Over $900/year on streaming services?

How much are you spending on streaming services?

A recent study indicates that streamers in the U.S. are paying $924/year for streaming services. That's $77/month.

Cord Cutters News reports that the amount is still a lot less than cable:

Bango, which provides software to companies that help them bundle together subscriptions, asked 5,000 people about their streaming habits and found the average person subscribes to 4.5 services ranging from streaming, gaming, news, home tech, and online retailers. The survey found that 10% of participants signed up for more than ten services, while 2% said they had more than 15 accounts. For streaming specifically, 76% said they pay for at least one streaming video-on-demand platform and 13% pay for sports video-on-demand services. Due to recent price hikes roaming across platforms, 57% said they had canceled a subscription, and 67% reported they couldn’t afford all the subscriptions they wanted.

All in all, Bango found people spend an average of $924 a year on subscriptions, or about $77 a month. That’s still less than the average cable TV bill, which is more than $200 a month, a total of $2,640 a year. The study also found that 25% spend $100 a month, while one in twenty pay more than $200 a month – still cheaper than cable TV. Parents tend to spend more on services, averaging $83.40 per month. One in ten parents also sign up for educational subscriptions for their kiddos.

I decided to see what I'm paying. I'm uncertain how to count some stuff, so here are the details. I'm subscribed to a few services:

• Pub-D-Hub ($7/year, Gold & Gold Plus)
• Frndly TV ($98/year)
• Hulu ($8/month, $96/year)
• Paramount Plus (included with Walmart Plus)
• Peacock (included with Xfinity)
• PBS ($120/year donation)
• Prime Video (included with Amazon Prime)

This works out to $321/year or just under $27/month.

Should I count Prime Video? I mean, I'm not subscribing for the video service, and rarely use the video service. But, if I were to count it, it would be another $139/year.

Should I count Paramount Plus? It's included with Walmart Plus. But, if I paid separately for it, the cost would be $120/year, because I would get the "with Showtime package."

Should I count Peacock TV? It's included with my Xfinity Rewards. If I were to pay for it, the cost would be $120/year, because I would get the Plus package.

If I paid full price for all of those services, that would be $700/year, or just over $58/month.

Of course, if I count them, I should only count half of my PBS donations, since I could donate just $5/month and get PBS Passport. I pledged $10/month a while back, and that's what I do. PBS Passport is a bonus. But, were I to count it, I should only count $60/year.

That drops it to $640/year, or just over $53/month.

Come to think of it, I only actually pay for Hulu for a little over half of the year. I'll suspend the subscription for a few months when I am caught up on all the shows. So, it's really $8/month for 8 months, or $64/year. That brings the total to $608/year, or about $51/month.

My Streaming Life costs less than the average U.S. streamer, however it's calculated. I'm happy about that.