Streaming TV billing games and high prices - what services are you using?

S

SC Maintenance

Joined
Jun 8, 2022
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Couple weeks ago Netflix popped up with "add your extra member". Payed it no mind. Message kept coming up so I logged in again and it seems last month they billed me an extra $7.99 for this extra member I didn't request and didn't use. If someone else in the house signed up I didn't get an email, and I am the account holder of record. So jokes on Netflix - I am cancelling all of your overpriced service. At least for a while.

Decided to cancel Hulu - don't watch it much. They offered me half off their "with adds" version? You kidding me - Youtube, freebie and OTA is free with adds. You think I am paying one cent to watch adds you have lost it. Gone.

Disney plus started at $5.99 during the pandemic. Its now $12. That's some inflation. Gone - at least for a while.

Amazon prime - $139.00 per year but that includes the shipping and streaming. $12.50 a month? Maybe worth it - but I already paid and I don't think you get a refund, so I will decide next year I guess.

This has gone crazy. I guess people like me are just too lazy to look at what their paying.

/ End rant.

So I figure maybe I will just try a service for a few months till everyone is bored, than cancel and try another? What are you watching?

-- Paramount and Showtime for $13 a month plus 1 free month to start maybe a good place to start?

-- HBO max is $17. Pretty spendy, but maybe ok for a couple months - watch a bunch - move on?

Anyone else bounce service to service?
 
Wife pays for netflix. I’m not sure if I would keep it if I had a choice, I don’t watch much anymore. We do have Amazon prime, and that’s it.
 
Hulu (ad supported) promo every Black Friday for $1.99/month for 12 months, we renew that ever year.

Picked up Peacock when it was $19.99 a year on promo plus stack white an Amex promotion so $14.99 net I think, but I'll cancel once that promo is over and likely won't go back.

We have a prime membership but not really for watching shows, might say goodbye to that when we have to renew.

Amex and other credit cards with promotion pages often have specials that basically equate to three months free of a steaming service, I would be tempted to just swap every three months and keep Hulu at the current promotion.
 
I canceled Netflix for the same reason. They couldn’t be happy with my $17 or whatever for 2 screens, now you get nothing at all.

Got Peacock with ads for like $20 or something for a year in addition to Youtube Premium. Not a fan of ads, but peacock has a pretty huge library and the ad length is reasonable for the price IMO. It might play an ad before Shrek for example (my 2 year old LOVES shrek), but doesn’t play a single ad at all during the movie. Parents have Disney+ that includes ad supported Hulu that we use.
 
SC Maintenance said:
You think I am paying one cent to watch adds you have lost it. Gone.
Click to expand...
Never have I bought cable tv for this very reason. They’re offering a “service” at an extraordinary price.

Locast was able to repeat OTA TV at a minimal price for bandwidth. When the thieving cable companies realized they were getting too big they sued and shut down locast. Did they really think I’d ever consider paying for their ridiculous services? RIP Locast.

If I get something free from switching phone services (eg T-mobile) or whatnot I may use it.

Not paying for this stuff.

We run the MLB app, the free game of the day is fun.

We run whatever comes on Amazon prime/fire stick.
 
I sub toParamount + and got an email stating they now had Showtime for 11.99 a month. Already have Showtime with Amazon so I turned it down. No way of knowing that they put me on a 5.99 service with commercials. Yesterday I tuned in and there were lots of 90 second commercials. Canceled.
 
SC Maintenance said:
Decided to cancel Hulu - don't watch it much. They offered me half off their "with adds" version? You kidding me - Youtube, freebie and OTA is free with adds. You think I am paying one cent to watch adds you have lost it. Gone.
Click to expand...
Serious question (not meant to plug Hulu). Is the Freebie TV content anywhere close to Hulu (or another paid service)? I feel like I had checked it out and it was basically like Pluto.

Edit: or was that meant to say Freevee?
 
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I have Prime and Netflix. Get Peacock free with Xfinity. Wife likes Xfinity TV or I would not have it.
 
We pay for YTTV and Netflix. The "add a new member" pop-up might be from someone else using your account. Is that possible ? Our daughter in college uses our account and I think her use triggered it. She just clicks the "I'm traveling" button but that won't work for too long....

We pay for Amazon Prime but it's for the shopping side of Amazon. I consider Prime Video a "freebie" and overall, it kinda sucks. There's some good shows but so much of their other stuff is downright bad.

We have, ummmm, access to HBO MAX, Paramount, Hulu, and Disney+ 😂
 
99Saturn said:
Serious question (not meant to plug Hulu). Is the Freebie TV content anywhere close to Hulu (or another paid service)? I feel like I had checked it out and it was basically like Pluto.

Edit: or was that meant to say Freevee?
Click to expand...
Sorry - yes freevee. My point was freevee, youtube, OTA and a bunch of other places provide content for free with commercials. Having to pay AND watch commercials seems like a stupid model. Not for me at least.

Whether the content is better or worse is subjective. I would prefer to watch car videos and old documentaries on youtube, but my wife has only so much patience.
 
JHZR2 said:
Locast was able to repeat OTA TV at a minimal price for bandwidth. When the thieving cable companies realized they were getting too big they sued and shut down locast. Did they really think I’d ever consider paying for their ridiculous services? RIP Locast.
Click to expand...
Another example of where "regulation" simply has become protectionism for those who can afford lobbyists. I subscribed to Sling when it first came out. It was a decent service at the time but I don't like watching stuff on someone else's schedule anymore. I looked again and its just way too expensive now anyway.
 
We have too much. I recently dropped Discovery Plus Ad-free (trimmed a whopping $8/mo off the outgo).

We have-

Youtube TV $75
Philo plus Reelz (Gotta have that LivePD fix), I split this with a co-woker, $28
Youtube Ad-free $12


I would like to see these providers step up for one time in my life and tell Disney to go pound sand and allow consumers to select ESPN or not.
 
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