Why do streaming sites have such poor URLs?
Here’s a quick survey of the field:
| Site | Example series | URL |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Prime | Gen V | https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0CBFTRGPZ/ |
| Apple TV+ | Ted Lasso | https://tv.apple.com/us/show/ted-lasso/umc.cmc.vtoh0mn0xn7t3c643xqonfzy |
| Disney+ | Bluey | https://www.disneyplus.com/series/bluey/1xy9TAOQ0M3r |
| Hulu | Only Murders in the Building | https://www.hulu.com/series/ef31c7e1-cd0f-4e07-848d-1cbfedb50ddf |
| Max | Friends | https://play.max.com/show/52dae4c7-2ab1-4bb9-ab1c-8100fd54e2f9 |
| Netflix | One Piece | https://www.netflix.com/title/80217863 |
| Paramount+ | Star Trek: The Original Series (Remastered) | https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/star_trek/ |
| Peacock | Killing It | https://www.peacocktv.com/watch/asset/tv/killing-it/5156438808822262112 |
| Tubi | Hannibal | https://tubitv.com/series/300000159/hannibal |
Of these, the best one is clearly Paramount+, because it’s human-readable and free of any junk. If I were feeling uncharitable, I might ding it for using snake case rather than kebab case, but I’m willing to concede that’s a matter of taste.
In the second tier are Apple TV+, Disney+, Peacock, and Tubi which all contain the series name somewhere in their URL. They don’t make it easy for you to read them, because there’s some amount of junk mixed in there too, but it’s possible.
When I see a URL like that, I want to test if they actually validate the human-readable bit. Let’s see:
| Site | Example series | Fake URL |
|---|---|---|
| Apple TV+ | Ted Lasso | https://tv.apple.com/us/show/sad-soccer-show/umc.cmc.vtoh0mn0xn7t3c643xqonfzy |
| Disney+ | Bluey | https://www.disneyplus.com/series/sad-dog-show/1xy9TAOQ0M3r |
| Peacock | Killing It | https://www.peacocktv.com/watch/asset/tv/silly-snake-scenarios/5156438808822262112 |
And indeed, two out of those three work. Good for Peacock going that extra mile.
In a distant last place, of course, are Hulu, Netflix, Max, and Amazon Prime, which don’t make an effort to be human-readable at all. Boo.