With the cost of living crisis continuing to bite, around one million people across the UK cancelled their subscription to streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+ between January and September.
As revealed by new research from data analytics company Kantar, the number of UK households who are subscribed to one or more paid streaming service has dropped by approximately 937,000.
As reported by the Daily Express, the primary reason so many people have halted their subscription is the significant rise of inflation and energy bills across Scotland and the UK.
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Global insight director at Kantar's world panel division Dominic Sunnebo stated: "There are a number of dynamics at play in the market, such as the cost of living crisis and subsequent ‘cord-cutting’, as well as a degree of ‘content fatigue."
If you cancel your subscription to services such as Netflix and Amazon, you will lose access to popular series such as Stranger Things, The Rings of Power and She Hulk. However, there are a number of free alternatives that you can make use of if you're craving new content to binge.
Freevee
The Freevee app from Amazon was introduced earlier in 2022, when it replaced the IMDb TV service. Part of the reason for the name change was that the company wanted to highlight that the service is free, and encourage more customers to watch its library of movies, boxsets and live TV.
As with Prime, Freevee hosts a range of exclusive content that cannot be streamed anywhere else. This includes the Bosch Legacy series, which is a follow-up to the hugely popular Bosch.
Other original content available includes Judy Justice, Alex Rider, and a documentary on pop superstar Post Malone. There are also new and old movies such as The Blair Witch Project, Slow West, and the Angry Birds Movie 2.
You can stream Freevee through your web browser, on Fire TV as well as Google TV and Android TV devices, and through the official Android and iOS app.
Plex
You may not have heard of Plex, but it's among the most popular free streaming services out there, with more than 25 million people signed up. As with Freevee, you can access it on a large range of platforms, including Android, iOS, Fire TV, Android TV, PlayStation, Xbox and much more.
Plex is perfect if you're into reality TV or cooking shows, with shows such as Anthony Bourdain's A Cook's Tour on Plex and Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen available. Other shows you can stream include Ricky Gervais's Extras, Happy Valley, and Silent Witness.
BBC iPlayer, All4 and the ITV Hub
Although you need to have a TV licence to view live content on BBC iPlayer, All4 and the ITV Hub, there is a large range of boxsets to make the most of as well as catch-up services for live broadcasts you may have missed.
BBC iPlayer is home to a wealth of classic content, including Doctor Who, Gavin and Stacey, and People Just Do Nothing, not to mention Eastenders, Ru Paul's Drag Race and QI.
Likewise, if you're a fan of shows such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Auf Wiedersehen Pet, and Doc Martin, then ITV Hub is the place to head. Meanwhile, All4 lets you binge shows such as Taskmaster, Made in Chelsea, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares and Gogglebox.
Other free apps
If you've checked out all of the previous services and still can't find anything worth watching, there are even more to try. Rakuten TV and Pluto TV can easily be accessed by heading to their websites or by downloading their official apps.
As well as children's content like Teletubbies, Rakuten TV offers a wide range of movies such as the Oscar-winning The Big Short and Hollywood rom-com Love And Other Drugs (starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway).
Meanwhile, Pluto TV hosts a diverse range of content, with everything from Skins and Geordie Shore to cult classic films like J-horror Ringu, hit 90s comedy Empire Records, and much more.
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