A new month is almost upon us, which means it's a good time to take stock of our budgets. If you're looking to cut back a little, you might reconsider your streaming entertainment subscriptions. There are so many streaming services now, and paying for all of them really adds up.
Fortunately, it's really easy to churn services, which entails canceling one or more and re-subscribing later when your favorite show returns. You could save quite a bit of money on streaming if you swap out services through churning.
For March 2024, I would cancel Peacock. Perhaps you got Peacock for free when they exclusively streamed an NFL playoff game and kept it to check out great originals like "The Traitors," "Poker Face," "Ted," "Mrs. Davis" or "Dr. Death." Maybe you enjoyed the access to next-day airings of NBC, Bravo and Syfy shows, such as "Law & Order: Special Victims Units," "Vanderpump Rules" and "Chicago Fire." Or you wanted to see Oscar-nominated films "Oppenheimer" and "The Holdovers."
But in terms of new originals, Peacock's upcoming lineup is weak. Missing out on next-day airings will hurt a little, but then again, you can always catch up by signing up again next month. Here's why I would recommend canceling Peacock in March 2024.
Only 1 big new Peacock original on deck (aside from kid stuff)
While streaming services rely heavily on library content, originals are what draw in new users and retain them. And in that realm, Peacock falls short this month.
The only major new original is "Apples Never Fall," a limited series based on the bestselling novel by Liane Moriarty ("Big Little Lies," "Nine Perfect Strangers"). Annette Bening and Sam Neill star as Stan and Joy, former tennis coaches who have sold their successful tennis academy and are ready to enjoy their golden years.
They are looking forward to spending time with their four adult children (Jake Lacy, Alison Brie, Conor Merrigan-Turner, Essie Randles), but everything changes when a wounded young woman knocks on their door and introduces an element of excitement into their lives. But when Joy suddenly goes missing, her children begin to re-examine their parents' seemingly perfect marriage as dark family secrets surface.
Peacock has two other high-profile originals this month, though they are geared toward kids. The animated Dreamworks movie "Megamind vs. the Doom Syndicate" is a sequel to the 2010 hit "Megamind." When Megamind's former villain team, the Doom Syndicate, the newly crowned blue hero is forced to keep up evil appearances until he can call on friends Roxanne, Ol’ Chum, and Keiko to stop them from launching Metro City to the moon. A companion series, "Megamind Rules!," follows the heroes' continuing adventures.
NBC shows are back — but there's a free way to watch
NBC shows like the "Law and Order" franchise, Chicago franchise and "The Voice" have all returned to airing new episodes. With Peacock, you can stream those episodes the next day.
But you can watch NBC for free the old-fashioned way — with a TV antenna. Mine is hooked up to a Sling AirTV Anywhere device so I can record shows to watch later. But if you don't have this setup, some smart TVs have a built-in antenna or you can get an antenna to hook up to your smart TV.
Occasionally, my antenna setup sometimes fails due to bad weather blocking the signal. In that case, I would rely on Peacock to stream episodes the next day. However, this happens so rarely that I'm willing to chance it by canceling Peacock.
If you have the ad-free Peacock Premium Plus tier, that's $12. That may not sound like a lot, but if you churn various services throughout the year, you could save well over $100. Put that toward holiday shopping or a treat for yourself.
What you'll miss by canceling Peacock this month
Before you follow my recommendation to cancel Peacock, you should be aware of what you'll miss out on this month.
The only thing that gives me pause is the final episode of "The Traitors" on March 7. If season 2 follows the structure of the first season, then it will be a reunion episode. Judging by the rather ho-hum season 1 reunion, I think it's fine to skip.
"Harry Potter" fans should be aware that the films are moving to the platform exclusively for March 2024. If you absolutely cannot wait to re-watch the "Harry Potter" movies, then you might want to hold off on canceling Peacock.
