Bumper list of FREE entertainment resources

Lots of entertainment platforms have reduced or completely abolished their fees at the moment - we’ve rounded up our favourites.

If you’re stuck indoors, chances are you’ll be struggling for things to do sooner or later.

From FREE streaming trials to online opera, many companies have cut the costs of their services for the time being - so here are our top picks for FREE boredom busting.

Streaming services

1. The Walt Disney Company launched its streaming service Disney+ recently, and you can currently try it out with a FREE 7-day trial. Not only do they have all Disney movies (old and new) but every episode of The Simpsons, plus popular new show The Mandalorian, part of the Star Wars franchise.

2. On top of that, you can also get a FREE 7-day trial for NOW TV’s Entertainment package - this includes popular shows like Game of Thrones, The Handmaid's Tale and Westworld.

3. New subscribers can enjoy a FREE 30-day trial for Amazon Prime at the moment, where you can catch original shows like The Marvelous Mrs Maisel or Good Omens, as well as TV classics like Futurama or Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Sports

4. Sports entertainment company WWE has made most of their archive content FREE to stream at the moment, including full broadcasts of some of their most significant events, such as Summerslam, Royal Rumble and Wrestlemania. Head here for the full details.

Culture

5. Museums are among the many buildings closed for the time being, but you can get virtual tours of some of the world’s most famous institutions such as New Yorks MoMA or The Met, as well as the Tate Modern and The British Museum. All via Google’s Arts and Culture programme. 

6. It’s not just us everyday folk that are self-isolating, the celebrity world has had to take the same measures. This means that some musicians have been performing their music live from their homes. The likes of Chris Martin and John Legend have delivered home concerts featuring a number of their songs. House music record label Defected have been broadcasting a virtual festival with DJ sets from nightclub Ministry of Sound, always observing social distancing rules. 

If you have a VR headset, try signing up to MelodyVR, where you can watch popular music concerts and feel like you're at the heart of the action. Go to 'Get Started' to view five performances with no charge.

7. The New York Metropolitan Opera will be streaming regular shows during the outbreak, with a different encore presentation selected from the company’s Live in D series show daily. Each show is available for 23 hours through the company’s website.

8. Looking to get your head stuck into a book? Below is a list of some of the free offers available on Audiobooks and ebooks:

• Audible 30-day trial
• Free eBooks for Kindle users
• Free eBooks from libraries through Overdrive
• Free ebooks for students or free 30 day trial for work-related ebooks with bookboon

Learning

9. You can use any extra free time to sharpen your brain by learning a new skill. Whether it’s exploring a new language, getting better at a musical instrument or improving your employability, here are some of the free courses available online:

• FREE guitar lessons with Fender
• FREE online courses with Coursera
• FREE month trial with LinkedIn Learning (free courses also available)
• FREE language learning courses with Duolingo
• FREE 30 day trial with Shaw Learning

Computer games

10. There’s an abundance of FREE games available on your smartphone, but several games across your console or PC are also free. Below is a list of some of them:

• Capcom bundle pay what you like on Humble
• All the PC games you can stream for FREE on Steam
• A family-friendly multiplayer drawing game Drawful 2 is FREE until 11th April
• Some of the educational elements of Minecraft are FREE to play
• All the FREE games available on games distribution website gog.com

Note: These types of offers tend to have some limitations on availability, so while they were available at the time of writing, they may no longer be active.