From Binge-Watching to Budgeting: Is the Streaming Boom Sustainable for You?

The entertainment landscape was revolutionized when streaming services arrived. From Netflix to Amazon Prime, consumers are met with a variety of services where they can watch their favorite shows.

While the allure of on-demand access and exclusive original programming is exciting, the increasing subscription cause threatens its capability to become sustainable. In the age of streaming wars, media companies are eager to build a competitive edge at the cost of adding expenses shouldered by the customers.

However, as a consumer, it is crucial to examine the financial and practical implications of subscribing to multiple streaming services.

Are you an avid subscriber to several streaming platforms? Here are some factors to consider to help you decide on its sustainability power to you:

Review Subscription Costs

Subscribing to one or two streaming services could still be affordable depending on your current plan. However, shouldering more than three subscriptions at the same time could quickly become a burden to your finances. Recently, several streaming services have started to implement price increases to cover the costs of upgrades.

As a subscriber, you must always be updated on these price changes. This will help you assess if you can still fit the subscription into your monthly budget. If not, you can try downsizing your existing plan or share the cost with others through family plans.

Check Content Offering

Although not as common as before, some shows and movies are available on more than one platform. Content overlap can happen especially for shows that were made prior to the surge of streaming services.

Pay attention to the exclusive content of each streaming service. These are the shows that are originally produced by the platform so you can't expect them to be shown on other apps. Assess your interest in the content and how willing are you to keep a subscription based on them.

Subscription Flexibility

Some streaming services offer a flexible subscription option for their consumers. For instance, once the free trial stops the service will notify you before charging you. Some platform allows subscribers to pause or cancel their subscriptions without any hassle.

If you are staying on the platform for only a couple of exclusive shows, you might consider pausing it and resuming it once the next season of the show starts. This can help in removing any floating expenses that you don't even use regularly.

Frequency of Promotional Deals, Bundles

Keep an eye out for promotional deals and bundle packages that offer big discounts on selected services. Some media content providers are now partnered with each other and they are the ones that often give out these types of promotions.

Quality of Service

Above all, consider the overall quality of service that the platform is providing. Inspect their user interface and customer support to see how they treat their customers. A service should not only offer a wide collection of content but should also prioritize the convenience of its subscribers.