CLEVELAND, Ohio - With much of the country working (and learning) from home, a number of online outlets have stepped forward to offer free content, provide free access to premium services, or extend existing free trials.
Similar to our online takeout and delivery guide, cleveland.com has collected many of these options here for you in one place.
So if you need a break from your surroundings, check out entertainment and sports viewing options, educational tools and health & wellness options currently available to you for free.
Sports-related services
While all the major sports leagues have currently shut down, that doesn’t mean you can’t relive some of the highlights from prior seasons.
BASEBALL: In addition to being able to watch all of last season’s games on MLB.tv, you can also watch plenty of great classic games on MLB’s YouTube channel. Additionally, PBS has added Ken Burn’s “Baseball” to their list of online viewing options.
FOOTBALL: NFL Game Pass is offering free access until the end of May. Watch original programing and games from 2009 - 2019.
BASKETBALL: NBA League Pass is offering a free preview until April 22nd. Watch full and condensed games and additional programing.
HOCKEY: The NHL is providing access to games played this season before the shutdown as well as additional classic games and content from prior seasons.
SOCCER: Enjoy World Cup action from FIFA TV on YouTube featuring full games and original content.
Don’t forget you can also watch More Sports & Les Levine weekdays at 6 for all the latest Cleveland Sports Talk.
Entertainment-related services
COOKING: Both Milk Street and America’s Test Kitchen have made a variety of recipes and cooking lessons free on their websites. Traeger Grills has started a new series, Traeger Kitchen Live, featuring weekly video tutorials and tips for great grilling recipes.
KIDS: Audible has released a number of kids audiobooks for free. Additionally, Penguin Random House is providing free daily book readings as well as sing-a-longs for kids.
CONCERTS: The New York Metropolitan Opera is offering free daily encore performances. The Seattle Symphony is also providing free live shows. The Cleveland Orchestra also has educational videos, concert rehearsals and more on their YouTube channel.
THEATER: Broadway HD currently has a free 7-day preview featuring some of the biggest shows on Broadway. The Globe Theatre is also offering free videos featuring adaptations of scenes from various Shakespeare plays as well as additional content. Watch some of the most loved musicals of all time premiering every Friday on a new YouTube channel. Shows will only be available for 48 hours each though. PBS is also streaming Great Performances.
E-BOOKS: Featuring works in dozens of languages and including a number of classics from Dickens to Plato, you can download works for free from Project Gutenberg. If you are a fan of classic choose-your-own adventure books, head over to Project Aon. For fans of Comics, Comixology has extended their free preview to 60 days.
PUZZLES: Having trouble finding jigsaw puzzles for sale and in stock? Jigidi.com offers free online puzzles that you can save and come back to.
CARDS: Most homes have at least one (or twenty) decks of cards, but you might need a refresher on some of those old games you used to play. Check out Bicycle Cards site for free rules and explainers on how to play everything from 99 to Texas Hold’Em. Fans of Solitaire can find many free online options here.
VIDEO GAMES: The Internet Archive is a great location for lots of content. In particular, they offer access to hundreds of classic PC and DOS video games that you’ve probably been unable to play since you updated to Windows XP. Parental warning, a handful of games do have adult themes.
STREAMING SERVICES: A number of free services exist. However, a number of paid services have also extended free options or extended their free trial periods.
SiriusXM has extended free streaming through May 15th.
The WWE has unlocked a large amount of content online including all prior Wrestlemanias, past live shows and loads of original content.
HBO is making streams of its most popular series available at HBO Now for free, including ‘Veep’ and ‘The Sopranos’
Apple TV+ has made some of its original programming free.
CBS is making ‘Star Trek: Picard’ available to those with a free trial by using the code GIFT.
Amazon Prime has unlocked a number of TV shows and movies geared towards young children and families. Amazon membership not required.
Kanopy: This free service is available for access. All you need is your library card.
