Do you pay so much for various streaming TV services that it now feels like a cable bill all over again?
Years of price hikes from live TV streaming services like YouTube TV and video on-demand services like Netflix have been a double whammy for people who cut the cord from cable or satellite.
And, now, many consumers are being “nickeled and dimed” by streaming services with $10-$20 monthly fees to the point that their overall monthly streaming costs are approaching or exceeding $100.
Money expert Clark Howard says his family has adopted a plan to keep their streaming costs under control: Binge watch and rotate.
Clark’s Family Streaming Strategy: Binge Watch and Rotate
Instead of paying for many video streaming services at once, Clark says he and his wife make a concerted effort to watch the content on just one service at a time.
He detailed how this works for his empty nest during a recent episode of The Clark Howard Podcast.
“I will tell you what we do in our house is rotation. I don’t watch TV except to watch football, but my wife loves watching various series. So, we rotate the streaming services and she binge watches. She’ll watch a whole season: bam, bam, bam. Then goes the next season: bam, bam, bam.”
So, rather than paying for multiple services at once and wandering aimlessly through their vast content options, they instead target one or two shows that are on the same streaming service and aggressively watch those episodes.
“There’s usually not that many series on a particular streaming service that you’re just dying to watch. So you watch the ones you want, and then you unsubscribe from it. I promise, if you become intentional… Usually, you’ll only be with the streamer for one to two months at a time.“
This strategy is very similar to one that I’ve written about for Team Clark for years.
Each January, I try to devise a plan for rotating through the major video streaming services by subscribing to just one per month. This gives you a chance to experience all the “latest and greatest” shows on a budget.
When I first came up with the plan, it was to keep streaming costs below $100 per year while still having something to watch each month. That’s no longer practical because of price increases, but you can still keep things in the ballpark by using the “binge watch and rotate” method.
An example of how this might work for you: Subscribe to Peacock to watch “The Office” for a month or two, and then cancel. Then you could move to HBO Max to enjoy “The Sopranos” for a month or two and cancel when you finish. Pick your next show on the next service: Rinse and repeat.
Clark’s Family Makes Fun of This Part of His Streaming TV Strategy
Clark really doesn’t spend a whole lot of time watching TV if his beloved football isn’t being played.
And he says the non-football TV that he does watch draws some playful jabs from his household:
“So you know what my family makes fun of me about? The only stuff I watch other than football is free videos on YouTube, which has become the number one streaming service.”
It wouldn’t be a Clark-oriented streaming TV article if we didn’t talk about his favorite way to be “cheap” in this space: Free streaming TV.
Sometimes referred to as “FAST,” these services offer free access to live TV channels, on-demand movies and TV series at no cost.
Many people don’t think of YouTube (not YouTube TV) as a traditional “streaming TV” source, but it actually is a great free resource with millions of original content producers putting out high-quality content.
Insert shameless plug for Clark’s YouTube Channel, which features video episodes of “The Clark Howard Podcast” and “Ask An Advisor” with Wes Moss.
In addition to YouTube, some of our favorites for a simple free streaming setup on your TV include Pluto, Tubi and The Roku Channel.
What are your strategies for keeping your streaming TV bill under control? We’d love to hear about them in the Clark.com community.
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