Streaming Video Power Rankings #101

Now we have that pesky "milestone" edition out of the way, we can get back to the normal routine, though I am sure we are all a little drained after that huge special extravaganza last week.

1) Warner Archive Instant: One more glorious week at the top for WAI. Yes, I complained about it for months, but it's quite sporting of the powers that be (but not be paying attention) to leave it running for enough time to watch more of what I want, like the 1987 movie Big Shots. Why did I watch that movie? Because I could. I don't think you'll find that one on Filmstruck in the near future.

2) Amazon Prime: The Dean Martin roasts alone are enough to justify a Prime Video membership considering the Time Life DVDs cost a small fortune. The roasts appear to have only minor edits, and while only the "full-length" ones are on Prime, that's still pretty great.

3) Netflix: You ever get the nagging feeling that most of the Netflix originals wouldn't seem like a big deal at all if they premiered on ABC? This week, it didn't matter to me because I was watching Friends and Frasier, plus my kids are still into one of those teen mermaid shows (apparently there's more than one of them).  Elsewhere, I am not really a fan of Netflix amping up its reality show content, but if it's gonna be all things to all people, I guess it has to include the bad things as well as the good.

4)  Filmstruck: So for now I am a Filmstruck "subscriber," and I have to say it's pretty cool, though there are two glaring flaws. Check out "Behind the Rankings" later this week for my early impressions of this impressive service that has only improved with the addition of the TCM movies.

5) Tune In: You know, the Classic Hits station on here plays the same 70s and 80s songs we've heard a million times, but sometimes you want to hear the same 70s and 80s songs you've heard a million times.

6) WWE Network: Farewell for now WWE Network, but I enjoyed you while I could, and I am going to regret not having you when you drop those 70 hours of All-Star Wrestling tomorrow.  The Network is much, much better than it was several years ago, though it's still frustrating seeing the lack of features and functionality it could have. Maybe someday.

7) Hulu: Down lower on the list than it has been in some time, but this will change soon as some of my broadcast shows return. I saw a lot of good press for The Looming Tower, too, though these days it's much easier for me to watch Golden Girls reruns than a drama about the failures of U.S. intelligence. Here's hoping March brings those old Fox shows we're waiting for, and I promise I won't bring it up again until April.

8) Shout! Factory TV: The March adds are unimpressive (and not yet on Roku), but I enjoyed a lot on Shout! this week, including more Starcade, and as a consolation prize for letting go of WWE Network, some really, really bad GLOW and Herb Abrams UWF wrestling. Shout! continues to be the most underrated of all streaming services.

9) Adult Swim: Newish app from the Turner Networks family has a surprising amount of free content, and by that I mean it's surprising any of it is free without cable provider authentication. Most, of course, is free but with authentication required, but there are livestreams, "marathons," and a decent amount of sampler material from a whole bunch of new and current shows. Stoner heaven!

10) CBS Sports HQ: This is a modest but 100% free offering of sports news, info, and scores. It provides a live feed with short videos available on demand. I haven't seen a lot of it yet, but I admire this unpretentious effort. It looks a lot more professional than Stadium and provides cord cutters a steady stream of scores and sports news. Come to think of it, can cord HAVERS even get that? Isn't ESPN News just reruns of argue shows now, anyway?