Spending on streaming is down ... but is still too much

Recently, we talked about how much people are still spending on cable TV. In that report, it was brought out that many cable and satellite subscribers also subscribe to streaming services.

I recognize that for some people, cable (or satellite) is exactly what they need. It's not for me, though.

For many streamers that cut the cord, they subscribe to several services each month. That's not for me either.

Cord Cutters News had a report recently that the average monthly amount spent on streaming services is down. They also mentioned that the average is $69/month.

According to Parks Associates, the average cord cutter now spends just $69 on streaming services, down from a high of $90 in 2021.

"Consumers are trying new services – they’re hopping in and out based on the season for sports, fresh content offerings, and the deals and bundles offered," said Elizabeth Parks, President and CMO, Parks Associates. "Currently we see 32 million US internet households hopping around with various services, and retention and churn will continue to challenge the industry."

To me, that's a lot of money. I pay nowhere near that amount.

I have Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Discovery+, Peacock, Frndly TV, Paramount+, and other services. But here's the thing: I don't have them all every month. In fact, no month has them all.

I subscribe to Frndly TV year-round, because I really like the content. I also subscribe to Amazon Prime year-round, but I do that for the shipping. Streaming is a bonus. I currently get Peacock as part of my Xfinity package. Paramount+ is included with my Walmart+ subscription, kinda like Prime Video is included with Amazon Prime.

The rest of the services? I'll subscribe to one a month. This month, say, HBO Max. Next month, Disney+. The next month, Netflix. And so on. Over the year, I watch all I want, and for a lot less than $69/month.

My Streaming Life is good, and less expensive than many others'. I'm happy with it. Very happy.

Cable TV is ... wait for it ... expensive

A new report shows just how expensive cable TV is for many people. And while it's not a shock to me that cable costs more than streaming, it still causes me to shake my head that people will pay so much for cable.

A report by Scripps, -- the company that owns Bounce, Grit, Laff, Court TV, ion Mystery and other channels -- shows that the average cost of cable or satellite TV subscriber , not counting Internet, is over $146/month.

Cord Cutters News breaks it down:

According to Scripps Networks, the average TV bill for cable TV is $103.90, but cable TV subscribers also pay an extra $42.30 a month for streaming services. This has been a growing trend recently as cable TV no longer gives customers access to everything. Now with a growing number of news shows and sports networks becoming streaming exclusives, cable TV subscribers have to pay for cord cutting services to get the shows they want.

A few big examples have been Peacock putting a growing number of sporting events behind a paywall. Paramount has put the new Star Trek shows exclusively on Paramount+.

More and more people with cable or satellite are also paying for streaming services. Once they realize that the streaming services can cover the content they want, most of the time anyway, they'll do what I did a dozen years ago and cut cable altogether. My Streaming Life is good, and I don't miss cable one little bit.

Amazon Prime Video tops streaming services

Recently, Cord Cutters News conducted a poll about video subscription services, and the results were a little surprising to me.

I've always thought of Netflix as the top streaming service. It's just something I always assumed. However, I'm not a user of Netflix, but I figured I was just different. I don't get much value from Netflix, but I assumed most people do.

Cord Cutters News says that Netflix is now number two, behind Prime Video:

According to our readers, Amazon Prime Video was the most popular subscription streaming, with 70.8% of our readers paying for it. Netflix followed Amazon at 61.5% and Paramount+ at 52.3%.

Here is a quick list of the top on-demand subscription services.

• Amazon 70.8%
• Netflix 61.5%
• Paramount+ 52.3%
• Hulu 48.4%
• Disney+ 43.5%
• HBO Max 37.6%
• YouTube 36.7%
• Apple TV 29.3%
• Showtime 11.7%
• Peacock 5.6%

Amazon seems to have been helped by the number of Americans who already have Amazon Prime for free shipping but also happen to use its video services. The integration of Amazon Prime into the Fire TV, one of the most popular streaming players sold, also likely helped its subscriber growth.

