports Extra | $11/mo | SEC Network, ACC Network, Pac-12, The Longhorn Network, etc. |
| Comedy Extra | $6/mo | MTV, truTV, FETV, MTV 2, etc. |
| News Extra | $6/mo | BBC World News, WGN America, Newsmax TV, HLN, etc. |
| Lifestyle Extra | $6/mo | VH1, Cooking Channel, DIY Network, FYI, etc. |
| Hollywood Extra | $6/mo | REELZ, Heroes & Icons, Start TV, SundanceTV, etc. |
| Heartland Extra | $6/mo | World Fishing Network, Pursuit, Sportsman Channel, RIDE TV, etc. |
| Kids Extra | $6/mo | TeenNick, Disney XD, Disney Jr., etc. |
| AMC+ | $7/mo | AMC+, Shudder, Sundance Now, IFC Films Unlimited |
| SLING BLUE EXTRAS | PRICE | CHANNELS OFFERED |
| Sports Extra | $11/mo | NFL RedZone, Big Ten Network, NBA TV, MLB Network, etc. |
| Comedy Extra | $6/mo | MTV, Paramount Network, FETV, MTV 2, etc. |
| Kids Extra | $6/mo | NickToons, TeenNick, Boomerang, BabyTV, etc. |
| News Extra | $6/mo | Fox Business Network, CNBC, BBC World News, Law & Crime, etc. |
| Lifestyle Extra | $6/mo | VH1, Oxygen, Cooking Channel, DIY Network, etc. |
| Hollywood Extra | $6/mo | FXX, FX Movies, REELZ, Heroes & Icon, etc. |
| Heartland Extra | $6/mo | Nat Geo Wild, World Fishing Network, Pursuit Sportsman Channel, etc. |
If you like the channels included in the Kids, News, Lifestyle and Comedy Extras, you can purchase the 4 Extras Deal for $13 a month.
But, for $21 a month, you can purchase each plan’s respective add-ons and Cloud DVR Plus with the Total TV Deal.
Speaking of Cloud DVR Plus, this feature enhances Sling TV’s 50 hours of storage to 200 hours. With it, even if you reach the storage limit, you can protect your recordings from automatic deletion.
While Cloud DVR Plus may be included with Total TV Deal, you can still purchase it separately for an additional $5 a month.
Sling Orange and Sling Blue also differ in number of available simultaneous streams. Sling Orange only allows one stream at a time, whereas Sling Blue allows three.
Sling TV is available on multiple devices, such as Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, mobile devices and more.
You can try Sling TV out with its 3-day free trial. However, at the time of writing, the service allows you to test drive it some more by lowering its cost from $35 to $10 for your first month. This promo comes with Cloud DVR Plus.
Stream Hallmark Movies and Mysteries on Sling TV by clicking here.
Is Hallmark Movies and Mysteries on Amazon Prime?
Some of Hallmark Movies and Mysteries’ best series like Mystery 101 and Murder She Baked are available on Amazon Prime. Unfortunately, after subscribing, you would still need to purchase some of them.
For instance, the standard-definition version of Mystery 101: Playing Dead requires a $7.99 payment—$9.99 for high-definition. The same can be said for The Irresistible Blueberry Farm, Farmed for Murder: A Fixer Upper Mystery and the Murder She Baked series.
Luckily, there are still movies like Garage Sale Mystery that come with the basic plan of Amazon Prime.
Amazon Prime is priced at $12.99 a month or $119 a year. You can get Amazon Video’s on-demand library for less ($8.99/mo) by forgoing Prime benefits.
With Amazon Prime, you get three simultaneous streams, 30 days of free trial and no contracts.
Try Amazon Prime for yourself by clicking here.
Can you get Hallmark Movies and Mysteries on Roku?
Through Hallmark Movies Now on the Roku Channel App, you can access exclusive movies and series not only from Hallmark Movies and Mysteries, but also from Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Drama.
However, this does not come for free. The premium subscription costs $5.99 a month and comes with a 7-day free trial.
Simply go to the Roku Channel Store, type in “Hallmark Movies Now” and select “Add Channel” to install the said app.
Click here to get started with Roku.
Conclusion
Instead of relaxing in front of the TV, these ever-rising monthly cable bills can hinder your TV experience.
With Frndly and Philo, you get plenty of family-oriented entertainment networks for a relatively inexpensive cost. However, with these two services, what you see is what you get. Being creative is a must for those looking for more channels not included in their initial lineups.
Sling TV is the opposite of Frndly and Philo. It is customizable with plenty of features and available content. Keep in mind, though, that Hallmark Movies and Mysteries is not a part of the service’s basic lineup, so you still have to pay extra to get it.
The options we provided are only some of the alternatives cord-cutters on a budget can opt for to get Hallmark Movies and Mysteries.
How do you stream Hallmark Movies and Mysteries? Have you tried the streaming services we mentioned above? How is your experience? Let us know in the comments below.
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Additional Resources
If you are looking for the best outdoor antenna, click here
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