Inflation across the UK has caused many people to re-evaluate their monthly spendings, causing many to cancel their streaming service subscriptions.
But, do you really need to cancel them?
More UK households considering cancelling streaming services to save money
With increased pressure mounting on household expenditures, more and more British consumers are considering cancelling their streaming video on demand (SVoD) subscriptions.
In a study produced by Quantilope, 23% of UK media consumers have already cut TV and video services from their monthly budget to save money, and 29% say they might consider cutting it in the next three months.
Cutting back on streaming services is one way UK residents can save money and redirect it to more important outgoings, such as rent and household bills, which are also being affected by inflation.
Some consumers are reducing their spendings to just one paid platform, whilst others are solely opting for ‘free’ content using platforms such as BBC Iplayer and ITV Hub.
As inflation and cost of living continues to rise in the UK, it is clear consumers are continuing to search for ways to reign in household spendings.
- A study by Kantar found that 1.66 million of SVoD services were cancelled during the second quarter of 2022, which is around 488,000 households.
Account sharing is also becoming increasingly popular, with half (51%) of British media streamers admitting they get access to one or more paid platforms through a friend or family member’s account.
Simply splitting the cost of subscriptions between a few people is one way consumers can cut back on overall spendings. Although, both Netflix and Disney+ have both announced they will be getting tougher about account sharing, meaning we may see a greater increase in subscription cancellations.
How much money could you save by cancelling streaming subscriptions?
With this increase in prices, you may be considering cancelling your own subscription.
Netflix has increased its basic subscription package from £5.99 to £6.99, with the standard HD tier being increased from £10.99 to £15.99. These tiers have increased a second time in 18 months, with the first price increase being January 2021.
Disney+ appears to be working in a similar fashion to Netflix, and we could expect their prices to rise next year by £3 on top of the standard £7.99 for the basic package.
Whether you cancel your subscription is completely up to you, but it could be saving you upto £16 a month which could be spent on other household bills that are also seeing a price increase.
If you don’t want to fully cancel your subscription, you could change it from the premium package to the standard package, which could save you £8-10 depending on which streaming service you use.
Cheapest TV and online streaming services
There are a few different streaming services which are great value for money, considering what comes included in the package.
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video is a popular choice for many due to the benefits it brings. The streaming service itself costs £8.99 after a 30 day free trial and comes with a Prime subscription, including free delivery on many products.
Prime Video also allows you to add additional subscriptions, with extra fees, to a mix of on demand content and traditional ‘live’ channels.
Disney+
Whilst we are yet to see a price increase for Disney+, the current price of £7.99 for the standard package is quite reasonable for the content you receive. They also provide the option of one upfront payment of £79.90, which will save you more than 15% on the monthly price.
The basic Disney+ subscription gives you access to four simultaneous streams and offline downloads, as well as working on most web browsers, IOS and Android devices and the majority of smart TV’s.
Hayu
Hayu is a streaming platform specifically for US-based reality TV programs. It offers more than 6,000 episodes from 250 reality TV shows and enables access to new episodes on the same day as the US.
The purchase also comes with a 30 day free-trial, but then £4.99 when purchased from Hayu’s website. However, you can save £1 per month if you get Hayu as an add-on for Amazon Prime Video.
You can also purchase a yearly subscription for £43.99, which will save you over 25% when compared to the monthly payments.
BritBox
Created by ITV and the BBC, BritBox is a streaming service exclusively for the most popular British TV. Coming in at £5.99, it is catalogued with over 300 British shows including content from the BBC, Channel 4, Film4, ITV and ViacomCBS.
It’s worth noting this service does not offer offline downloads or original content.
Netflix
Netflix’s basic package of £6.99 is the most popular and widely used streaming service in the western world. The service constantly produces a steady stream of original content, with an expanding catalogue of existing content.
The basic £6.99 subscription offers video streaming at 480p, so you may be better off paying £10.99 to upgrade the picture quality to full HD at 1080p.
Is there anywhere you can stream TV for free?
In the UK, we have some great free streaming services that can be accessed on smart TV’s, online and on IOS and Android devices.
*Note: You will need to pay for a TV licence to watch live TV, even on playback services.
All4
All4 has access to live and on-demand TV series, films and more from Channel 4, Film 4, More 4 and E4. There is a huge variety of original content to choose from and you only need to make a free account to start streaming.
BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer is run and owned by the BBC and has access to a wide range of content including shows, films and documentaries. All BBC channels are included on the service, but are required to have a TV licence in order to start streaming.
ITV Hub
Similar to BBC iPlayer, the ITV Hub has access to all content shown on the ITV channels. Like All4, you will need to make a free account in order to stream content. You can also watch BritBox ad-free on ITV Hub, but it will cost the regular BritBox amount.
My5
My5 is the last of the streaming services which is from a TV network. It is available on TV’s, mobiles and online and again, only requires you to make a free account.
Plex
Plex is a free website which has over 50,000 free shows and films on-demand, as well as 250 live TV channels. There is a huge range of old and new films to choose from.
Xumo
Xumo is a free streaming service that acts like a TV. It has access to over 180 premium channels, including live sports, news, TV series and cartoons. Xumo can be accessed on a range of different platforms and devices, and is a great way to catch up on news and events throughout the day.