Do you remember the days during quarantine when binge-watching shows was one of our only pastimes? Streaming services offered a much-needed escape, quickly becoming essential to our entertainment. Yet, almost five years later, our dependency on streaming isn’t just increasing our screen time; it’s also breaking the banks.
It’s time to rethink our viewing habits before entertainment becomes even more of a financial burden.
The national average price of cable TV is $83 per month, as reported by CableTV.com, but the price depends on your TV provider and ranges from $80 to $150. Many people found the monthly cable price too high, and streaming seemed more affordable. Hulu, for example, can be as low as $9.99 per month with ads, and Netflix can be as low as $6.99 per month with ads.
However, here’s the thing: ads are annoying, and nobody wants to deal with boring, repetitive commercials, which is much of the reason why people switched from cable to streaming in the first place. Suddenly, premium subscriptions without ads are much more appealing. Instead of paying around $10-20 monthly for a couple of streaming services, you’re now paying $18.99 for Hulu and $15.49 for Netflix, without ads.
Many Americans love watching sports, but you can’t watch them on Netflix or Hulu’s standard plans. A Hulu + ESPN subscription costs $89.99 per month as an add-on. Based on the NFL’s official website, Sunday night football can be streamed on Peacock, and it costs $7.99 monthly for live sports. Monday night football is streamed on Hulu Live TV, but Thursday night football is only streamed on Amazon Prime Video, which is $14.99 monthly. An avid NFL fan must pay $112.97 monthly to keep up with football games.
When fan-favorite shows and movies are moved to other streaming services like HBO Max, $9.99 per month can be added to the bill.
Eventually, it became impossible to have just one of these services. Between sports, comfort shows, and entertainment for all ages, a family could be spending $138.45 per month.
So many people had to cut the cable cord because prices were rising, and faster internet speeds seemed enticing for everyone stuck at home.
While going back to cable isn’t necessarily the solution, you can still combat price gouging from streaming services. Standard subscription plans with ads are often significantly cheaper than the ad-free premium plans, and you can also use apps like Tubi, Pluto TV, IMDBtv, and more as free streaming services.
Ads aren’t the end of the world. If you want to be more conscientious of where your money is being spent each month, you should try looking for free or cheaper service bundles, downgrading to standard subscriptions, and evaluating how valuable these forms of passive entertainment actually are to you. Apps like RocketMoney or PocketGuard can help you improve your finances.
