Best Black Friday streaming deals

• Streaming services offer major Black Friday discounts to entice holiday viewers.
• Bundles and limited-month deals are popular, with most offers expiring Dec. 1.
• YouTubeTV's heavily discounted Sunday Ticket is a must for NFL fans.

Your has-to-be-the-smartest-guy-at-the-Thanksgiving table uncle is probably ready to rant about how streaming services thought they were reinventing cable, only to become the same thing. He might be right — kind of. Good for him.

The reality is that streamers are here to stay, are getting more expensive, and, as the Wall Street Journal notes, still have a hold on us. So why not stretch your buck as far as it can go and take advantage of some Black Friday streaming discounts?

Here's a curated guide, from the guy who has been talking your ears off about these streamers in relation to Disney (DIS) and this Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) sale.

We're going to run through my favorite deals from (in this order):

1. Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN (DIS)
2. NBC's Peacock (CMCSA), Paramount+ (PSKY)
3. Warner Bros. HBO Max (WBD), FuBo (FUBO), and NFL Sunday Ticket (pay attnetion, football diehards)

Along the way, I'll provide perspective on the state of each service and its best current offerings, so you can make the best choice.

Top 3 Black Friday streaming deals

For those short on time, we'll kick off with my three favorite deals.

1. Paramount+ Premium ($2.99/month for 2 months, usually $12.99/mo). Includes CBS streaming for sports, Showtime, and ad-free streaming for the whole Paramount+ library. View from Paramount here.
2. Disney+ & Hulu w/ ads ($4.99/month, usually $12.99/mo). A must for parents — you aren't going to beat that price for Disney's content library (Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar) and Hulu tacked on for adult-oriented shows and movies. View from Disney here.
3. HBO Max w/ ads($2.99/month, usually $9.99). If you want to binge a prestige show, here's Max for the lowest price you'll see. No, it doesn't matter that the network may be acquired soon; your subscription will likely roll over. View from HBO here.

If those don't get you going, you aren't in the Black Friday spirit (which I would imagine to be some kind of capitalist demon or gremlin). But seriously, those are the steepest discounts I've seen so far in the streaming age.

It looks like the streamers are starting to target Black Friday in earnest with hopes of holiday viewership bumps.

Keep in mind that most of these deals expire on December 1, according to Business Insider's research. Okay, let's dive back into Disney.

Disney Black Friday discounts include surprising bundles with rivals

You may or may not have heard that Disney has stepped out of the Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition sweepstakes, per its recent Q4 earnings call. President Bob Iger apparently believes so strongly in its existing content library and forthcoming film and TV slate this holiday (and through 2026) that it doesn't need to fight for WBD.

That's somewhat strange, considering that Hulu (a Disney subsidiary) and HBO Max have a couple of super enticing bundle options on the table.

Disney and HBO Max Black Friday bundles

• Disney+, Hulu, & HBO Max bundle ($19.99/month). From my vantage point, this bundle offers the best of kids' content, comedy, and prestige TV (respectively). For those looking to cut down on their number of subscriptions, it could also come in clutch, as it could easily be your only streaming subscription for the year. View from Disney here.
• HBO Max w/ ads Hulu add-on ($2.99). You can get the same deal HBO is offering, within your Hulu app, which should be great for those keeping it simple for older relatives. View from Hulu here.

Beyond that, Disney offers a great Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Unlimited bundle for hardcore sports fans. For those like me who had never heard of "ESPN Unlimited" before now, that's what ESPN is calling its ESPN+ and ESPN linear networks (ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, etc.) package.

So all its offerings, digital and linear. So, that deal linked above essentially gets you Disney+ and Hulu for free, on top of the usual $29.99/month cost of ESPN Unlimited (which is now apparently a thing).

Peacock Black Friday deal bundles with Apple TV

In what looks like a retort to Disney's HBO bundle, Peacock has partnered with Apple TV (AAPL) for a "Premium Plus" bundle.

This will get you access to NBC's NBA coverage, fresh off its $27 billionhot new broadcast deal where it snatched the NBA from Warner Bros.' TNT (catch up with reporting from the New York Times). Programming schedule below.

Peacock Apple TV Premium Plus Bundle

• Apple TV+ ad-free, Peacock Premium, NBC live streaming bundle ($19.99/month). That's a third of the price knocked off from Apple TV+ and Peacock Premium, with NBC live streaming thrown in. View from Peacock here.

