We currently have a subscription to FIVE streaming: Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, HBO, Amazon. We guesstimate that we’re spending $60 per month on all that. $60 isn’t a HUGE amount, but it’s not zero either.
How many streaming services do you subscribe to? Have you considered canceling a service, because of growing costs and inflation?
Apt. 11d 
Compared to what cable cost, our streaming is cheap.
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I would guess that video games is the only cheaper entertainment. Or that and going for a walk. But even walking costs. I spent more on shoes that 1/3rd of our streaming bill.
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Netflix, Prime (as part of Amazon Prime), Disney +, & services that go with our internet provider (cable as well, and phone? I no longer really know).
Younger kiddo has complained that he thinks there should be a streaming regulatory service. He imagines something like spotify in which he subscribes to one thing and gets everything. He wants government involved (not really, but, kind of).
Where I get frustrated is when streams disappear. We were loving “El Ministerio del Tiempo” when it went phfft on Netflix
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So I looked it up on Imdb. That service often tells you where you can watch something.
You have options through Amazon:
Included with FlixLatino on Amazon for $2.99/month after trial
Included with Pantaya on Amazon for $5.99/month after trial
I frequently subscribe to different channels through Amazon. You can turn them on and off, unlike cable subscriptions. I believe consumer advocates have been advocating for such control for years, in the face of cable company resistance.
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We have Netflix and Prime, but we sometimes wonder if it’s worth it to keep Netflix. We have a legacy Netflix account with DVD privileges, which is a nice thing to have and would be hard to replace. We get a lot of stuff on DVD that would be difficult to get otherwise.
Depending what’s currently available, we have some assortment of the following:
–Britbox
–Acorn (we usually have either Britbox or Acorn)
–Paramount+
–Disney+
–2-3 others?
We do so many different streaming things at different times that I can’t keep track of it. Some of them are very cheap. We also do a lot of free introductory services (if there’s one thing we want to watch) and then scrupulously cancel. Yeah, we’re those people.
I don’t mind the cost exactly (I think we’re getting what we are paying for)…but it’s a pain to juggle it and keep track of it, especially since content is constantly coming and going from different platforms.
By the way, I have to mention that there is a lot of gorgeously restored (and often English-subtitled!) free Soviet stuff on youtube. I strongly suspect this of having been the product of a Vladimir Putin nostalgia/propaganda kick (look how awesome life was in the Soviet Union!), which makes one feel slightly dirty about enjoying it–but it really is very nicely done.
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We have Disney/Hulu/ESPN bundle (Hulu-no ads), Apple+, Amazon Prime (I’d have that anyway), Netflix, and HBOMax through our cable provider/previous HBO subscription. Because I literally teach TV Studies, these are tax-deductible expenses, though I am not sure if that makes much of a difference.
The streaming glut is the topic of many media industry analysts because of the conviction of most that this cannot be sustained as an economic system. Netflix is trying to crack down on extra viewers (people sharing Netflix login info) and is introducing an ad tier. Almost all the streamers are moving from a Binge distribution model to a once-a-week viewing model. Our television consumption patterns are changing. And, indeed, our definition of television is changing. What is tv, anyway? Is a 10-episode season of Fargo really just a 10-hour movie cut up in 10 parts?
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Netflix
Amazon Prime (PBS Masterpiece, Qello Concerts)
We have Charter Spectrum Cable, which gives us tv, internet & phone. Through that, we have access to HBOMax. Thanks for raising the topic. I would like to decrease the tier of our cable package, but dread making a call to cable customer service.
Netflix shows we’ve enjoyed recently:
The Imperfects
Skandal! Bringing Down Wirecard
I Am Not An Easy Man
The Midnight Club
Kleo
Babylon Berlin
Bob Ross Happy Accident, Betrayal and Greed
Fyre
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From a different information ecology – but we have Netflix and Disney+
Our household isn’t big TV/film watchers – so we mostly have those 2 for a couple of shows/films we want to watch (Mr 14 is loving Andor, right now – I’m a bit ‘meh’). My 80+ Mum is a big watcher – and uses Netflix and BeamaFilm (‘free’ content via the local library – more local and indie films, etc.)
I find it enormously irritating that I can’t just ‘get’ what I want to see – when I want to see it. I, too, hate the fact that things just drop off Netflix.
Most of that category is classic films/TV shows – which are available on a streaming service somewhere (usually in the US or BBC) – but to which I have no access (as in, there *is* no streaming service delivering them to NZ – not that I’m not willing to pay for it). I’m not very keen on buying them online (GooglePlay, etc.) – since I then have to manage that online film library. Perversely, I’d rather buy a DVD, than an online film.
