MGM+

Review by eFreeware

If you watch a handful of shows closely rather than grazing across a giant catalog, MGM+ is built for you. It is a subscription streaming service from MGMPlus Entertainment, and the pitch is straightforward: thousands of movies and series, original shows, and a set of always-on channels, with no ad breaks in what you watch. The app itself is free to install; the subscription is what you pay for.

What appeals to me is the shape of the catalog. This is not a service trying to carry everything. It leans on a specific set of originals, including Godfather of Harlem, FROM and Billy the Kid, alongside films such as Challengers and IF, and it rounds that out with live channels running around the clock. If your watchlist tends to be short and deliberate, that mix is easier to work through than an endless grid.

It has been on Google Play since February 2019 and sits at a 4.6 average from more than 35,000 ratings, with over a million installs. Those numbers suggest a settled, well-used app rather than a new experiment, though they say nothing about whether the shows themselves will suit your taste.

Watching on demand, and letting a channel decide for you

The core of the app is on-demand streaming: you pick a title and watch it when you want. Alongside that, MGM+ runs 24/7 live channels, which is a different habit entirely. On-demand suits planning; a live channel suits the evenings when you would rather not scroll. Having both in one place means you can move between the two without leaving the app.

Continue Watching is the feature I would use most. It picks up shows and films you have already started, so a series you paused halfway through an episode is waiting where you left it. That is the sort of small piece of housekeeping that decides whether a streaming app feels tidy or annoying over months of use.

My List handles the other half of the job. You add titles you want to get to later and manage them in one place, which matters more on a service with originals arriving regularly. The recent update added the series A Tale of Two Cities, and new episodes of that kind of show are exactly what a list is for.

Downloads for watching away from a connection

The mobile apps let you download titles and watch them offline. For anyone who travels, commutes through patchy signal, or shares a household where the good television is occupied, that is a meaningful convenience rather than a footnote. It also means a subscription is not wasted during a week when you are rarely at home.

The practical limit is storage. Downloads live on your device, so the size of your phone or tablet decides how much you can carry at once. A couple of films or a run of episodes is realistic; keeping an entire series on hand is not.

One thing to know before you plan around downloads: the service works only inside the US and a few of its territories. If you are outside that footprint, the app will not be useful to you regardless of how the download feature works.

Signing up, paying, and what the app asks of you

You install the app for free, then subscribe inside it. The developer lists a monthly plan at $7.99 and an annual plan at $61.99, which it describes as the best price. A seven-day free trial is offered as an introductory deal for new and eligible returning customers. If you watch steadily, the annual option works out cheaper per month; if you are testing whether the catalog holds your attention, the monthly plan and the trial are the lower-commitment route.

The terms are worth reading before you commit. The subscription renews automatically at whatever the current rate is unless you turn off auto-renewal or cancel, and fees are non-refundable. The renewal date is the thing to note in your calendar if you are trying the service out.

There is one more detail from the developer worth flagging: select titles are not available in HD. Most of what you watch will look fine on a phone, but if picture quality is a priority for you, that caveat applies to part of the catalog.

The viewer this service fits

MGM+ makes most sense for someone who already knows they want its originals. If Godfather of Harlem, FROM or Billy the Kid are the reason you are looking, the subscription is easy to justify, and the films and live channels are a bonus rather than the main event. The same goes for a household that wants a smaller, curated service alongside whatever else it already pays for.

It also suits people who like the idea of a channel running in the background. The 24/7 streams give the app a television-like quality that pure on-demand catalogs lack, and for some viewers that is the whole appeal.

Where I would think twice is if you expect a broad, everything-for-everyone library. This is a focused service with a defined lineup, and the value depends on how much of that lineup you actually want to watch. The free trial exists precisely so you can answer that question before paying.

A focused subscription with a clear audience

MGM+ is a well-established streaming app with a specific identity: a set of original series, a selection of films, live channels, downloads and a list you can manage. It does those things without ads interrupting playback, and it charges $7.99 a month or $61.99 a year after a seven-day introductory trial. For a viewer drawn to its originals, that is a reasonable proposition.

The caveats are real but narrow. You need to be in the US or certain US territories, some titles are not in HD, and the subscription renews automatically unless you cancel. None of those are surprises for a streaming service; they are just the terms you are agreeing to.

My recommendation: install the app, start the trial, and work through a few episodes of the originals you came for. If they hold up, the annual plan is the better value. If you find yourself scrolling past the catalog more than watching it, cancel before the trial ends and keep your money.

What's new

We've included fixes and improvements to make your experience even better. Stream the new MGM+ series A Tale of Two Cities, Sundays on MGM+!