It’s the all-you-can-eat buffet syndrome. The initial popularity of video-on-demand services like Netflix and Disney+ is based on the same premise as some restaurants: for a small fee, you stuff yourself with whatever you want. But if the buffet is no longer all you can eat, falling back on the à la carte menu is not a bad idea…
The new subscription formula implemented by Netflix on February 21 limits the way in which one can access its vast catalog of audiovisual content. Basically, Netflix wants to cut short some forms of account sharing that many of its subscribers do.
If it works, we can suspect that the measures put in place these days by Netflix will quickly be imitated by rival platforms. Amazon, Apple, and Disney certainly have more financial leeway than Netflix given that their core business isn’t their respective video service.
But by dint of raising prices and restricting the conditions of subscription, these platforms, which originally had to, for a fraction of the cost, make the subscription to cable TV obsolete, end up costing more than what they replace.
However, there are a few ways to trick the system and watch all the content you want while reducing the length of your monthly credit card statement. Here are four.
Play the TV Stock Exchange!
The reason Netflix and others are raising their prices is closely tied to the desire for eternal earnings growth imposed on them by their shareholders. The Stock Exchange, therefore, decides what you have to pay to see and review your favorite TV series. The results are published by the companies concerned every three months in the form of a quarterly financial report.
This system is not stupid and could inspire you in your management of the subscriptions that you have at home. If you are part of the Canadian average, you have three or four. Each of these services offers new content on a regular basis, but not enough to avoid slumps throughout the year. You can cut your subscription costs in three or four by switching to a different service every three months.
As a bonus, you will have more new features to offer you with each change of service. And you will know in advance whether new releases dating back a month or two are worth watching or not, since public opinion will have already decided.
Turn off auto-renewal
The consumer, it is known, is enormously lazy. In any case, that’s how the digital giants seem to perceive it, who prefer to put forward an annual subscription slightly less expensive than a monthly subscription, and who will obviously activate its automatic renewal immediately.
Subscribers who don’t pay attention are therefore paying hundreds of dollars each year, and will continue to do so until they close their account or cancel this subscription.
Opt for the opposite formula: choose the monthly subscription and immediately deactivate its automatic renewal. You will then avoid paying for the days beyond the subscription cycle during which you do not consult the service. If you come back, you just have to renew for another month.
You’ll likely save more after a year than if you opted for the annual plan from the start.
Look for specials and freebies
Apple offers a one-year subscription to Apple TV+ when you purchase one of its products. Disney+ occasionally offers a monthly subscription under $5 for its former customers. The Société Radio-Canada offers the Extra of its Tou.tv service free of charge to Telus customers. Bell (very, very) regularly promotes its Crave digital platform to just about every mailbox owner.
If you prefer movies to TV series, there are perhaps lesser-known platforms that will offer you classics or new releases absolutely free, in the best possible quality. Independent platform Mubi has an amazing catalog. The Tubi TV service, owned by Fox, also offers plenty of free content.
Moviegoers who are a bit stingy and love Hollywood blockbusters are more pampered than one might suspect.
Buy local
If you don’t know what to watch, choose a platform from us. Even better: visit the Éléphant project site, probably the best gesture ever made by Quebecor towards Quebec cinema. Éléphant was created to restore the classics of Quebec cinema and bring them to the digital age. Its catalog can be viewed completely free of charge and films can be rented individually, either from Videotron or on Apple TV.
Tou.tv also has a fairly generous free catalog. Perhaps more focused on content for the whole family, Télé-Québec also has a lot to offer, both in terms of movies and TV series on the cheap. Télé-Québec’s catalog can be found on its website and on its applications, including one for the Apple TV TV receiver.
All that’s missing is the popcorn.