Streaming services are getting more expensive, and with new ones popping up in what feels like every second of every day, avid TV and movie watchers have to decide what they want to watch.
We also have so many streaming platforms now, it’s hard to keep up, we’ve got our usual Netflix, Stan and Binge, sports-only Kayo, reality show Hayu and studio-focused Paramount+. I know I’ve missed about 10 more.
But where do people draw the line and can you have too much of a good thing?
With the cost of living crisis not going away anytime soon, and streaming platforms upping the prices of their services, watching TV is becoming unaffordable and people are switching up their streaming habits.
I recently got an email from Netflix saying it was upping its $16.99 standard plan to $18.99 in June.
And now I’m reconsidering my subscription because it’s getting too much.
In the Pedestrian Group Annual Reader Survey 2024, 39 per cent of respondents said they used to pay for Stan. A quarter of respondents said they used to pay for Apple TV, Amazon Prime and Disney+. And over one-fifth of people said they used to pay for Netflix.
So there is a definite trend of people dropping their subscriptions.
For this month’s Great Tech Debate, we spoke to a bunch of readers about their streaming habits and whether or not they are cancelling their accounts due to constant price raises.
In all our responses, no one said they were using more streaming services, our readers are either slashing the number of accounts they have or mooching of their mates.
Here is what our readers had to say about the change in their streaming habits.
Some have begun cancelling accounts
Sol, 25
Way less, the only streaming service my household has now is Amazon. Everything else we either use the login for other people, or we download our shows. It’s way too expensive otherwise.
Lauren, 29
I’ve definitely cut a couple of streaming services since they’ve upped their prices. I’m also switching to monthly billing instead of annual for the streamers who offer it so I can cancel whenever I know there’s nothing I want to watch in the coming month.
Ali, 25
I’ve literally cancelled Netflix bc it’s all way too expensive now lol.
Georgia, 29
I’d say I am alternating between the different services more than I have previously. Usually, I would just have all my subs run and pay for them but now I tend to just pay for a month to watch a show that’s just come out or if there is something that piqued my interest and let it lapse until I need to refresh my subscription. I wish they would all just join forces so I can pay one lump bill for the month for Netflix, Spotify, Prime etc.
Others are sticking to the same amount of subscriptions, but there’s a catch.
Pia, 24
The same, however, I plan to cancel my Binge sub toward the end of the year when new seasons of the shows i like are out on Apple TV, and after 6 months I’ll swap back to Binge.
Some people are being savvy and teaming up with their housemates/partners
Matteus, 29
Between the 4 of us, my sharehouse has managed to collect/mooch almost all the streaming services so I’ve managed to keep watching for pretty cheap. Unfortunately one of my housemates is moving out to live with his girlfriend (cute, we’re happy for them both) and he’s taking half our streaming services with him (boo, the bastard). I think we’ll have to cut our losses a bit here as we’re not all willing to pay up more.
Lachy, 26
I’ve definitely moved to a ‘how badly do I need this service’ mindset when paying for/purchasing. I try to only pay for 2 at a time but I do have the benefit of mooching off my partner and his subscriptions.
Ben, 26
My house shares our streaming services as best as we can. My girlfriend pays for Crunchyroll, I pay for Binge and Prime, my other housemate pays for Netflix and Disney+ and the other comfortably mooches off us.
If we didn’t live together, we’d most likely have to drop one or more streaming services due to how pricey they are and admittedly, how little we use all of them at the same time.
Emily, 23
[Using streaming platforms] Less and sharing the cost with friends.
And some are going down an alternate route
Lee, 29
My partner has access to a (definitely legal) firestick that has all the subscription channels available, the “membership” for that is so much cheaper so we’ve cancelled all ours and just have that now… worth it.
If you’re over streaming services and want free content that’s entertaining and bingable, may we suggest Pedestrian Television?
Pedestrian Television has launched on 9Now where you can cult classic movies homegrown content like Eternal Family and Rostered On. Watch all that and more for free, 24/7 on 9Now.
Some answers have been edited for clarity.
Image: Fox