“It doesn’t make sense to pay for a bunch of
content you have no interest in watching,” said
Bruce McClary, vice president of marketing for
the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
“Finding a service that lets you scale your
channel lineup based on your interests can also
help you avoid paying for things you don’t need.”
A little research on which services are best for
you can help save big bucks.
FOR FAMILIES
Disney is making the biggest play for family
viewership. The owner of Disney Channel, the
Star Wars franchise and most recently Fox’s
entertainment business is betting its mix of
family-friendly franchises and beloved animated
classics, along with original programming, will
make the Disney Plus service irresistible to
families, even if they already subscribe to other
services. The service, launching Nov. 12, will cost
$7 a month initially.
For some kids, there may be no substitute
for watching Disney’s “Frozen” over and over
again. But other services that families might
already subscribe to have a lot of family-
friendly programming too. Amazon Prime
($119 per year or $13 per month for Prime
loyalty program membership; Prime Video
alone costs $9 a month), Hulu ($6 to $12 per
month), and Netflix ($9 to $16 per month) all
offer kids programming.
Another choice for parents: HBO Now ($15 a
month) is the home for the classic kids TV show
“Sesame Street.” And for spendthrifts, YouTube’s
free Kids channel offers an endless stream of kid-
friendly fare, although quality varies widely.