What Is the Best Way to Watch ‘Yellowstone’ Season 5 Marathon This Weekend?
If you are late to the “Yellowstone” party and have missed all five seasons of this cultural phenomenon, then you should consider putting on your favorite sweatpants and clearing your calendar this weekend. The Paramount Network will be airing a “Yellowstone” marathon starting Friday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. ET with the first episode of Season 1, and ending on Monday, Feb. 20 with the last episode before Season 5’s mid-season break.
This is a great way to catch up on all of the drama with the Dutton family, especially considering that this very well could be the final season of the show. But, what if you are a cord-cutter and want to catch up on the show without having to toggle between multiple streaming services or wait months for Season 5 to be released on Peacock? Have no fear, we all of the information available for you to make the best decision for your specific streaming situation.
What Is the Cheapest Way to Stream the ‘Yellowstone’ Presidents’ Day Marathon?
One of the best things about cutting the cord is the freedom and flexibility it gives you to pick which viewing options work best for you. There are six major live TV streaming services and all of them offer the Paramount Network, but each comes with its own pros and cons.
The best option is likely to be Philo. The skinny bundle comes with a seven-day free trial, which would cover the entire President’s Day Marathon, but if you decide that you like the service, it is by far the cheapest option at just $25 per month. Admittedly, it does not have nearly the number of cable channels that some of its competitors do, but that is the point of the lower-priced option. Philo doesn’t carry any local or sports channels and only has 18 of the top-35 cable networks. But, if you aren’t worried about news or sports, it is a pretty solid deal.
However, if you need more content in your live streamer, both DIRECTV STREAM and fuboTV offer free trials that would get you through this weekend’s marathon, but they are significantly more expensive, primarily because of the added expense of local affiliates and cable sports channels. Both YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV carry the Paramount Network and are cheaper than DIRECTV STREAM and Fubo while offering most of the same channels, but neither offers a free trial, making it a little less appealing for “Yellowstone” marathon.
The last live-streaming option is Sling TV. It also doesn’t have a free trial, but it is currently running a promotion giving new customers 50% off their first month of service. So, you could subscribe to either the Sling Orange or Sling Blue packages and then get the $6 Paramount Network add-on, and you could stream marathon for $26, but also have an entire month of content at a pretty reasonable price.
| DTV STREAM | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Get $10 Off | Sign Up | |||
| $79.99 | $91.99 | $76.99 | $25 | $40 | $40 | $72.99 | ||
| Paramount Network | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | + $6 | + $6 | ✓ | |
Can I Watch the ‘Yellowstone’ Presidents’ Day Marathon on Paramount+ or Peacock?
Despite the fact that “Yellowstone” is the most popular show on all of television, it has bypassed the normal streaming schedule of making its episodes available to cord-cutters the day after they air on Paramount Network. Given the corporate connection, one could assume that they would be streaming on Paramount+ either alongside or shortly after their linear debuts, but that’s not the case.
By limiting the streaming availability of “Yellowstone” episodes, Paramount Global is likely doing as much as humanly possible to condition fans to watch it live when it airs, making the company more money via advertising and raising the value of Paramount Network when it comes to cable carriage fees.
Of course, past seasons of the Taylor Sheridan series do eventually come to streaming, usually around three months after each season finale. But that doesn’t mean that they end up on Paramount+. Because of a deal that predates the rebranding of CBS All Access as Paramount+, the show’s streaming rights belong to Peacock; a mistake that Paramount executives have sworn never to make again. So, while you won’t be able to catch up on Season 5 of “Yellowstone” on Peacock, you can use the NBCUniversal streaming service to binge-watch Seasons 1-4.
Peacock
Peacock is a subscription video streaming service from NBCUniversal that includes original shows, blockbuster movies, and classic television series. Peacock is home to “Yellowstone,” and “The Office,” as well as original hits like “Poker Face” and “Bel-Air.” You can also watch live sports including NFL, MLB, WWE, Olympics, Premier League, NASCAR, French Open, College Football and Basketball, and PGA Tour. Premium Plus subscribers can stream their local NBC feed in all 210 markets.
What is ‘Yellowstone’ and Why Is a Presidents’ Day Marathon a Big Deal?
“Yellowstone” is currently halfway through its fifth season. It wrapped up the first half of Season 5 on New Year’s Day and is slated to return with six more episodes sometime in mid-2023. The show centers on the wild and violent world of the Dutton family, who are not your average ranchers, as they own the largest ranch not only in Montana but the entire United States.
Watch The ‘Yellowstone’ Official Trailer:
The show premiered in June 2018, and it quickly became a phenomenon, continuing to grow in popularity. The Season 5 premiere attracted more than 10 million viewers in November, breaking records for the cable network. Last month, Kevin Costner recently took home the 2022 Golden Globe for best performance by an actor in a drama television series for his portrayal of John Dutton, the family’s patriarch.
The show has spawned an entire franchise of series from Taylor Sheridan affectionately dubbed the Sheridan-verse. In addition to the flagship series, Paramount+ also is the home for a pair of prequel series “1883” and “1923.” The former series will in turn get its own spinoff following real-life Black lawman “Bass Reeves”; that show is currently filming.
A third Dutton-family prequel installment, “1944,” is currently in development, and a long-discussed modern-day spinoff “6666” is also redevelopment, which may or may not have something to do with the reports of Matthew McConaughey joining the franchise.
So, if you are intrigued by the hype and excitement around “Yellowstone,” but haven’t yet found the time to watch, consider making this weekend one filled with Montana ranchers, cutthroat drama, pajamas, and food delivery.
Yellowstone
Follow the violent world of the Dutton family, who controls the largest contiguous ranch in the United States. Led by their patriarch John Dutton, the family defends their property against constant attack by land developers, an Indian reservation, and America’s first National Park.