Get a personalized list of shows to stream across Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime with this free app
Watchworthy will stop you from toggling between all the streaming services.
- National Silver Azbee Award for Impact/Investigative Journalism; National Gold Azbee Award for Online Single Topic Coverage by a Team; National Bronze Azbee Award for Web Feature Series
Watchworthy helps you determine which shows to watch next across every streaming service.
Many people are practicing social distancing and staying home due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has meant a lot more time spent with TV and movie streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video. A new free app called Watchworthy seeks to help you figure out what to watch by giving you a personalized list spanning all of the different services in one location, eliminating the endless scrolling on each app.
Watchworthy's recommendation engine operates like a dating app: Just swipe left or right on shows you like or dislike. Within 60 seconds, the app will learn what shows you are likely to enjoy across 200 different streaming services, networks and providers -- including Netflix, HBO, Disney Plus, Hulu, Amazon Prime and Apple TV Plus, if you're subscribed.
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The app is owned by Ranker, a digital media site that polls users on entertainment. It uses Ranker's machine learning platform and data from 1 billion crowdsourced votes to determine your recommendations. For example, its data indicates that fans of Better Call Saul tend to enjoy gritty, dark dramas like House of Cards, Ray Donovan and True Detective, but also cerebral comedies like Nathan for You and High Maintenance.
"In the US alone, there were over 500 scripted TV shows last year," said Clark Benson, CEO of Ranker. "There's too much choice when it comes to shows, and as far as subscription services go. What Watchworthy does is help navigate through by telling you what we think you're going to like based on your taste, and by centralizing it and giving you one watch list in one place for all of your services."
You can set the services you have in the app, and it will also recommend ones you might want to subscribe to based on the type of shows you like, Benson said. If you watch shows on your phone or iPad , you can click one from your list to immediately open the app, Benson added. Later this year, the app will be available on certain connected devices, like Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire .
As with many free apps, Watchworthy does collect user data, which it can sell to advertisers, according to Ranker's privacy policy. This information is anonymized and aggregated, however, so will not identify a specific user's identity, the policy says.
As people increasingly become fatigued with the vast number of TV streaming services available, we can expect to see more apps and services like Watchworthy. One is Dabby, a home entertainment device with an AI-based search engine for your TV to search free and paid streaming platforms through, which debuted at CES 2020.
For more, check out how to use the Netflix Party extension to watch movies with your friends remotely, free entertainment to help you survive coronavirus social distancing and our list of the best free TV streaming services.
