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The new era of streaming is here, and the major services have decided it's time to bundle up
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Bundle number one, Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max. Bundle number two, venue sports, linear sports networks from ESPN, Fox, and Warner Brothers Discovery
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And bundle three, Netflix, Peacock, and Apple TV Plus, available to Xfinity customers
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The first thing we need to talk about today is why these competitors have decided to join forces
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It's not to save you money. they're in the business of making money. While these bundles are very different, the streaming
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services are all facing the same challenge right now, and that's churn. Basically, when people
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binge watch content and then cancel. If you watch any of my videos, I recommend rotating your
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subscriptions to save money. It's something I do myself, but by bundling multiple services
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the streaming companies are hoping you'll be less likely to pause or cancel. Bundles are
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known to reduce churn, and the services have also tried some other things, like including
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more live sports and offering cheaper plans with ads and now we're about to find out if more
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bundling will lead to so sticky subscribers let talk about pricing now and the reason why people buy a combo meal at restaurants like McDonald is because it cheaper than buying a burger fries and a Coke separately The same is true for these streaming bundles
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I'm going to use the Xfinity StreamSaver bundle as an example, $15 a month that gets you
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Netflix standard with ads, Peacock Premium, and Apple TV Plus. Xfinity says it'll save customers over 30% or nearly $100 a year
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And I expect the starting price for all the new bundles to be very competitive
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Question is, how long will that last? We've seen what happens to the price of bundles over time
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I've shared this graphic on my channel before. YouTube TV started at $35 a month
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It's more than doubled in price since 2017. And those price hikes come at a time when the value of the Cable 2.0 bundle has rapidly declined
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Some of the companies involved with these new bundles have already signaled price hikes for later this year
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Now, it's possible that bundles subscribers will be spared from those price hikes, at least
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at first but eventually the bundle price will have to go up that's particularly
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true for sports heavy services the more sports the more expensive and the more
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frequent price increases that's the trend something else to consider that Xfinity Streamsaver bundle that I just mentioned it is only available to Xfinity customers you got to take into consideration the rising cost of your Xfinity Internet or TV plan which makes you eligible for the new bundle
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You may already know, Exfinity's internet plans start low, but the price increases sharply after a year or two
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I'm going to link below to a new tool on my website. There you can enter your address and compare the best internet options
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These options may include more affordable 5G home internet services from Verizon and T-Mobile
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The next thing to think about whether you actually need all the services included with one of these new bundles
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I'll use the Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max bundle as an example. Just my opinion
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But if your household is not regularly using at least two of the three services, I'd probably skip the bundle option
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Why pay for content that you're not even watching? That's why everyone hates cable
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Now, I'd probably feel differently if this bundle or the others offered exclusive content to people who subscribe to all three
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services. But that's not my understanding. It looks like it's just going to be a discount
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on three services that you can already purchase individually. And a quick follow-up on
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that. These new bundles, they may not be a steal if you end up paying for content that
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you can get somewhere else for free or really cheap Your other subscriptions including phone plans may include streaming perks Apple TV Plus regularly offers extended free trials I highlighted this one available from Best Buy in the past
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It's still available. Three months of Apple TV Plus for new and returning subscribers. And then there
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are the Black Friday and other limited time deals that I post on Michaelsavesdeals.com. On top of all that
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a lot of people I hear from have been able to cut down to just one paid streaming service at a time. A lot
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at times it's Netflix. And then they can supplement with free services like
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Tube, Pluto TV, and the Roku channel. These new streaming bundles may be a great way for you to
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save a little money, but you'd be surprised how many people I hear from who are actually
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double paying for services without realizing it. Before you sign up for a new service or a new
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bundle of services, check over your recent credit card and bank statement. Make sure that you're
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not already subscribed to that service, either directly or through a third party
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I'll keep you updated on the bundles I mentioned today, as well as any new ones, in my monthly news update videos, also in my weekly newsletter, find a link to that down in the description box below
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I'll also have a link to my Amazon storefront. By using my link and doing your regular shopping, you can help save this channel amid the YouTube revenue crash
