In January 2023 the streaming service formerly known as Epix rebranded itself as MGM+. After years in the shadows, the lesser-known streamer finally put its brand recognition to use. Although it waited until after MGM was acquired by Amazon for $8.5 billion.
But won’t MGM+ just become part of Prime Video?
Nope. Well, not yet anyway. It appears that Amazon wants to keep the film-focused streamer separate from Prime Video. Or at least have it remain as an add-on service. But is it worth your money? Our MGM+ review dives into the fees and features to point out who MGM+ is best for in 2024.
How much does MGM+ cost in 2024?
7 bucks.
Technically it’s $6.99/month, but what’s a penny?
We’ve made our position on price plans fairly clear—simplicity is best. Pricing tiers are fine if they don’t lock core features, content, or video quality behind upgrades. (Which Netflix, Max, and Paramount+ are all guilty of.)
The good news is that you don’t need to worry about any of that with MGM+. There’s only one plan to choose from. Plus you can pay for it monthly or get 2 months free with an annual plan. And it’s already one of the cheapest streaming services out there.
The other good news is that means there’s still no ad-supported plan for MGM+. It’s all ad-free.
The bad news is that the price of MGM+ went up in 2024 to $6.99/month. It now costs a dollar more than it did before.
MGM+: $6.99/month
- Complete access to the commercial-free on-demand library
- Feeds for the 4 MGM+ linear channels available to TV subscribers
- Ads: No
- User profiles: 1
- Downloads: Yes (expire after 7 days)
- Simultaneous screens: 4
- Quality: 1080p HD
- Annual Plan: $58.99/year
We should note that the Annual Plan is listed as a “Limited-Time Offer”. However, that’s most likely just a sales tactic to lock in annual subscribers instead of those monthly tourists.
MGM+ vs. the alternatives
MGM+ is one of the cheapest streaming services around. It’s also ad-free and allows more simultaneous screens than the industry average. However, the library is far less robust than most others.
| Streamer | With Ads | Ad-free | Premium | Annual Plan | Simultaneous Screens | 4K | Downloads | Free Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMC+ | $4.99 | $8.99 | - | $83.88* | 5 | No | Yes | 7 Days |
| Apple TV+ | - | $9.99 | - | $99.99 | 6 | Yes | Yes | 7 Days |
| Disney+ | $7.99 | $13.99 | - | $139.99* | 4 | Yes | Yes | None |
| Hulu | $7.99 | $17.99 | - | $79.99** | 2 | Yes | Ad-free Only | 30 Days |
| Max | $9.99 | $15.99 | $19.99 | $99.99 / $159.99 / $199.99 | 2–4 | Premium Only | Ad-Free+ Only | None |
| MGM+ | - | $6.99 | - | $58.99 | 4 | No | Yes | 7 Days |
| Netflix | $6.99 | $15.49 | $22.99 | No | 2–4 | Premium Only | Yes | None |
| Paramount+ | $5.99 | $11.99 | - | $59.99 / $119.99 | 3 | Ad-free Only | Ad-free Only | 7 Days |
| Peacock | $5.99 | $11.99 | - | $59.99 / $119.99 | 3 | Yes | Ad-free Only | None |
| Prime Video | $8.99 | $11.98 | - | $139*** | 3 | Yes | Yes | 30 Days |
| Starz | - | $9.99 | - | $69.99 | 4 | No | Yes | None |
| * Annual plan is only for the Ad-free plan ** Annual plan is only for the With Ads plan *** Annual plan is only for the full Prime membership | ||||||||
What kind of content does MGM+ have?
Epix emerged 15 years ago from negotiation breakdowns between Showtime and its 3 major film suppliers. That trio of entertainment powerhouses—Paramount, Lionsgate, and MGM—came together like the Fates of Greek mythology to form their own premium TV network: Epix.
To make a long, messy story short, the 3 sisters went their separate ways, with Paramount launching Paramount+, Lionsgate acquiring Starz, and MGM buying out the rest of Epix in 2017.
With that little bit of history out of the way, the streamer still has licensing agreements for Paramount and Lionsgate films and shows, as well as the full MGM movie catalog at its disposal.
Original content on MGM+
While TV series and original programming are not the streamer’s main appeal, it’s still got some original content worth checking out. Here are some of the best original series on MGM+:
- Godfather of Harlem (since 2019)
- Condor – continued from Audience (since 2021)
- Domina, co-production with Sky Atlantic (since 2021)
- From (since 2022)
- Billy the Kid (since 2022)
- Rogue Heroes, co-production with BBC One (since 2022)
- Beacon 23 (since 2023)
Movies on MGM+
Movies are the main reason to grab an MGM+ subscription. And that stands to reason seeing as this spring the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lion will have been roaring* at the start of movies for a full 100 years. (*See FUN FACT below.)
