Just Curious - What streaming service(s) do you pay for and why?

[DragonGunner]

“Free you tube” is not so free anymore. So many ads. A company that made its mark on pirated content now is a content reseller and gate keeper. For example recently heard about the band Kansas documentary, not there. Used to I could always find stuff like that there.

Ya not free of adds, but I'm not paying a subscription for it so nothing out of my pocket. Some of the stuff I watch is ad free, depends on the you tuber. Other stuff at least after 5 seconds can skip.....wish I could do that on antenna TV.....LOL.

 

[kawtech87]

The only streaming service we pay for is Paramount. Because our 2yo is crazy about Paw Patrol. Everything else is free streaming stuff. Freevee, Tubi, Peacock and one other one I can't think of right now. Between all those we can usually find something to watch. Actually who am I kidding. We typically end up watching Paw Patrol.

 

[cbhausen]

You all are going to crap your pants (and me too probably) when I list what I am paying monthly (includes Wireless and home Internet):

AT&T Wireless - $500 (3 voice lines, 9 devices)
Xfinity Internet - $100 (includes Peacock)
YouTube TV - $80 (new account, see below)
Amazon Prime - $12 (includes Amazon Music and Amazon Video)
Apple One - $33 (Apple’s full streaming bundle)
Disney+ - $11
Hulu - $8
Netflix - $15.50
Starz- $7.50
Paramount+ - $7

That’s $774/month…

But to prove I’m frugal the attached is an actual snip from my email account, showing how fast I got rid of DIRECTV stream when they raised their price one too many times. Their service had gone up from $70-$115 a month and I’d had enough.

I think I need help!

 

[Nugget]

That’s $774/month…

Man, I must need to lay off the raspberry 'shine, because the first time I read that, I almost thought it said you pay $774/month for phone, internet, TV, and streaming.

What the actual F !?!?

 

[cbhausen]

Man, I must need to lay off the raspberry 'shine, because the first time I read that, I almost thought it said you pay $774/month for phone, internet, TV, and streaming.

What the actual F !?!?

The AT&T Wireless bill is a killer. I just spent an hour and a half on the phone with them trying to get it lowered, and every possible discount has a caveat. $120 of that is installment agreements for iPhones and Apple Watches. No upgrades for awhile!

 

[Nugget]

The AT&T Wireless bill is a killer. I just spent an hour and a half on the phone with them trying to get it lowered, and every possible discount has a caveat. $120 of that is installment agreements for iPhones and Apple Watches. No upgrades for awhile!

I'm not normally one to judge, critique, or offer unsolicited advice to strangers (my wife can vouch for that), but $774 x 12 is almost NINETY-THREE HUNDRED FVKK1NG DOLLARS A YEAR! Sorry for shouting. I'm just flabbergasted.

 

[bwframe]

The AT&T Wireless bill is a killer. I just spent an hour and a half on the phone with them trying to get it lowered, and every possible discount has a caveat. $120 of that is installment agreements for iPhones and Apple Watches. No upgrades for awhile!

Looks like there is a ton of dad and hubby cost in there though.

 

[cbhausen]

Looks like there is a ton of dad and hubby cost in there though.

I wish I could say that. But I watch very little TV. I do have an iPhone and a voice line on my plan for my mom.

Plus, I did include home internet and wireless service. Excluding those, my streaming bill (which is the subject of this thread) is more like $170/month.

 

[Jsomerset]

You all are going to crap your pants (and me too probably) when I list what I am paying monthly (includes Wireless and home Internet):

AT&T Wireless - $500 (3 voice lines, 9 devices)
Xfinity Internet - $100 (includes Peacock)
YouTube TV - $80 (new account, see below)
Amazon Prime - $12 (includes Amazon Music and Amazon Video)
Apple One - $33 (Apple’s full streaming bundle)
Disney+ - $11
Hulu - $8
Netflix - $15.50
Starz- $7.50
Paramount+ - $7

That’s $774/month…

But to prove I’m frugal the attached is an actual snip from my email account, showing how fast I got rid of DIRECTV stream when they raised their price one too many times. Their service had gone up from $70-$115 a month and I’d had enough.

I think I need help!

I shall now unwatchable this thread.

 

[Nugget]

Recently picked up 12 months of Netflix Premium + Starz for $75 total, as a promotional offer from Verizon. Works out to about $6.25 per month. Basic ad-supported Netflix is usually $7 and Starz is $9.

As I've mentioned before in this thread, deals are out there for these services, you just have to be willing to wait, cancel, sign back up, and play the game.

Black Friday is around the corner. Hopefully there will be a bunch of good deals again this year for streaming services.

 

[miataguy]

I've had this discussion with a friend of mine and we both agreed that IF we were willing to pay for everything we wanted to watch, well, we'd go broke. So it came down to a series of choices of what to pay for and what not to.

We both pay for Amazon, for multiple reasons. So with that we get all of what is on Amazon for free. Jack Ryan and Reacher ROCK!

