Paramount Plus discount for military

Paramount Plus is running a special for veterans, whether active duty, retired, or other. It is available to active duty, retirees, reservists and National Guard, veterans, dependents and spouses.

Being a veteran, it looked interesting to me. Getting 20-25% off Paramount Plus sounds interesting.

I don't normally take advantage of military discounts. I'm quite proud of my military service, but as I didn't retire, simply ETSed, I usually don't take advantage of these things. I don't have a card that I carry, and I certainly don't lug around a copy of my DD-214, so should I even try for such things, it's usually them taking me at my word. Things like that bother me, because that puts the merchant at risk of being exploited by someone who is guilty of Stolen Valor.

I didn't do 20 years, and those that did are the ones that are more entitled to the discount. However, Paramount Plus has a verification process, and if they do check, then I'm more likely to take advantage of the offer.

20-25% off for life sounds pretty good. And if you are a veteran or active duty, and you want a discount, you may want to click the link and sign up.

My Streaming Life isn't very expensive, as I don't subscribe to a bunch of services all at once. I'll do one this month, another the next month, and so on. If I did keep a service year-round, Paramount Plus is one that would be on the short list. The ability to get local live CBS, as well as other live CBS/Paramount content is something that is appealing to me.

CW changes, but does it matter?

CW is changing how it negotiates deals with streaming services. Well, maybe. There is a change, but the change might not lead to a change. Let me explain. Or try. It's can be confusing.

Currently, CW stations negotiate with streaming services at the network level. That is, your local CW affiliate goes along with whatever CW negotiates. They don't have an option. If they are a CW affiliate, they are part of the deal. That's what's changing.

According to reports, CW will allow local stations to opt out of the network negotiations and cut deals themselves. For larger companies that own CW stations, they may do just that. For smaller ones, they may continue to let the network handle the negotiations.

"We, as the owner of The CW, are constructing a new affiliation agreement template that is going to allow affiliates to opt-out of The CW deal with the virtual MVPD and cut their own deal -- or they can opt in to the deal that we have already established for them. But larger companies are going to opt out, because they have other business to do with the virtual MVPDs. The smaller companies are going to say I can't do as well on my own -- going back to the comment I made earlier about distribution -- negotiations are all about scale and leverage," Sook said of the change coming for CW affiliates.

"We can't advocate for this and then put our network hat on and say, not so fast. Will other networks follow The CW's lead? We are hopeful," the Nexstar CEO told the investor conference.

So will this make a difference? For some people, it will. For others, it won't. But for those that opt out of network negotiations and handle it themselves, it could be a return to the days of your local station not being available on a service, just as in the cable TV days. Remember the old days of a scroll across the bottom of the screen saying you may lose the channel soon if you don't call a number and tell them to keep the channel? Welcome back to those fun days.

My Streaming Life doesn't involve a lot of CW, although I do have the app on my devices, and will watch on occasion. I don't use YouTube TV, Hulu+Live TV, or any other service that carries local channels. This won't impact me. I hope it doesn't impact you.

Streaming the Stanley Cup

Well, dang it. Not only did I miss the start of the NBA finals, I missed the start of the Stanley Cup, the NHL finals.

Mind you, I don't watch basketball or hockey, but a lot of people do. And I'm a bit embarrassed that the professional championship in those sports came and I wasn't ready.

With the first game in the books, the Vegas Golden Knights hold a 1-0 series advantage over the Florida Panthers. Game two is tonight.

If you are a fan of the NHL, you can watch the Stanley Cup without cable.

TNT is broadcasting the series, and you can watch TNT streaming by a few methods.

TNT

• Sling TV (Orange), $40/month.
• Sling TV (Blue), $40/month.
• Sling TV (Orange+Blue), $55/month.
• DirecTV (Entertainment), $65/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• YouTube TV, $73/month.
• Fubo (Pro), $75/month.

You may have noticed that Vidgo ("We are live sports") isn't live sports for the Stanley Cup. Vidgo doesn't carry TNT.

The cheapest way is to get Sling TV, either the Orange or the Blue package. But the overall content of the package may be a reason to pick one of the more expensive packages. My Streaming Life doesn't normally include ice hockey. But if yours does, you have options. Lots of options.

Rethinking subscription rotations

For some time, I've been subscribing to one streaming service a month. A the end of the month, I'd cancel that service, and the next month, subscribe to a different service.

At different times I've had different services in my rotation. Generally, they are:

• Apple TV+
• Paramount+
• Peacock TV
• Max (formerly HBO Max)
• Disney+
• Netflix
• Hulu
• AMC+
• Starz
• Prime Video
• Discovery+

That's a general listing, and they really don't all apply to me. Those were, at the time, the largest services in terms of subscribers. Not in that order, but those were the most popular. I'd probably a few more to the list:

• Brit Box
• Frndly TV
• Showtime

I'm sure I'm missing a couple that should be on the list, but you get the general idea of the apps about which I'm speaking.

With a list such as this, if you subscribed to one a month, it would take over a year. So, my thinking would be to take a couple of the $5/month services, and do two on some months. For the more expensive services, say $10-$15/month, subscribe to just one. For services less than $10, perhaps adding a $5/month service and do two that month.

I've done this for some time, except that I have a couple of variation.

