Anyone signed up to the six main subscription services on offer in Ireland is now paying up to €1,400 a year, according to Newstalk Tech Correspondent Jess Kelly.
It comes after Netflix announced its second price-hike in less than 18 months – taking the cost of its premium service to nearly €21 per month.
On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Jess said people who are signed up to the top-tier plans on all the main services available in Ireland are now paying €1,391.54 every single year.
“That’s before you pay for the broadband to get access to the content, the device you are watching the content on and maybe you have a traditional TV package on top of that,” she said.
“This is just for Netflix, Disney, Amazon, Now TV, Apple and Hayu. They are the most popular streaming services and, if you opt for the best plan, with the best resolution for all of these services, you are looking at nearly €1,400 essentially.”
Subscription
She encouraged people to carry out an audit of their subscriptions – and decide whether they really use everything they’re paying for.
“You need to sit down with a pen and paper and look at, firstly, what you’re paying out for these services,” she said.
“If you’re paying for the top-tier Netflix plan, that’s €20.99 per month. You need to sit down and say look, do I really need the top-tier plan?
“Do I need the 4k streaming content? Do I need to have up to four people watching at once? If the answer is no, you can downgrade your plan. Plans start from €8.99.
“But also, look at the content. How much do you actually use these services and are you getting value for money?
“You could go for the cheapest plan - which is Apple TV, that is only €4.99 a month - but if there are no TV shows or movies you want to watch on that service, it is not worth having.
“You need to sit down and work out how much you are spending, what you use and where the value is to be had.”
Jess also has two other tricks up her sleeve when it comes to saving money on subscriptions.
Sharing services
Firstly, if you’re sharing your sub, share the bill.
“If you’re a fool like me and you share your password with about 13 other people, get them to chip in as well because €1,400 is a serious amount of money,” she said.
Secondly, if you sign up for a particular show, remember you can always cancel your subscription when you’ve had your fill.
“Put a notification in your diary for 12-weeks’ time to cancel the plan,” she said
“You will get a notification; it’ll take two seconds to cancel and you will save yourself around €15 a month – which all adds up.
“It’s also worth noting that if you are on something like Now TV and you go in to cancel your plan, they’ll make an offer to try and keep you – the majority of streaming services do.
“So again, if you have time today, go in and opt to cancel your account and you may get a discounted rate.
“Play hard to get. Save your money and you’ll all be OK.”
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