One of the nice things about the MGM+ movie library is the broad range of films, both in terms of genres and eras. It’s actually one of the more enjoyable on-demand libraries to browse through as there are some hidden gems, like Jacob’s Ladder, Say Anything, and Once Upon a Time in the West. Granted, none of them are exclusive to the streamer.
It’s also the only general streaming service with an Erotica section. 🔥 (Only when subscribed directly through MGM+.)
Some popular movies spanning the generations on MGM+ right now are:
- Bottoms
- Creed III
- Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
- House of Gucci
- Midnight Cowboy
- The Silence of the Lambs
- Smile
- Top Gun: Maverick
🍿 FUN FACT
The MGM lion didn’t actually start roaring until 1928 when the studio started making “talkies”. So a hundred years ago, back in 1924, he was simply looking around.
TV shows on MGM+
MGM+ increased the number of series it has, going from 24 in 2023 to around 40 in 2024. That includes miniseries and docuseries. There’s not even an icon for TV Shows in the main navigation. The only way to browse through the available series is by scrolling down to the Original Series category row on the Home screen.
Here are some of the shows you can watch on MGM+ right now:
- A Spy Among Friends (miniseries)
- Belgravia
- Bridge and Tunnel
- Britannia
- Get Shorty
- Laurel Canyon
- Pennyworth (seasons 1 & 2)
- War of the Worlds
Live TV on MGM+
There is a menu item for Live TV on MGM+, but it’s not actually live television. You simply get access to the linear channels available to those who subscribe through their television provider. There’s also a Watch On Demand button for whatever’s airing on the linear channels, so it seems rather superfluous.
The 4 linear channels included are:
- MGM+
- MGM+ Hits
- MGM+ Marquee
- MGM+ Drive-In
Kids content on MGM+
The streamer doesn’t have a whole lot for kids to watch. There are around 30 to 40 Kids And Family movies, which can be found by scrolling down the Home screen to the Kids And Family category row, then scrolling sideways. You can also go into the Movies screen from the main navigation menu then choose Kids And Family from the genre list to see all the shows on a single page.
There’s no Kids content hub like you’ll find on Paramount+ and Peacock, and not much for young kids to watch.
Sports on MGM+
The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas has hosted some of the greatest boxing events in history, as well as other sporting events. But the iconic movie studio’s streaming service is not the place to go for sports.
The only thing sports fans will find is 2 seasons of the docuseries NFL Icons and a few sports movies, none of them particularly memorable. Except for The Longest Yard (the original, not the remake), Blue Chips, and Rollerball, if we can call that a sports film.
MGM+ interface and usability
Navigation
NOTE: The following is regarding the MGM+ app. If you subscribe to MGM+ through Prime Channels, you can NOT use the MGM+ app. You must watch MGM+ using the Prime Video app or website.
We should also note that if you access MGM+ in a browser, there’s almost no navigation, so don’t even bother. Fire TV and Roku apps are thankfully a different story.
Even though it was just updated, the MGM+ app needs an major overhaul. It’s one of the worst on the market among on-demand streaming services.
The main menu is on the left side of the screen and has 7 items, but only 4 lead to content. The first 3 menu items are Home, Movies, and Live TV, followed by Search, My List, Settings, and Exit.
You’ll likely spend most of your time in the first 2 items, Home and Movies. The first is your typical streaming main page with rows of side-scrolling categories of curated content. There is NO TV menu tab. The only way to find TV Shows without using search is to scroll down through the Home screen.
The Movies page has a sidebar menu with 12 genres to narrow down your browsing experience. Clicking on any title takes you to an info screen with tabbed pages for Details, Episodes (if applicable), Cast & Crew, and More Like This.
Playback controls
Like so much of MGM’s streaming service, the playback controls are about as bare bones as you can get. There’s a play button and a button to enable closed captioning. That’s it. No languages button, no skip controls, nada.
Pressing left or right, or the fast-forward and rewind buttons, rewinds or fast forwards for as long as you press down. Releasing the button pauses the screen. There are no 2x, 3x, 4x speed options and no thumbnail above the progress bar to indicate the scene at that time. It does make it easy to stop at an exact time though, which is impossible to do with some streamers (ie: Peacock).
Language settings
There are next to no language options. The CC button beneath the progress bar to toggle closed captioning is all you get.
Parental controls
There is a Parental Controls option in the account settings, however, it applies to the entire account. Which, in our opinion, makes it utterly useless. They may as well not even exist at all. Seeing as there’s no way to create kid profiles, does the brain trust at MGM+ expect parents to change the setting every time someone uses the service?
