The top free streaming services

Recently, Tom's Guide had a list of their top free streaming services for Roku. Using Roku's naming convention, they called it "The best free channels on Roku."

Most of the items on the list are correct, in my opinion. But, I'm not agreeing with the entire list.

The list is of eight services:

1. The Roku Channel
2. Tubi
3. Pluto TV
4. Crackle
5. Newsy
6. PBS Kids
7. TED
8. The Bob Ross Channel

I don’t really have a problem with any of their items. The items in positions 1-3 would be on my list as well. I will say that I consider Xumo Play is more deserving than Crackle, but I'd probably have Crackle in my top ten. Maybe top eight.

I agree with PBS Kids being on my top ten/eight.

The CW -- the app now just says "CW," having dropped the "The" -- should be on the list as well. It has all of the CW network shows available on demand, including current season shows.

My list would also include Hoopla or Kanopy, both which provide free content provided by your local public library. Well, if your library has an agreement with one of the services.

I would also put one of my favorites, Pub-D-Hub, to the list. The service does have a paid service, but it's really cheap, less than $5/year. Yes, per year. Even the free version has a lot of good content.

Oh, and YouTube. That's always a good service to have.

There are other services that would apply to Fire TV devices, and others that would apply to Google TV devices. While the Tom's Guide list, and my alternative entries, are focused on Roku, they are not Roku specific. This list applies across platforms.

My Streaming Life has used more free streaming services over the last few years. To my mind, that's the way to go.