The Great Re-Bundling: Is Your Streaming Deal Just Cable in Disguise?
When the cord-cutting movement began, the promise was simple: a la carte television. We were finally going to break free from the bloated, expensive cable packages and only pay for the channels we actually watched. For a few years, it felt like we had won. We could pick up a service for a month, watch a specific show, and cancel without a second thought. However, as we move through 2026, the landscape has shifted. The streaming giants have realized that a la carte is bad for their bottom line. To keep us from "churning" -- subscribing and canceling as we please -- they have turned back to the very model we tried to escape. The bundle is back, and it is quickly becoming the new cable. Identifying Subscription Creep Subscription creep is rarely a single, massive price hike. Instead, it is a series of small, "reasonable" decisions. For many families, the Disney Plus and Hulu Duo is a high-utility essential. If you can deal with the ads, the $13 price point is a leg...
