Learn how to shuffle stream to enjoy box sets without registering on multiple platforms at once
- Four subscriptions from the biggest platforms can add up to almost £38 a month
The return of late nights isn’t all bad if it means we can once again enjoy guilt-free binge-watching on our favorite boxes. Between them, the streaming giants offer almost every movie, book adaptation, and TV series you can imagine.
But while subscribing to multiple providers at once means you’ll never miss out, you’re likely paying for access to more entertainment than you’re likely to watch.
Who hasn’t signed up for a platform to watch whatever new hit show everyone is raving about and then hasn’t logged back in for weeks because there’s nothing else that appeals to them? This is how your subscription collection silently builds up, which can get expensive.
A standard ad-free Netflix plan currently costs £10.99 a month, the same as Disney Plus. It costs £6.99 a month each for Apple TV and £8.99 for Amazon Prime.
Those four subscriptions alone add up to almost £38 a month, or £456 over a year. Which is a lot to be so overwhelmed with options that you end up spending more time browsing for inspiration than actually looking at anything!
Signing up to multiple streaming providers at once means you’ll never miss out, but you’ll likely be paying for access to more entertainment than you’re likely to watch (stock image)
This is where learning how to shuffle TV comes in: If you do it right, you’ll be able to save money without limiting your access to the shows you enjoy. Here’s how, in six easy steps:
1. First, cancel all your streaming subscriptions. The great benefit of paying in advance for these monthly contracts is that you can cancel and restart them at any time, without penalty.
You will still have many days left in each contract to continue watching. But from now on you will no longer pay for a platform that you are not actually using.
2. What do you want to see? Make a list of the latest must-see shows along with the name of the platform that broadcasts them.
Ask family and friends for recommendations, look for online reviews, and watch some show trailers on YouTube to help guide your choices.
3. Armed with your list, decide what you want to see first. If you have multiple must-watches on a platform, then you need to re-register on that platform.
You might even have enough days left on the contract you just canceled to watch them without paying anything for now.
4. At the end of the month, you will be asked to register and pay again for access. Is there more you want to see on this platform? Or are you ready to move on to another series on another channel?
Pay to watch shows like Derry Girls (above) on Netflix? You could watch it for free on Channel 4 and save money in the process.
5. Whichever company you sign up for next, cancel immediately, so you don’t waste money by allowing it to renew automatically.
6. Check if any of the movies or series on your wish list are showing elsewhere for free. Google will tell you which platform most shows are currently shown on and if they can be watched for free.
For example, you can currently pay to watch Derry Girls box sets on Netflix, but they are free to watch on Channel 4. The Good Liar, starring Helen Mirren, costs £3.09 on Amazon Prime, but is free on BBC iPlayer .