First, I've been an Amazon Prime subscriber since before they offered video services. I'm going to have that anyway, so Prime Video has not been in my rotation.

Next, as an Xfinity Internet subscriber, I got Peacock TV Premium free. That bonus ends later this month, and Peacock will go into rotation.

Then, I've been a regular subscriber to Frndly TV since the service launched. When I decided to rotate services, I couldn't include Frndly TV, since I have an annual subscription. And, when renewal time came, I decided to keep it.

Also, I ended up with AMC+ for an extended subscription. There was an issue subscribing one time a while back, and when everything was finally resolved, I ended up with a multi-year subscription. It expires in November, and AMC+ goes into rotation.

There are two new wrinkles to this as well. I recently ended up with a three-month trial of Apple TV+, and that expires soon. It will go back into rotation then. Paramount+ came out of rotation when it became a perk of Walmart+. So I have that service included in another.

Those six variations keep my process from being pure and simple, but I have been rotating among the others. Except for right now.

Right now, I'm not subscribing to any in my rotation. I'll restart the rotation soon, I expect. But I might not.

Right now, I'm going to simply watch what I have on the free trials and perk/included services. Unless there's something I really really really want to watch, I'll focus on those. My Streaming Life should get along just fine.

Streaming service rotation

A recent article on Cord Cutters News talks about how many cord cutters are cutting back on their streaming services. I'm glad to see more and more people thinking that way.

The article by Kayla Wassell cites a recent study by Parks Associates that says turnover in OTT services is nearly 50%:

Recent reports from Park Associates found that 37 percent of households subscribe to OTT services through a cable provider. The turnover rate for OTT video services has been 47 percent for quite some time now.

"There is so much to talk about – direct subscription has been losing ground to aggregation, and bundling is becoming more important," said Jennifer Kent, Parks Research Associate’s Vice President.

The comments are where there is more direct talk about rotating services. Some of the comments talk about only subscribing to certain services for a period of time. That's one of the things I've done for some time.

I have had Amazon Prime since before it included streaming services, so I don't really count that. I'm going to have it anyway. The streaming part is a bonus, for me anyway.

Other subscription services are something I usually avoid. I have been rotating services for some time. I will subscribe to, say HBO Max (now just Max) for a month, then cancel and subscribe to, say, Paramount Plus for a month. Then Disney Plus for a month. And so on. One service a month. I watch a lot on everything, and pay a lot less than those that subscribe year-round.

Well, I used to. Max recently ended, and I've not picked up a new service for this month. And I might not. I haven't seen anything I really want to watch on one of the subscription services, so I've been in no hurry. And I'm not sure just what I'll try next, or even when I'll try it.

I did not watch much on Max. My Streaming Life is doing fine without a subscription service right now. While that could change at any time, right now, I like keeping my wallet closed.

Streaming the NBA Finals

Well, I missed it. The NBA finals started last night, and the Nuggets took a 1-0 lead. However, there are 3 to 6 more games in the series, and you can watch them streaming.

ABC is broadcasting the series, and you can watch ABC streaming by a few methods.

ABC

• Antenna, over the air, free.
• DirecTV (Entertainment), $65/month. 
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• 
  
• Vidgo 9Plus), $70/month.
• YouTube TV, $73/month.
• Fubo (Pro), $75/month.

If you can pick up your local ABC affiliate with an antenna, that's the cheapest way, as you can see. Next cheapest is the DirecTV Entertainment streaming package.

My Streaming Life contains ABC with an antenna, so I am getting by pretty cheaply. If you have an antenna, you're in luck as well. If not, you still have options.

Streaming local channels cheaply

If you have cut the cord, or are thinking about it, you will probably want to pick up local channels. The easiest way is with an antenna. Most people in the U.S. are able to pick up the major network stations with an antenna. Some, such as me, need a large outdoor antenna to get everything, but it's still possible to pick them up.

This isn't true for everybody, however. There are some areas where it is not easy to pick up the major network stations. Some family friends recently moved to an area where it's difficult to pick up the major networks.

They can pick up a local (12 miles away) PBS station, consisting of four channels. They are in range of another station (51 miles) that has Ion, CourtTV, Ion Mystery, Grit, Laff, and a few other shopping and news channels. And that's it. No ABC. No CBS. No Fox. No NBC. No CW.

This isn't common, but it does happen, and it's a problem they're wanting to overcome. But how?

Well, they could subscribe to one of the major live streaming cable-like services:

• DirecTV ($65)
• Hulu+Live TV ($70)
• YouTube TV ($73)

There is also Vidgo (ABC, Fox only) ($70) that only carries ABC and Fox. However, there is an option that gets you CBS and NBC local stations for $20/month. How?

Subscribing to both Paramount Plus Premium ($10/month) and Peacock Premium Plus ($10/month) get you those services, ad free, plus local live CBS (Paramount Plus Premium) and NBC (Peacock Premium Plus).

Is that a viable solution? Well, I don't know. Maybe. If I didn't have an antenna, this may be how I'd go for the local channels. It's a lot cheaper than the cheapest major streaming service that includes the channels. True, it's only two of the four, but two is better than none. To get more than those two via streaming, it'll cost a lot more. $20 for the two services is the cheapest way to go.

My Streaming Life has been fortunate to have an antenna as part of it. Not everyone is as fortunate as I.