I also pay for BBC and Starz. I love a lot of the British police shows, especially Silent Witness. I think I've absorbed a bit of a significant cultural deviation between American law enforcement and British law enforcement cultures. I like learning through observation.

I started paying for Starz because there were two (2) series years ago that I had started but never finished. The first was Black Sails and the second was Spartacus. Now I'm enjoying Outlander, especially it's take on the American Revolution.

Once Outlander ends after next year I may well drop Starz if I don't find anything else and subscribe to another service. As of now, beyond Amazon, I'm limiting myself to two (2). Any more and where do I stop? I'd love to watch all the new and olde Star Trek stuff but NOPE! Not paying for Paramount. Not happening until I drop BBC or Starz.

She has a subscription to Amazon, Netflix, and something else. We get together now and watch The Recruit on her subscription to Netflix.

So I'm just curious as to peoples thoughts in general. Do you have a limit and if so what? And why? Or no subscriptions at all?

Regards,

Doug

I pay for Netflix and Youtube Premium. Was going to drop Netflix, but am loosely planning to set up a VPN to use as the account's home address. That way people I was password sharing with before will be able to connect to the VPN and use it again.

I pay for YT Premiun because I hate ads and consume a lot of YT videos in the background while I do things around the house or at work.

 

[Nugget]

Black Friday is around the corner. Hopefully there will be a bunch of good deals again this year for streaming services.

For anyone not yet aware, this is the time of year to sign up for streaming services. This year's deals include:

• Hulu, 12mos @ $1/mo
• Disney+, add to Hulu sub for $2/mo (up to 12mos)
• Starz, add to Hulu sub for $1/mo (up to 6mos)
• Peacock, full year for $20 w/ code "YEARLONG"
• Max, 6mos @ $3/mo (they also offer this deal if you try to cancel a current sub)
• Paramount+ w/ Showtime, 3mos @ $4/mo w/ code "BLACKFRIDAY"

For a grand total of $92 you can have Hulu, Disney, and Peacock all year, Starz and Max for 6mos, and Paramount and Showtime for 3mos.

If you're already signed up for one of these, cancel and sign up for a new account in your spouse's name, or use an alternate email and credit card. Little bit of effort, but worth it to avoid paying full price like our boy @cbhausen.

Cheers.

 

[gregr]

I got Paramount Plus initially to see Yellowstone, but there are a lot of other really good ones available there too. Latest one is Lawman: Bass Reeves.

 

[nra4ever]

Really? 4 pages and no one has said Kodi with a build and real-debrid for $4 a month. With that set up you can watch anything you want I’ve been told.

 

[Nugget]

Really? 4 pages and no one has said Kodi with a build and real-debrid for $4 a month.

Nobody has mentioned it because we don't know what half of those words even mean.

 

[target64]

For anyone not yet aware, this is the time of year to sign up for streaming services. This year's deals include:

• Hulu, 12mos @ $1/mo
• Disney+, add to Hulu sub for $2/mo (up to 12mos)
• Starz, add to Hulu sub for $1/mo (up to 6mos)
• Peacock, full year for $20 w/ code "YEARLONG"
• Max, 6mos @ $3/mo (they also offer this deal if you try to cancel a current sub)
• Paramount+ w/ Showtime, 3mos @ $4/mo w/ code "BLACKFRIDAY"

For a grand total of $92 you can have Hulu, Disney, and Peacock all year, Starz and Max for 6mos, and Paramount and Showtime for 3mos.

If you're already signed up for one of these, cancel and sign up for a new account in your spouse's name, or use an alternate email and credit card. Little bit of effort, but worth it to avoid paying full price like our boy @cbhausen.

Cheers.

Thanks, signed up for Hulu.

 

[nra4ever]

Nobody has mentioned it because we don't know what half of those words even mean.

You can start here. https://troypoint.com/best-kodi-builds/

plenty of videos to show you how it’s done step by step on YouTube. You can go to Walmart and get an Onn google TV 4K streamer for $20 and your in business. If you are running a nice surround system you will need to step up to a shield or fire tv box that is still running android. It’s actually 16 euros for 6 months which is less than $4 per month. There is no better deal out there. Happy thanksgiving!

 

[firecadet613]

There are a lot of smart streamers in this thread, hoping someone can share their wisdom with me.

We currently have Roku, Prime, Netflix, and DirecTV Stream. We rarely watch anything on DirecTV aside from the occasional news broadcast or show on NBC, FOX, ABC, or CBS.

I'd love to kick DirecTV Stream to the curb and save the $900 a year, but how do we stream the local affiliates? We're too far out in the sticks for an antenna...

 

[Nugget]

Not sure of an option other than antenna to get the local channels, but if you add Hulu they carry a lot of Fox and ABC shows, Peacock carries NBC shows, and Paramount+ has a lot of CBS shows. You can probably get all 3 services at full freight for $20 - 30 per month combined, and save a lot vs DirectTV. Promotional deals could cut that further as well.