Ways to Save Money on Streaming

Almost 62% of U.S. citizens have subscribed to some streaming service and during the quarantine months this year, it has been reported that an Average Joe had subscribed to at least four streaming platforms.

The way we keep ourselves busy with video content is revolutionizing continuously and the on-demand video streaming industry is growing by an inch every second. These streaming services have brought on new terms for us like binge-watch which was not a concept even a decade ago. Every day these services stream a show better than the last one and most shows have several seasons keeping the viewers hooked. With A-class stars, high budget, perfect direction, and brilliant script, these shows are to die for. However, there is one problem which is that not all of the shows are available on the same service. Most of us cannot afford to subscribe to all the streaming services but what we can do is save money from someplace and spend it wisely.

Whilst the talk is ongoing about streaming services, one important aspect to discuss is the bandwidth problems many of us face; and I don’t know about you, but personally, it is off-putting for me to watch a low-quality video or one that buffers a lot. You might want to look up Spectrum promotions for ultra-fast internet speeds provided without any data cap. 

Here are some amazing tips for you to save money on streaming services while enjoying the content you love. 

GO FOR THE BUNDLES!

Some people want to enjoy live sports, The Queen’s Gambit, Jack Ryan, and The Handmaid’s Tale, all at the same time, which is a great choice. Although, there is a small glitch looking like a lengthy bill to pay at the end of each month. If you want to swallow all the main courses all at once, you need to strengthen your core with great research.

Before signing up with any streaming platform, you should check if your desired service is bundled with another service which will help you to save money. For instance, you can buy a bundle of Disney+, ESPN, and Hulu for 12.99 USD per month. You can subscribe to this bundle by visiting the website of any of the three platforms. 

This is just one example of how much content you can get in under 13 USD and there are a lot of package bundles of this sort, you just need to research a bit.

SEE IF YOU CAN CANCEL ANY SERVICE

If you have drained a handful of the content of a streaming service and do not find yourself interested in the new content being posted, you can just cancel the service. The good thing about these services is that you can cancel at any time and when a new show grabbing your attention pops up, you can just re-subscribe.

Many people also watch through these services on a schedule. So, instead of being subscribed to a lot of services at the same time, what you can do is assign months to each service. For example, consume all the good content of Netflix in December and then move to Amazon Prime Video in January.

AU REVOIR, LIVE TV

Take a minute and honestly think about how much TV did you watch in the last couple of days. You are out working or studying most of the day and when you come back, you have to be aware of which channel serves what. You have to depend on TV channels for content that you may or may not like. Sure, there are live sports and new channels as well, but how frequently do you sit and binge anything on the TV? How many games are you fond of? And do a few hours out of a month justify the large bill you have to take care of? Plus, the never-ending commercials! 

There is no point in paying 50 USD for YouTube TV or 55 USD for Hulu Plus Live TV every month when you do not consume even 10% percent of the content through these TVs. Perhaps, it is time to shift the gear and cancel your subscription to live TV options. If you are fond of a local channel whatsoever, you can always deploy an antenna. 

SELECT AD-SUPPORTED SUBSCRIPTION PACKAGES

One of the best things about streaming platforms is the unavailability of commercial breaks, but if you can save some extra buck by watching a few ads, who cares? You can put those extra bucks into use with another streaming service. 

To give you an idea, take CBS All Access that costs 10 USD for ad-free content per month but only 6 USD otherwise. This ad-supported package saves you 48 big bucks yearly which is amazing and you can subscribe to any other service in this amount easily.

GO NON-PREMIUM

Now that we have discussed the ad-supported package, let’s talk about non-premium plans. Do you really have to watch Emily in Paris in ultra-HD? Trust me, it is as great a watch in HD as it is in 4K.

You are paying extra 3 dollars per month to avail 4K streaming on Netflix which is not that necessary when you can be saving this amount. Think of it like 36 USD yearly! The difference between 1080p and 4K viewing isn’t all that huge either which kind of makes your premium subscription pointless.

SHARE YOUR ACCOUNT

Plan and purchase subscriptions together with friends and family. There is absolutely no need for you to buy subscriptions to all these services alone when you can clamp together and enjoy more.

Modern problems require modern solutions – if you have a subscription to Netflix, and your friend has one for Amazon Prime, just share the passwords. This reasoning is supported by the platforms too. All streaming services have a different number of screens and you can abide by the policies, just be smart about it! 

CHECK IF YOU CAN AVAIL DISCOUNTS

Many streaming platforms offer student discounts as well as senior citizen discounts. Some companies have signed a deal with these platforms and offer discounts to their employees and customers. As proof, take the American Express Blue Cash card that has a 6% cashback policy on most of the major streaming platforms including Netflix. 

Few of the mobile carriers also have partnered with streaming service and offer discounts and sometimes free access to their customers.

FRIEND IN-DEED!

The best and most effective way of marketing for any company is Word-of-Mouth marketing. WOM or customer advocacy carries a huge impact and influences the decisions of consumers enormously. Many streaming services have employed this strategy in their work models. Every friend you bring to Hulu gets a one-month free trial and if they stay on the service for two months, you get a 10 USD gift card. 

YEARLY PLANNING

People who have signed up for yearly gym packages would know that yearly plans cost way less than monthly. But the great news is that subscribing to yearly plans of streaming platforms would be fruitful in the end, because you would enjoy it at least. Pun intended!

Take Disney+ for example, monthly subscription costs 6.99 USD but yearly amounts to 69.99 USD ultimately reducing the monthly cost to 5.83 USD.