Streaming seems to work well for the popular content which 80% of consumers want pretty much at the same time. It doesn’t do a good job for the rest of the consumers who want a much more eclectic mix.
I have to admit, that despite my ethical principles, I do resort to watching illegally uploaded content on YouTube – because there *are* no other options to see it legally. [Most recently “Dinner rush” – which I wanted to show Mr 14. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it]
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I think we pay for too much streaming. We just don’t watch more than 3 or 4 days a week, for a max of 2 hours. But we’ve been lazy about cutting the subscription.
Amazon
Netflix
Hulu
Peacock (free with Xfinity/Comcast)
Paramount +
We had Apple for a year when it was free with my overpriced iPhone. We enjoyed Ted Lasso and will probably cancel something to add Apple again.
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Marianne said, “We enjoyed Ted Lasso and will probably cancel something to add Apple again.”
That is very relatable!
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We have Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max, Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, and Paramount Plus. We had Hulu, but no one was watching so I cancelled it a couple months ago, and no one has noticed yet. I actually strongly recommend this – most of the services you can just cancel and restart anytime. It’s a good way to find out if you’re paying for something you don’t use.
We mostly watch Netflix and HBO Max. The kids watch Disney. We subscribe to Apple TV Plus and Paramount plus because they both have a couple shows we want, though they are the two closest to getting cut. If we do, we’d probably swap in something else and see if we liked it. Prime Video we don’t watch much, but it comes with Amazon Prime which we find to be a good value even ignoring the streaming.
For value, this is way ahead of where we used to come out with cable.
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We have the Canadian streams of Netflix, Disney+, and Prime. Through our library card (free) we have access to Kanopy and a service called Hoopla where basically they have limited-use streaming of DVDs the library has (not all of them I don’t think, but some nice things.) And through the library as well we have access to the BBC Literary Adaptations in Video which I find really fun and my kids tolerate.
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I hardly watch TV. Lately even The Rockford Files isn’t holding my attention, though periodically I still look for jackets so I can dress like him. The only new series made in the part decade that I’ve liked is the Mandolorian. And Hinterland.
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I’m in Australia and currently have two services, Netflix & Spotify. I’ve just carried them over from when my boys were at home. They still use them so I don’t mind. I rarely use them.
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We also have free to air tv which gives you about 27 commercial stations. I tend to avoid them.
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I have Prime (no current add ons) and one other at any given time – currently Netflix. If there’s something I want to see on a different streaming service, I’ll drop Netflix and get the different service. If I add something to prime I’ll drop the outside service. I don’t watch that much so it isn’t worth it to have multiple services. And, I can do it with the remote, so why not drop and add at a whim.
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Reading these comments gave me an “aha” moment. Interesting to see how people manage your streaming services, signing up and signing off setting guidelines for utility (like, only two services) and generally being consumers who make flexible choices. My aha was understanding how little I like managing my consuming. I think there are a few subscriptions I’ve only managed to cancel because my credit card number changed (some because its hard, but others because I am so entirely lazy about my consumption).
My general view is that I want things to be good and I don’t care if I got the most value for my spending, and so I’m not a good free market consumer. If everyone was like me markets wouldn’t really work the way they are supposed to, producing better value.
The aha, was the realization that consumer behavior on my part is why I am so unresponsive to market solutions for essential goods, like school for children. I do think more people are like me than those pushing market solutions accept. I want schools to be adequate without any wise consumption on my part. I think more people are like me than folks pushing market solutions think. But, I also benefit from the access to adequate schools.
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Having had a front-row seat for the implosion of print media and being in a family where I’m editing a first book and I have a kid headed for either a computer animation or a fine arts degree, we don’t really seek to optimize our spend on creative product either…although we’re also big big library users, so there’s a disconnect there too.
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House rule is: Parents will only pay for one streaming service at a time, and Netflix is at the upper limit at $17/month. We cycle through a service every 3 months or so, based on what folks are in the mood to watch. In part this choice stems from a desire to teach my kids how to delay gratification/earn the $ for their choice of luxuries. Reading this thread will confirm for my children, however, that we are “mean.”
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Steve and I really enjoy our evening hour of streaming entertainment. Sometimes we pick something just for us; other times, it’s an activity that we can do with Ian. We don’t watch regular TV, except for the news, which is pretty much on constantly in the background while we work. I love being behind on a show and getting to live in that world for weeks at a time as we watch one episode per night. $60 for 30 days of entertainment is cheap. We’re happy to pay what we do.
