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Not only are television screens getting larger, but the number of must-watch shows is increasing across a growing assortment of on-demand streaming video services intent on persuading you to cut your cable TV cord.
Everyone is familiar with streaming pioneers Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu. But faster internet speeds in large swaths of the country have persuaded more companies to join in.
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“The positive of the contemporary television environment is the sheer richness of content out there, of new material, and the easy availability of watching entire runs of shows 10, 20, 50 years old,” says Josh Jackson, assistant director of the media studies program at the University of California, Berkeley. “The downside is the research that has to go into determining who’s playing what and which $15-a-month streaming service is the best match for you.”
Ways to keep costs in check
For consumers, more options can mean more temptation, kind of like the by-the-pound buffet at the grocery store. To keep your budget in line, ask yourself:
- How many hours of TV do I want to watch in a month?
- Does a new service have enough shows I like to be worthwhile?
- What are a service’s terms of cancellation?
Some companies offer a free trial period, which can help you assess their programming, but they require a credit card to sign up. Keep in mind that you will be charged automatically if you don’t cancel your subscription before the free trial ends.
Unlike cable television, streaming services don’t charge fees for installation or for starting or canceling service. So you can subscribe for just a month — as long as you remember to cancel before the next billing cycle — and resubscribe later, once the platform repopulates with new viewing choices.
Another option is bundling, which allows you to pay one price for two or three streaming platforms. This could lower your costs, but only if you like enough shows on every service you’ll be paying for as part of the bundle.
Cable TV channels, which often have ads, will continue to exist because “they serve their parent corporations a unique economic opportunity,” Jackson says. “Broadcast television is still the primary vehicle for advertisers to reach a massive audience quickly.”
But much of broadcast television relies on advertisers who prioritize viewers ages 18 to 49. And content is created to appeal to that age group. Streaming services might give older adults more opportunities to find the shows they want, Jackson says.
“A subscription-based television environment that’s more concerned with numbers of subscribers and less concerned with demographics might provide a greater variety of shows that might value and target an older audience because their appeal to advertisers isn’t part of the equation,” Jackson says.
That means shows such as 1923, the prequel to Yellowstone, on Paramount+; Dead to Me, with Christina Applegate, 51, on Netflix; and The White Lotus on HBO can become a part of your watch list.
The largest: Amazon Prime Video and Netflix
Amazon Prime Video surpassed Netflix as the streaming service with the most subscribers, based on estimates through September 2022, according to Dallas-based research firm Parks Associates. Hulu and its majority owner since 2019, Disney+, are third and fourth.
Both Amazon and Netflix provide original shows and films, some of which have won top awards. Each platform carries additional movie and television options that have never been broadcast on the big or small screens, but the services differ in a few ways.
- Amazon Prime Video is available without an Amazon Prime account at $8.99 a month. However, when signing up from the Prime Video page, you must change the default plan to avoid bundling in Amazon Prime’s standard delivery service. Meanwhile, users can rent or buy newly released television shows and movies individually without an Amazon subscription.
- Netflix now has a membership option with ads at $6.99 a month. But some of its movies and shows are unavailable to subscribers on this plan because of licensing restrictions. The platform’s basic plan without ads remains $9.99 a month. But the video quality is not full high definition unless you join its standard plan at $15.49 a month.
Apple TV+
What is it? Apple TV+’s latest award-winning and viral successes include Severance, a show about office workers whose memories are divided between their personal and work lives, and Ted Lasso, a comedy about a football coach leading a British soccer team. The service has no ads, and Apple says it comes out with new original programming each month.
How to access: The Apple TV app, available on most Apple products and most smart TVs, PS4, Roku and Xbox One.
Price: One-week free trial, then $6.99 a month. Additionally, three months of the service come free with the purchase of a new Apple device.
BET+
What is it? BET+ provides a collection of dramas, movies and sitcoms featuring Black culture with more than 1,000 hours of ad-free viewing. This includes exclusive programming such as documentaries, originals from Tyler Perry and specials from BET Networks.
How to access: Subscribe to BET+ through its website or add it to your Amazon Prime Video account. View it on Android and Apple devices, some smart TVs and the web.
Price: One-week free trial, then $9.99 a month or $94.99 a year.
Discovery+
What is it? Discovery+ gives users access to current and former shows from Animal Planet, CNN, Discovery Channel, Food Network, HGTV, Investigation Discovery (ID) and TLC. Exclusives and Discovery+ originals feature personalities such as the Irwin family, Jonathan and Drew Scott, Bobby Flay and more.
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