Why Now Is the Time to Reevaluate Your Streaming Service Needs
Spring cleaning can take many forms. Clean up your closet and donate clothes you never wear. Go through cupboards and throw away expired spices during the Clinton administration. Looking at your credit card bill and realizing that you are subscribed to so many streaming services, you are paying more than cable TV. Yes, it’s time for a “digital” spring cleaning.
With recent negative headlines about Netflix stock issues and a lot of cancellations , now is a better time than ever to take stock of the digital subscriptions you’ve accumulated and figure out which ones you’re actually using. Whether you subscribe to two of them or 10 (maybe you’re one of the 18,000 people heartbroken over losing CNN+ ?), you may be paying for more of them than you need. Here are three reasons why this might be the case.
You go out more
It makes perfect sense that during the darkest hours of 2020, you’ve signed up for a plethora of streaming services. Netflix? Certainly. HBO Max? Fully. AMC+? How else are you going to watch Mad Men ? No one blames you for doubling your content during a global pandemic. But it’s not 2020 anymore. Chances are you spend less time at home these days. Maybe you’re one of the millions of people who are back in the office where you can’t put on a mindless show in the background while you work . Or maybe you live the WFH lifestyle but your social calendar for 2022 is ten times bigger than it was for 2020. The thing is, you most likely spend fewer hours in front of the TV, so do you really need all these options? when do you really sit down to watch something? If your “supply” (time spent at home) has been reduced, it makes sense to also reduce “demand” (subscriptions to streaming services).
Streaming prices have gone up
Offhand, can you tell me how much Netflix costs, or did you sign up a few years ago, set up auto-pay and stop thinking about it? If you pay for premium Netflix, you are now losing a cool $20 a month on their service , up 42% from just four years ago. They are not alone. Early last year, Disney+ raised its monthly price from $6.99 to $7.99. Entertainment industry analysts suspect these fees will continue to rise as long as consumers are willing to bear the cost. This leaves you with two options; pay an ever-increasing price or inventory your streaming subscriptions and decide what’s really worth paying for.
You are probably already leaving money on the table.
Given that streaming services are often offered as perks with other accounts, you may be eligible for free access to content that you currently pay for. If you’re a student who pays for Apple Music, you can get a free Apple TV+ subscription . If your mobile carrier is Sprint Unlimited, you can get a free Hulu subscription. If your cable provider is Xfinity, you can get a free Peacock subscription . These are just a few of the ways you can use streaming subscriptions within your existing budget. Don’t even make me start with package options . What’s more, if you’re not looking for specific vendor-exclusive content, the next water cooler series from HBO; the absurdly expensive new season of Stranger Things has enough free content to keep your eyes busy until your Roku collapses from exhaustion. Plenty of ad-supported streaming services will let you watch old movies and TV shows for free.