With the reasonably satisfying conclusion of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds now behind us, I’m following through on my promise to cancel Paramount+ every time there isn’t a new Trek show to watch. I do expect to re-up sometimes in the next few months when Star Trek: Lower Decks debuts, but in the meantime I can at least save a few bucks. The truth is, the service just isn’t worth the money they charge, and they don’t have enough new content for me if there’s no Star Trek.
This got me thinking about other streaming services and why I might or might not cancel them too.
Disney+
Disney+ has the right idea, even if I don’t really care for a lot of the content. Right now I’m not watching anything on Disney+. But, they offer a yearly rate that equates to about 8 months of monthly charges, and that keeps me from canceling. I imagine if you have little ones in the house that Disney+ is a must-have. That said, the company’s attempts to wring every bit of life out of the Star Wars and Marvel Universes mean poorer quality products that I just won’t bother watching.
VERDICT: KEEP
Hulu
Hulu, which is controlled by Disney as well, is a surprising “keeper.” I go back and forth on Hulu. They’ve had some problems with their user interface and the quality of their HDR programming is poor. But, they’ve had enough new releases to keep me going most months, and when they don’t, there’s always something in the catalog to watch. I think the service is still a bit overpriced, and I think the ad-supported tier should be free. But for what it is, it’s good enough to pay for I suppose. If you bundle with Disney+ it’s really not that expensive anyway.
VERDICT: KEEP
AppleTV+
Oh AppleTV+, I so wanted to like you. You gave me well over a year of free service, and plenty of opportunities. You’re slowly racking up prestige shows and movies, but the problem is that I don’t like them. I think you have so much potential but I’m sorry, I’m tossing you for now. Give me another top-notch comedy or enjoyable film and I might come back. You’re fairly priced, but just not an app I open up that much.
VERDICT: DITCH
Discovery+
Discovery+ takes the “firehose of content” idea pioneered by Netflix and turns it up to 11. There is so much content on this app that it would take years to watch it all. Unfortunately, most of it is very very similar. I mean, how many different cooking shows could there be? How many house hunting shows? Still, if you’re looking for comfortable and easy-to-watch content, Discovery+ is here for you. I’m reluctantly keeping it because it’s so cheap for what you get.
VERDICT: KEEP, RELUCTANTLY
Prime Video
Most folks consider Prime Video a free app, and I get it. For about $10 a month you get all the benefits of Prime including Prime Video. That makes this a pretty easy “keep” despite there being no reason to watch it for about half the year. The user interface is poor, the content selection is dicey, but since you’re not about to ditch Prime, it’s an easy “keep.”
VERDICT: KEEP
HBO Max
Here’s another easy keep. Although it’s among the most expensive apps, it has a huge selection of actually watchable content. Plus there’s new stuff practically every day. It runs the gamut from simply enjoyable to truly premium, with everything in between. HBO Max is a great example of how to do a high-priced streaming app. I just hope Discovery doesn’t mess it up.
VERDICT: KEEP
Netflix
Ah, Netflix. Literally the most expensive of the core streaming apps, with the least amount of good content. Chock-a-block with really poor quality stuff, Netflix has gone from the one app you have to have, to the one you love to hate. I’m ditching it again now that Stranger Things is done for the season, and chances are it will be months before I find another reason to pay over $20 a month for it.
VERDICT: DITCH
