In this week’s newsletter: In a cost of living crisis, paying for endless streaming services is making less and less sense – here’s the case for (and against) each of the ‘big five’
The BBC is likely to be a fun-free zone, as traditional linear broadcasters in the UK head into a period of respectful seriousness after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. So if you want a distraction, streaming services can pick up the slack. But which one to choose? With a cost of living crisis, you might be thinking of cutting back on a few things, including – alas – some of the many, many streamers. But which should you lose and which should you hold on to?
To help you decide we’ve provided a streaming guide with a difference, highlighting reasons to keep or drop different platforms. There’s a lot of them about of course, so’ve focused on what I’d term “the big five” paid-for services: Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV+, Disney+ and Now TV, avoiding free “terrestrial” platforms like All 4, ITVHub and BBC iPlayer (you may well argue that the latter is far from free, but that’s a discussion for another newsletter). Of course, there are a ton of other streaming services too, some of them very good indeed. We’ll cover those in more detail in the coming weeks. Anyway on with the show …