SLING is currently offering a free experience providing access to some family-friendly movies and shows as well as live news from ABC News.
Showtime is currently offering a free 30 day trial to new subscribers.
Acorn TV is offering 30 days free for access to many popular British shows. Use pass code FREE30.
For fans of the horror genre, Shudder is offering 30 days free with the code SHUTIN.
You can also get 30 days of Sundance Now by using the code SUNDANCENOW30.
STARS ONLINE: A number of celebrities have begun to reach out to fans on their social media platforms as well. You can watch Patrick Stewart recite Shakespeare on his Facebook page while Andrew Lloyd Weber is taking requests from fans on songs from his musicals.
Health & Wellness services
Let’s face it, being stuck at home is stressful. Worrying about getting sick is stressful. Here’s several services that are extending free stress-management services as well as at-home workouts.
Sanvello is currently offering free premium access to their app. Practice meditation and learn other clinical techniques for dealing with stress, anxiety or depression.
Simple Habit is offering free premium access to their meditation and mindfulness app for those impacted by the current economic downturn.
Peloton: You don’t have to buy one of their bikes to get 90 days free access to their app.
Planet Fitness: The gym might be closed, but the company is offering free online workouts on their Facebook page.
Yogini Jeannie is offering free classes to those in the Northeast Ohio service industry who have been impacted by recent closures.
Jazzercise on Demand is currently offering 60 days free when you sign up and use the code 60DAYSFREE.
YogiApproved is currently offering their online classes for free for 30 days when you use the code STAYHOME.
Kick 55 Fitness is offering free video classes through their Instagram page until the end of March. Prior, archived videos of those classes are also up and will remain so after the end of the month.
Wishroute is offering a free one-week trial of their text-based service designed to help you stay motivated an on track with workouts, meditation, healthy eating and more.
Business and Job Search services
Novoresume is offering one month of free premium service, including access to cover letter and resume templates. The offers is good until April 10th.
Enhancv is currently offering free resume building tools online.
Educational services
Science at Home: Thames and Kosmos have rolled out a collection of free resources for students, parents and educators. The site includes free experiments, downloadable instructions, videos, puzzles and more.
Fender: Learn to play the guitar online as the company is currently offering free online guitar courses.
Adobe: The company is making home access to Photoshop and some of its other platforms free for students and educators. Note: Request must come from school’s IT personnel.
Professional development: New to the work-from-home scene? LinkedIn is providing a number of educational videos to help employees and managers optimize their time working remotely.
Khan Academy is offering free online resources for parents, teachers and students.
Scholastic Learn at Home has opened a free digital learning hub for at-home students.
Explain Everything is providing access to their Whiteboard tool for those teaching from home.
Omni Calculator has over 1,000 free online calculators available to help parents with home schooling tasks in match, science and beyond.
Unity 3D: Company is provide access to hundreds of hours of tutorials on computer graphics design, 3D modeling, coding and more.
Pear Deck: Offering free access to their premium online suite for teachers and students integrating Google tools.
Kahoot: Providing free access to their online distance-learning tools.
No Red Ink: Distance-learning tools for writing, grammar and more.
KnowledgeHook: Access to free premium tools for remote math education through the end of June.
The Akron Children’s Museum is offering free online programs Mondays and Tuesdays on their website and on their Facebook channel the rest of the week.
Free educational videos: While you can’t take your kids out to the museum or zoo, you can bring those experiences home. The Great Lakes Science Center’s Curiosity Corner currently provides a number of videos with experiment suggestions as well as brief talks and demonstrations on a number of topics. The Cincinnati Zoo is offering Home Safaris, bringing you up close with Fiona and many of the other animals at the zoo. Closer to home, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has expanded their online offerings via their Virtual Classroom.
The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes is hosting a live outdoor classroom on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays through April 10th.
Know of other options not on this list? Please e-mail mrose@cleveland.com with additional free offers you’d like us to consider adding.