I use Prime Video because I use the shipping benefits. Netflix is something I rarely use. And I mean rarely. Paramount+ is included with Walmart+ (which may replace Amazon Prime). Hulu is something I use a lot, but am currently not using, as I wait for shows to build up again. Disney+ is part of a rotation, and I don't currently have it. HBO Max is the same way. YouTube is something I use, but not YouTube TV. Showtime isn't part of any rotation, unless it's part of a bundle. And Peacock is free with Xfinity Internet, but that is going away soon.

Maybe I'm not all that different from others. Nah. I'm not the typical streamer. I don't need all these services, and only use a few, and rotate them around. My Streaming Life is a lot cheaper because of this.

DirecTV: turning streaming into cable

I understand that for many people, change is hard. But if change saves money, why not at least consider change?

This is one of the most frustrating things about people moving from cable to streaming: expecting the same experience.

To me, if you want the full cable experience, including the high fees, just stay with cable. But people are not like that.

One thing that used to really frustrate me was when I people would move to the area I lived because of the economy. Their state was having higher taxes and high unemployment and all kinds of troubles, so they'd move to where I lived to get work and benefit from a better economy.

Then, they'd vote like they voted where they came from. They never realized that the reason the economy was so bad was that the people they were electing were totally incapable of running a state or local government and would raise taxes and cause economic problems. So they'd vote like they used to, then things would get worse because of the incompetents they'd elect. That was frustrating.

Now, the cable refugees are turning streaming into cable. Or allowing the streaming companies to turn streaming into cable.

DirecTV is rebranding again. They do this a lot. It was DirecTV Now, AT&T TV Now, AT&T TV, and other names. Now, it's changing from DirecTV Stream to simply DirecTV. Just like the satellite service.

Satellite TV and cable TV are pretty much the same thing. They are expensive services (after an introductory offer) that rent equipment to you and raise the price a lot.

DirecTV is now launching a new streaming box called Gemini, and just like cable (or satellite) you rent the box.

And the new streaming box not only comes with a monthly rental fee, but you also get to pay other fees as well:

DIRECTV STREAM is also now known as DIRECTV internet if you use one of DIRECTV’s streaming players. The price will now be $64.99, just like with cable, but it will come with a $15-a-month fee. The good news is DIRECTV will give you a two-year price lock guarantee if you use the DIRECTV streaming player.

There is also a new up to $13.99 a month sports fee for new DIRECTV internet customers who accept a new Gemini or older Osprey streaming player.

Great. Just great. Just frikkin' great. Bringing all the worst of cable and satellite to streaming.

If you are wanting the full cable/satellite experience, including all the fees and rentals, do me a favor. Stick with cable or satellite. Don't come to streaming and bring all the garbage from cable and satellite with you. Either learn new things, or you will not only experience the same problems as before, but you'll bring those problems to streaming. My Streaming Life doesn't need all that garbage. If you want cable or satellite, stick with that and stay away from streaming.

Streaming the Masters (2023)

One of the four major golf tournaments starts today.

The Masters begins today and is scheduled to conclude Sunday from Augusta National.

If you're a streamer -- and of course you are -- you have options to watch every round of the prestigious event.

CBS and ESPN will cover the event beginning today. ESPN has the first two rounds, while CBS has the final two rounds.

ESPN, ESPN+

• Sling TV (Orange) ($40/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($65/month)
  
• Vidgo (Plus) ($70/month)
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)

ESPN+ is an standalone service that is $7/month. It does not include the standard ESPN content.

CBS

• Antenna (Free)
• Paramount+ ($10/month)
• DirecTV (Entertainment) ($65/month)
  
• YouTube TV ($73/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month)
• Fubo (Pro) ($75/month)

If golf is something you want in your Streaming Life, you have plenty of options to watch one of the most prestigious tournaments, starting today.

Game box streaming is way down

My son is the one that got me into streaming. In late 2008 or early 2009, he introduced me to streaming.

I was aware of such a thing, but he allowed me to see it first hand. He was the first person who actually streamed that I knew.

I visited his house one weekend, and he as it was football season at the time, he wanted to look at something on TV. I was a bit surprised when he picked up his Xbox controller and started watching TV.