Added non-bonus: parental controls can only be changed in a web browser. And, obviously, there is no option to secure adult content behind a PIN code.
Anyways, the so-called parental controls offer 5 content rating options:
- G
- PG
- PG-13
- R
- No Restrictions
They seem to be based on the standard movie ratings that have been around for decades, but we haven’t been able to determine the difference between R and No Restrictions.
MGM+ account sharing and simultaneous screens
If you’re in a multi-headed household, it’s always good to keep in mind shareability when shopping for a streaming service. MGM+ is simultaneously better and worse than the industry average when it comes to sharing the service.
How many people can watch MGM+ at once?
You can register up to 10 devices and watch MGM+ on up to 4 screens at the same time. That’s 1 more than the industry average of 3 screens. Considering most of the content is movies, that’s probably enough to satisfy most households smaller than the Bradys.
How many profiles can you make on MGM+?
You can’t create profiles on MGM+. Your account is your only profile. This renders parental controls pointless. It also means the people watching those 4 screens don’t get their own viewing history, favorites, or personalized recommendations. (Remember when we said that MGM+ is the only mainstream streamer to have an Erotica section?)
The only other streaming service we’ve found that doesn’t let you create profiles is Hayu. But it’s completely focused on reality TV and is more geared toward single users.
MGM+ supported devices
MGM+ has one of the shortest—if not the shortest—lists of supported devices we’ve ever seen. If devices were beers, the totality of MGM+ compatible devices wouldn’t even fill a six-pack.
It’s also the first streaming service we’ve seen that doesn’t support web browsers. Sure, you can log in and load the main page, use search, and watch whatever you can find, but that’s about it. There is no navigation menu, no way to access your favorites, no way to browse movies or genres—nothing.
In web browsers, there’s only the main page with rows of curated content you can scroll down, but none of them lead to other pages. There’s no skip back/ahead button when watching a show and language options are non-existent.
The browser experience is so bad that browsers are even greyed out on the official Help page on MGM+ Supported Devices. But hey, maybe that indicates they’re aware of the shortcomings and working on it – or why not just delete the bullet point altogether? (It’s been like that for a year.)
- Streaming devices: Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku
- Cable & satellite boxes: None
- Phones & tablets: Android, iOS, Fire Tablet
- Smart TVs: Android TV
- Smart home devices: None
- Game consoles: None
- Desktops & laptops: None (extremely limited browser usability)
- Blu-ray players: None
MGM+ streaming quality
MGM+ streams in 1080p HD.
Regardless of what you may read on other websites, there is no 4K content on MGM+. This is surprising for 2 reasons:
One, Prime Video offers 4K content at no extra charge.
And two, Epix made a huge deal about being The First TV Network to Stream 4K Ultra HD Movies in the USA back in 2018. Now they can boast about being the only streaming service without 4K Ultra HD movies.
We do not offer content in 4K or with Dolby 5.1 surround sound at this time. We look forward to offering this feature in the future.
MGM+ (February 2024)
Epix’s big announcement also included bragging about offering Dolby Digital Plus audio. That’s gone too.
Audio is now limited to 2.0 stereo. Therefore, home theater enthusiasts looking to put their 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound (or better) system to work will be sorely disappointed.
This lack of surround sound is surprising given the movie catalog on MGM+. Top Gun: Maverick, No Time to Die, Paranormal Activity. These films are made to be experienced in surround sound.
Is there an MGM+ free trial?
Yes!
It’s owned by Amazon, so of course there’s a free trial. You can get an MGM+ 7-day free trial by subscribing to the services directly on the MGM+ website, or via iTunes, Google Play, Roku, Amazon AppStore, Prime Video, and numerous other providers.
Just be sure to mark the date down in your calendar and cancel it ahead of time. The website clearly warns:
To avoid any charges, be sure to cancel your subscription 24 hours before your free trial is over.
Also, you can cancel your subscription immediately by disabling renew in your account settings and keep watching until the end of your trial.
Verdict: Who is MGM+ good for in 2024?
MGM+ is best for movie lovers. However, movie lovers with the space and budget for a respectable home theater – with a 4K big-screen TV and at least 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound – will probably want to look elsewhere.
People looking for an affordable second streaming service to complement their main streaming service(s), may find value in MGM+. It only costs about the price of an online movie rental and has a wide and diverse selection of movies.
Epix was never the hottest streaming service around and its rebranded version hasn’t turned many heads in its first year. The app’s navigation is subpar, parental controls are non-existent, it’s terrible for sharing, and playback controls are worse than the navigation. So it’s better for Prime Video subscribers who can add it as a Prime Video Channel and experience a somewhat better interface.
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