We did the start and stop thing with Paramount for Yellowstone. When that gets going again, we will rejoin.
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We do Netflix and Prime. My plan is to wait for retirement/severe illness/the next pandemic to get AppleTV, Acorn, Britbox, and/or Hulu. I am also saving the entire run of the Simpsons for retirement. I also buy DVDs of series I think I will want to watch more than once or might want to loan out (Parks/Rec, Perry Mason, Northern Exposure, Mary Tyler Moore).
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PS I saw that Harry’s memoir will be called “Spare,” which is a great title. I won’t buy it but admire the choice.
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I don’t ever buy memoirs or, for that matter, read memoirs by living people. To paraphrase Pauline Kael, I live in a bubble. There is a whole world of memoir purchasing and reading people who I have no knowledge of. But sometimes when I am in a bookstore I feel their presence.
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funny spoof saying on his darkest moment he found “bowling” in Los Angeles and it saved his life
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I’m out of commission today and tomorrow. I took on a sub job at the local school — I wanted a real life job to break up all my time in front of a computer. But it means I’m swamped, especially since Steve’s on long term jury duty and doing his main job in the evening. It’s 9:40 and I’m still dealing with email and tomorrow’s email. I have a ton of gossip about Harry’s book, but that might have to wait until Saturday.
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Very cool on the sub job. I have so much more respect for people who walk the walk in the classroom when they opine on education.
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Good luck. My mom did substitute teaching for a while, but found it stressful. I think because of the lack of a set schedule.
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It was crazy. I’m so backed up in my other work. Not sure if I can do this again.
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An interaction with the moment, with other work demands and spouse on jury duty, too much other work so something else would need to be dropped to have time for subbing? Or just that teaching is demanding?
I’ve been wondering how much time I really have for board and volunteer work. I’m inclined to think I have time, but realize that I’m used to my time being in my control.
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Going forward, I’ll sub this from time to time just to break up the writing, but I definitely can’t do it every day. I couldn’t check email for seven hours straight. When I got out, I had a huge back-up of email — Ian chores, other volunteer work, newsletter and social media responses. Of course, a project that was sitting on an editor’s desk for a month, suddenly needed attention. We had no food in the house. Steve’s on jury duty, so has to do his real job in the evening and pick up any slack. I actually do a lot during the day, even when I’m not making money from freelance writing.
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“I actually do a lot during the day, even when I’m not making money from freelance writing. ”
This is not nearly as true for me. I really do do less than you do, but I am very used to having my time be my own. Any regular commitment is a big change in my schedule.
I’m interested in your experience because I am wondering if subbing could be something I could do. I suspect not in my city, for certification reasons and skills — I wouldn’t be appropriate or comfortable with the skills required for a special needs classroom or young children. But maybe my background does make me available for some needy classes. And, that might be a plan if we decided to spend a part of the year somewhere else with higher teacher needs. So I’m following with interest.
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There is no training needed to be any kind of aide or substitute. Just 60 college credits and 10 months of paperwork. Seriously. State laws vary, but not that much. Our local high school doesn’t have substitute teachers, but I can chose any middle school class or elementary school class. They have lots of openings as teachers and aides; I just chose what I want to do and then show up that morning in sneakers and jeans. It was a nice way to help out, but not terribly exciting.
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But kids are adorable. I really liked being around them. I talked about them all weekend. For confidentiality reasons, I won’t say too much about the kids and the staff, but happy to answer any technical/general questions.
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You sound like my wife – she loves children but teenagers are her favorite. She really misses the kids at the school from last year. Luckily she has a few teen clients in her practice.
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Yep. I loved volunteering in class when my son was 5-7.
I didn’t work with him – that was a bad idea for both of us. But loved working with other kids – and seeing the mental lights turn on when they ‘got’ something.
Also doing ‘fun’ projects: they were doing transformations – so I brought in my big rotary mixer, and we made marshmallows. The look on their faces as the tiny amount of gelatine blew up into a giant cloud of marshmallow.
They didn’t want parent-helpers in older classes (except for remedial reading groups). And I literally couldn’t bear sitting hearing reading from kids who were totally not getting the whole language approach, and not being allowed to try phonics with them.
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Yes, appreciate the info on personal experience. I should look at what the process is here.
I’m glad the kids are adorable. I enjoy hearing about adorable kids (and understand confidentiality issues that limit sharing). Unfortunately, as a practical issue for me, I am not as tolerant of adorability if I am responsible for the children.
(I’m glad that I am past the point of having said “stop being such a child” to my own actual child — doing that to a child I”m responsible for in a classroom would be evil).
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