Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone, and there werestreaming deals galore. With streaming prices constantly on the rise, it’s nice to get some savings here and there, and I jumped at the opportunity to get Paramount Plus for $2.99 a month for the next two months. While it’s not a service that’s usually on my radar, I figured I’d find something to check out within this two-month window to get my money’s worth.
Paramount Plus was far from the only service with an enticing offer, and I’m sure another popular one was the$2.99 per month dealforsix months of Max. Admittedly, it’s tough to beat, and if you want a cheap way to catch up on the service’s latest shows and movies, it’s a good get. However, it comes with one massive drawback for me, and I bet I’m not alone. The fact that it had ads was too much for me to bear, and even if it meant a huge discount for six months, I still couldn’t pull the trigger. I don’t fault anybody for picking up the deal because it’s a good one, but it’s just not for me.
Ads are a necessary evil for many services, and I can put up with them when the service is free, like Tubi, but for something like Max, I have to draw the line. When you couple it with the fact that I have to settle for the lower quality of the service, it made for an easy decision for me. Tubi doesn’t stream at very high quality, but for a free service I can’t ask for much more. For Max, paying a monthly fee and still not getting the best features doesn’t sit well with me.
HBO’s streaming platform with access to thousands of TV shows and movies, DC Universe content, HBO Original series content, and more.
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The value was there, but it wasn’t good enough
I don’t want to deal with ads anymore
I have gotten so accustomed to watching things without ads that it’s a bit of a jump scare to run into them again. I touched on this after Iditched YouTube Premiumas the biggest thing I noticed was the return of ads. For something like YouTube, it’s not as big of a deal since I don’t spend a lot of time on YouTube as it is. For streaming services, I don’t want to sit down for a two or three hour movie and spend a half hour watching ads over the duration.
Many streamers have started to make the ad-supported tiers more lucrative by keeping the costs low while making the higher end tiers more expensive. In the case of Max, things like 4K resolution and Dolby Atmos audio are locked behind the most expensive tiers. As somebody who likes to get the best viewing experience I possibly can, I don’t like to miss out on things like that, and it’s a big reason why I skipped the Black Friday deal.
It feels strange to pass up such a good deal, but with how limited time I have to watch things as is, and when I do watch something I don’t want to subject myself to a bunch of ads. That’s especially the case when I’m perfectly fine with using free services like Tubi to watch some things I would’ve otherwise missed.
More people should use this lesser-known YouTube Premium feature
YouTube Premium’s most-loved feature is its ad-free videos, but there’s another feature I find myself using a lot.
Credit is due for the streamers
Streamers are making the right decisions
Not everybody has the same thoughts, but I believe streaming services have lost a lot of value in 2024 thanks to the price hikes and features being locked behind the most expensive tiers. It’s happened with Netflix, Prime Video, and Max, and it got to a point where I found it difficult to keep up with it all.
As somebody who likes to get the best viewing experience I possibly can, I don’t like to miss out on things like that, and it’s a big reason why I skipped the Black Friday deal.
I’m always on the hunt for a new deal, so it’s refreshing to see streamers being competitive with each other. There was anice Fubo TV dealthat offers a seven-day trial and then a $49.99 introductory month, which means I get to try out something other than YouTube TV, at least for a month.
This is the best YouTube TV feature you’re not using
Now that I’m knee-deep in the best sports seasons, I can’t miss a single game. So, here’s how I use YouTube TV to watch multiple games at once.