Paramount+ Premium Black Friday deal might be the best out there

The $2.99 a month price tag for ad-free access to the Paramount+ and Showtime libraries, plus CBS streaming for your sports needs, indicates that Paramount CEO David Ellison is serious about gaining subscribers this Black Friday.

That might be because he just lost the biggest TV hitmaker in Hollywood. Not to worry, Sheridanverse fans, according to reporting by the LA Times.

So you can keep bingeing your Western faves far into the future. What's more, you might even have a shot at getting HBO content for a discount down the road — that is, if Paramount acquires Warner Bros. in a potential earth-and-Hollywood-shaking deal co-signed by the White House.

Paramount+ Premium Black Friday discount

• Paramount+ Premium ad-free, Showtime, CBS streaming ($2.99/month, 2 months). View from Paramount here.

Also of note, Paramount-wise, Walmart Plus (WMT) is offering free Paramount+ or Peacock. "While not technically a streaming service, Walmart Plus offers access to either Paramount Plus Essential or Peacock Premium," Business Insider reports. "You can choose which one of the two services you'd like access to every 90 days."

HBO Max Black Friday lowest monthly price, add-ons

The base HBO Max Black Friday deal of $2.99/month for Max (with ads) is pretty sweet.

Despite an unknown future for HBO Max, which may split from Warner Bros. Discovery's linear TV assets (TNT, CNN, Discovery channels) if Warner Bros. is acquired, Max is still the industry leader in prestige prestige TV.

Related: 'Wicked: For Good' box office shocks Disney, critics

The embattled streamer does have an exciting 2026 ahead, regardless of what deal head honcho WBD CEO David Zaslav takes, with new seasons for "Industry," "Euphoria," and "House of the Dragon," as well as a new "Game of Thrones" series "Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" headlining its yearly releases.

Lucky for Hulu or Amazon Prime (AMZN) users, the discount is also available as an add-on.

HBO Max Basic Black Friday deal options

• HBO Max w/ ads ($2.99/month, usually $9.99). View from HBO here.
• Hulu add-on HBO Max w/ ads ($2.99/month). View from Hulu here.
• Amazon Prime add-on HBO Max w/ ads ($2.99/month). View from Amazon here.

FuBo Black Friday deal

FuBo, my first choice among streaming cable offerings (read my full breakdown of FuBo vs YouTubeTV), is rolling out Black Friday discounts for each of its specialized packages.

Regardless of whether you are cutting cords and setting up FuBo for yourself or doing so for an older loved one, it's worth assessing your needs and finding the subscription that fits.

FuBo Black Friday offers by package

• Fubo Sports + News ($45.99/month, usually $55.99). Includes FuBo base, 20+ major sports channels, ESPN Unlimited, and select local networks (ABC, CBS, and FOX). View from Fubo here.
• Fubo Pro ($54.99/month, usually $84.99/mo). Includes FuBo base and 20+ major sports channels. Specific Regional Sports Networks (YES, MSG, etc) available as add-ons. View from Fubo here.
• Fubo Elite ($64.99/month, usually $94.99/mo). Includes FuBo base plan with 4K and more sports-friendly functionalities, Specific Regional Sports Networks (YES, MSG, etc) available as add-ons. View from FuBo here.
• Fubo Latino ($9.99/month, usually $14.99/mo). Includes popular Spanish-language channels (Telemundo, TUDN, ESPN Deportes) and more. View from FuBo here. 
  Source: Business Insider

NFL Sunday Ticket Black Friday deal

This NFL Sunday Ticket discount should serve as our pecan pie for now, as it's the last one that caught my eye. As the NFL speeds towards its regular season conclusion and each game just means more from here on, it's easier to justify the price compared to the hefty ~$250 Season Ticket YouTubeTV (GOOG) asked at the beginning of the season.

NFL Thanksgiving schedule

Also, if you hop on it now, you can catch all three games set for Thanksgiving Day, the Bears versus the Eagles on Black Friday (full info from Forbes), and the rest of the slate this Sunday, Nov. 30.

NFL Sunday Ticket Black Friday offer

• NFL Sunday Ticket, YouTubeTV ($48 season pass, $12/month. Usually $150, $37.50/mo). Unlimited access to all, non-blackout, not TNF/SNF/MNF games for the rest of the season, with YouTubeTV included for free. Exclusively available on YouTubeTV — don't say I never did anything for you. View from YouTubeTV here.

Eat well, watch well, and — eyes emoji — I'll see you at the theaters for Disney's holiday slate.

Related: AMC stock secretly relies on these upcoming Disney films