Streaming services has ushered in a new era of entertainment. Never before in the history of movies and TV has there been so much content available, all at the click of a button. However, all of this comes at a pretty steep price. If you want to cut down on the amount you’re spending on streaming services, but don’t want to “cut the cord” completely, you’ve come to the right place.
Content
- Change to a Cheaper Subscription Tier
- Churn Your Subscriptions
- Are You Eligible for a Discount?
- Cell Phone Provider Deals
- Investigate Bundles
- Lookout for Signup Deals
- Install Free Streaming Services
- Get a Library Card
- Get a TV Antenna
Change to a Cheaper Subscription Tier
Aside from a few outliers, most streaming platforms have multiple subscription tiers at different price points. Which tier you opt for will determine things like how many devices can stream simultaneously and video resolution. In addition, some services offer ad-supported tiers that are even cheaper. You get access to the same content at rock bottom prices, the tradeoff is that you’ll have to watch a few ads every now and again.
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When considering whether to go down to a cheaper tier, take note of your watching habits. How many people in your household are streaming simultaneously? How do you mainly consume the content? If you primarily watch on a smaller screen like a phone or tablet, you probably don’t need to pay for 4K resolution. Everyone’s watch habits and needs are different, so take stock of your own and make the best decision for your household.
Churn Your Subscriptions
In the early days of streaming, almost everyone pictured an idealized version of entertainment consumption. Expensive, bloated cable packages were going to be replaced with an à la carte cherry-picking of only the content you cared about. Unfortunately, it seems like every copyright holder and major studio all have their own independent streaming service. As a result, if you want to watch all the water cooler shows and have access to sports and the latest blockbusters, you have to subscribe to every platform. Obviously, this can quickly become incredibly expensive. If you can’t bear not having access to everything, but are feeling the pinch in your wallet, you should consider churning your streaming subscriptions.
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The way it works is simple. When a TV series or movie that you want to watch is released, subscribe to that platform. When you’re done watching, unsubscribe. Then simply jump to another platform that has more content you want to watch. Rinse and repeat. It takes a bit more effort on your part as you’ll need to take note of what releases when, but it can save you a ton. The best part is that most platforms allow users to “pause” their subscription. This saves you from having to create a new account every time you want to watch a particular service. Instead, you can simply pause your subscription and resume it at a later date. This is especially useful since it keeps all of your watch history intact.
Are You Eligible for a Discount?
Most folks are aware of student discounts. Virtually every streaming platform from Netflix to Amazon Prime to Spotify have special pricing if you’re a student. Grabbing the discount is usually as simple as providing a school email address. And the savings can be significant. For example, a Hulu subscription is slashed by 75%, making it a mere $1.99 per month.
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Not a student? Teachers and other educators are particularly fortunate here. Provide proof of employment and you can enjoy steep discounts on virtually every service. For example, Apple Music is 50% off and includes AppleTV+ for zero extra cost! If you’ve served in the military, you too can benefit from special pricing. For instance, Disney+ offers 25% off all packages for active duty, reserve and veterans.
Cell Phone Provider Deals
Many cell phone providers (at least in the United States) offer streaming services packaged into their plans at no extra cost to the customer. Think of the service as an extra incentive to stay with your current provider. Granted, many of these deals will get you the cheapest plan, which usually means you’ll have to put up with ads. But hey, free is free. And since you are probably already paying a monthly cell bill anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to see if your cell provider will throw in a streaming service gratis as a cherry on top.
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To give you a taste of what’s out there, T-Mobile’s Magenta Plan throws in Netflix for free. AT&T has a plan that chucks in HBO Max. Verizon has a number of plans that include the lies of Apple TV, Paramount+ and more. Consult your cell phone provider’s website for more information.
Investigate Bundles
Bundling services results in considerable savings when you compare the cost of each service individually. In addition, bundling services provides you with more variety and fewer bills to juggle. For example, Disney owns Disney+ (obviously), Hulu and ESPN+. You can subscribe to each one of these platforms independently. However, you can opt to bundle platforms together, such as Disney+ and Hulu for a savings of approximately 40% or bundle all three for savings approaching 50% when compared to subscribing to each service separately.
Lookout for Signup Deals
Most streaming platforms have special signup bonuses for new customers. These promotions typically consist of a certain number of months free or a reduced bill. However, there are also deals that crop up based on certain events. Now that the NFL is striking up partnership deals to air exclusive games with the likes of Amazon and Peacock, these platforms are offering special sign-up bonuses to folks who join for that explicit purpose.
Install Free Streaming Services
“Free” and “streaming” typically conjures up mental images of someone “sailing the high seas,” but in reality, there are a plethora of streaming platforms that charge absolutely nothing. Of course, all of these platforms will have advertising, but it’s a small price to pay for unlimited 24/7 content.
Some of these services, like Pluto TV are so-called “FAST” platforms, or free advertisement supported TV. These feature “live” curated channels, reminiscent of cable TV programming. Others, like Tubi, specialize in on demand content queued up by the user, similar to that of Netflix. There are a lot of free streaming platforms available and they are compatible with virtually every device and TV. Since they are completely free and require no personal information to sign up, there is no reason not to try them all out.
Get a Library Card
Many libraries have vast collections of physical media, including Blu-rays, DVDs, CDs and even video games. That said, not everyone wants to go back to physical media. Even if you wanted to, it’s hard to do since most people have gotten rid of their Blu-ray players and stereos. However, you can still enjoy all the media that your local library has to offer, streamed directly into your home.
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Apps like Kanopy, Hoopla and Libby enable users to access the materials on offer from their local library on their personal devices, including phones, tablets, TVs, and computers. Kanopy specializes in video content like movies, documentaries and TV shows. Hoopla is a jack-of-all-trades covering video, music, books and even comics. Libby is focused primarily on ebooks, audiobooks, comics, and magazines. The apps are free to use provided your local library has a partnership with the service. In most cases, there are limits to how many titles you can borrow simultaneously, but these are set by your library. Consult your local library to see what you can take advantage of.
Get a TV Antenna
Do you know what was the OG streaming? Over-the-air television. Content beamed directly into living rooms all around the country, all for free. The best part is that all of those free channels are still floating over the airwaves. And with a TV antenna you can easily watch them. That’s right, sitcoms, sports, news and more from major networks like NBC, ABC, Fox, CBS and more can be consumed 24/7, at no charge.
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Thankfully, TV antennas are cheap and more sophisticated than the old rabbit ears you may be picturing. They are capable of capturing broadcasts in high definition, and depending on where you live, may be able to tune into a variety of affiliate channels. There are a number of antennas on the market that cater to certain needs, so read up to make the best choice for your household.
Wrapping Up
Streaming was once seen as the holy grail of at-home entertainment. While to a certain extent this is true in the sense that folks are spoiled with choice, the market has become oversaturated. Maintaining subscriptions to every streaming service out there will cost a pretty penny. That said, adopting the suggestions outlined above requires minimal effort and costs little to nothing to implement, so you have everything to gain and nothing to lose.
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Ryan Lynch –
Staff Writer
Ryan is an English & Film Studies teacher. He splits his time between Australia and the United States. He passes the time on long haul flights by playing retro video games from his youth.
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