That was when I realized that he was streaming TV and wasn't watching cable. I didn't ask a bunch of questions, though I asked a couple, and realized that there were many ways to stream, as many game systems supported it, in addition to Roku and Apple TV.

Following that visit, after gaining the confidence and better understanding of streaming TV, I started my research into moving to streaming and dropping cable.

I thought about this when I saw an article recently about how much the number of game systems being used has dropped over the last several years. According to an article on Cord Cutters News, game box streaming is way down from 2025:

Based on a survey conducted by Aluma Insights, only 6% of American households use an Xbox or PlayStation console to stream video (OTT Services), down from 26% in 2015.

Only 9% of surveyed households still use a traditional pay TV set-top to watch streaming services and, surprisingly, 6% of reported use their smartphone or tablet to stream video.

I rarely used a game system to stream, but seeing the drop in game system usage for streaming brought back memories of when I was introduced to my son's Streaming Life.

Curiosity Stream price increase

Curiosity Stream has been a bargain at $3/month or $20/year for quite some time. But that's changing.

Not the bargain part, just the pricing. It's going up. Not a lot by amount, but a lot by percentage.

The monthly plan will be $5/month going forward, while the annual plan will increase to $40/year.

That price is still a good price for the content, but it is nearly double what it was. The annual plan did double, while the monthly plan went up by 67%.

If you're a new customer, you get the price now. For current subscribers, the price increase will roll out over the next several months.

Everything is going up, and has gone up a lot in the last three years, and streaming services are no exception. It will cost more to keep these services in your Streaming Life.

Cord cutting in 2023

Cord cutting is changing all the time.

Over the years since I cut the cord in early 2011, many things have changed in cord cutting. Services have come and gone. Prices have gone up. And up.

So, what do you need to know in 2023?

Tom's Guide has an interesting write-up about the current landscape of streaming:

We've long loved Sling TV, which we believe is one of the best streaming services. Sling TV's lower price and customization options make it great for those who want the lowest bill possible. That said, recent complications and changes pushed me away.

I switched to YouTube TV not long before Google (hilariously) announced a price increase, which means I'll be looking around for an alternative in June. And while Fubo TV became simply Fubo, it too added complexities that you probably won't notice until checkout. Meanwhile, one competitor is really stretching the word "unlimited" when it comes to its DVR. 

Your Streaming Life is changing all the time. Not every change is good, but it beats cable.

CBS locals are back on Fubo

A different kind of dispute ended recently.

There was a dispute between Fubo and CBS affiliates earlier this year that resulted in the local CBS stations being replaced with a national CBS feed. That's over, and the local channels are back.

Cord Cutters News said that many CBS affiliates allow the network to negotiate for them, and that resulted in the dispute that involved only local removal, but allowed national feeds to continue.

In recent years, local stations have given up their rights to negotiate with streaming services like fuboTV directly. Now they let Paramount do it for them, and they get to devices if they agree to the deal or not.

It seems that locals were at first unhappy with the deal Paramount had agreed to, but locals also gave Paramount the right to stream a national feed if they didn’t agree to the new contract.

For cord cutters, a national feed during a dispute does make it easier, as the network shows and events are still available, just not the local news, weather, sports, and commercials. It's much easier on your Streaming Life if you don't lose everything during disputes.

How to watch the Final Four (2023)

College basketball season wraps up this weekend, with the Final Four.

If you're a streamer -- and of course you are -- it's pretty simple when it comes to watching the Final Four today and Monday. Watch CBS.

If you have an antenna, and a local CBS affiliate is in range, that's easy, and free.

If you don't have an antenna, or the CBS affiliate is too far away, you can watch the games online.

CBS

The Tiffany Network carried games from every round, and has the Final Four and Championship games.

• Over the air/antenna (free)
• Paramount Plus (Premium) ($10/month)
• YouTube TV ($65/month)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70/month)
• Fubo TV ($75/month)
• DirecTV Stream ($75/month)

Free options, paid options, you got options. The Final Four can easily be a part of your Streaming Life, if you like.