There's no getting around it: The price of streaming is pretty damn high, right? Since the likes of Netflix and Prime Video first exploded onto the scene, more streaming services have appeared on the market, each vying for our attention (and wallets) with exclusive shows and movies and/or ever-changing libraries of licensed content.
Alongside the proliferation of streamers, we've also seen subscription fees continue to climb across the board practically every year, meaning that keeping up with all our favorite shows has only gotten more expensive. This past month, I decided enough was enough.
Normally, I have active subscriptions to most of the best streaming services available in the U.K., but at the start of February, I decided to cancel my plans and commit to using free streaming services like Tubi and, as I'm based in the U.K, BBC iPlayer and ITVX.
This experiment does come with the caveat that I still had advance access to a handful of releases on paid-for streamers that I needed to watch for my job as a streaming writer here at Tom's Guide. Aside from those must-watches, though, my viewing didn't cost me a penny. And as I'm coming to the end of my month of free streaming, I decided now's the perfect time to reflect on what I've learned.
1. I'm absolutely paying for too many streaming services
Yes, I know I probably could have worked this out easily enough by just looking at what's leaving my bank account every month, but I genuinely haven't had clearer evidence that I'm shelling out for way too many streamers every month.
Fact is, I normally have access to Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV, and Brit streamer NOW (at least), but I don't think I really missed not having access to any of them for the last few weeks. I still had more than enough entertainment to choose from, and while free streamers may not have the latest and greatest exclusives that friends and family might be streaming, you can always circle back to those titles later down the line.
2. Free streaming services have more to offer than I thought
While I knew free streaming services were out there, I'd say my assumptions were that most were home primarily to sub-par originals or stuff I'd already seen — and I couldn't be more wrong.
When I first opened apps, the very first thing I did was scroll through their respective libraries, and I was genuinely impressed by what they all had to offer. Across the services I checked out, I’ve stumbled upon box sets of beloved sitcoms, thrillers and dramas, dipped back into old favorites (like "Peaky Blinders"), watched some Hollywood classics I’ve always meant to get around to, and added Oscar-winning movies to my watchlist, too.
Yes, this might mean I’ve missed out on the hype of some of February’s new shows, but honestly, I’ve had a lot of fun finding what I’ve missed out on over the years. It really feels like it has changed my viewing habits, which leads me on to my third point nicely ….
3. I'm even less interested in binge-watching than I already was
I’ve never truly enjoyed binge-watching at the best of times — I’m a big proponent of the weekly release and ensuing hype cycle that comes with waiting for the next episode — and having been mostly free to watch whatever at my own pace, I think I’ve realized that, personally, I really don't like this way of working much at all.
Being mostly free from the need to race through a season in a matter of days to dodge spoilers, or to be able to step back from all the latest releases on streaming, has given me a bit of headspace back to really seek out what I enjoy, and watch it how I'd like to.
Streamers aren’t going to move away from binge releases anytime soon, and I know that I’ll be going back and binge-watching some of the new February releases that I’ve missed — “How to Get to Heaven From Belfast,” for starters — but it felt good being out of the streaming races for a few weeks.
4. Choosing what to watch has never been easier
I'd argue the biggest streamers around have too much content to choose from, and I found being restricted to platforms with smaller libraries meant I wasn’t struck down by choice paralysis anywhere near as often. There are some evenings when I can’t even decide which service I open, let alone settle on a show or movie.
If that’s a frustration you also have with the current streaming landscape, I’d encourage you to slim down your selection, as the slightly more limited libraries that free streamers offer meant I spent way more of my downtime actually watching something, rather than scrolling through genres and categories or watching the latest trending show just because it was popular on the platform I’d loaded up.
5. I didn't hate ads nearly as much as I expected
I feel like the rhetoric around ads and how much they suck has stayed lodged in my brain all this time; the ability to dodge commercials was once one of the big selling points for streaming, after all.
So, aside from knowing I'd be missing out on some February releases, watching ads was the thing I'd been dreading the most... but I've come away from this entire experience not actually being all that bothered by them at all.
Yes, they are inconvenient, and I dislike the way they interrupt the flow of a film way more than a TV show, and I ultimately would still prefer to avoid them, given the choice, but they're not that bad. When it comes time to sign back up to some of my normal streamers, I'm way more tempted by those cheaper, ad-supported membership tiers than I ever have been, especially for services I'm using less frequently.
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