After teasing a discounted bundle of Netflix, Peacock, and Apple TV+ last week, Comcast is out with the full price details for its “StreamSaver” package.
StreamSaver will cost $15 per month and it launches next week for all Comcast customers, including those with internet-only service. The package includes the ad-supported versions of Netflix and Peacock, while Apple TV+ is ad-free. The Streamable also reports that customers will be able to pay the difference for Netflix’s ad-free plan, with an ad-free Peacock upgrade option to come.
Compared to the cost of each service separately, StreamSaver is $8-per-month cheaper. But whether it’s actually worthwhile depends on how much effort you want to put into saving even more money.
A cheaper approach
Even without bundling, Peacock is regularly available at a discount. Using the code STREAMTHEDEAL at checkout right now, for instance, you can get $40 off a full year of Peacock Premium. That averages out to $1.67 per month for the ad-supported tier.
Saving on Apple TV+ is a bit trickier, but the service does offer extended free trials for both new and eligible returning subscribers. Right now, you can get two free months directly through Apple, three free months from Best Buy, three free months as a Target Circle member, or three free months via Xbox consoles.
I’ve had luck bouncing between these offerings—with some brief, periodic lapses in my subscription—and have yet to actually pay for Apple TV+ since its launch in 2019. Taking occasional time off from Apple TV is also not that difficult, given that its catalog is so much smaller than other major streaming services.
So, let’s say you coast by on Apple’s trial offers, grab a half-price Peacock subscription, and pay full price for Netflix. That brings your average monthly bill to $8.67 with Netflix’s ad-supported tier or $17.16 with ad-free Netflix. Either way, you’re saving $6.33 per month over Comcast’s StreamSaver package, and you’re not locked into Comcast’s TV or internet service.
Other Netflix bundles
The above approach doesn’t even account for the other ways you can save on Netflix.
T-Mobile customers with certain postpaid plans, for instance, can get Netflix’s ad-supported service for free. The “Netflix on Us” promo is available with two or more lines on Magenta or Go5G plans, or with only one line on Magenta Max, Go5G Next, or Go5G Plus plans. You can also upgrade to Netflix’s ad-free plans by paying the difference in price.
Verizon offers a $10-per-month bundle of Netflix and Max (both with ads) on its Unlimited Ultimate, Unlimited Plus, or Unlimited Welcome plans. That’s $7-per-month cheaper than getting Netflix and Max separately, and you can upgrade to either service’s ad-free tier by paying the difference in price.
While I wouldn’t suggest switching wireless carriers just to get those deals, they both make StreamSaver unnecessary if you already meet T-Mobile’s or Verizon’s requirements, especially when combined with standalone savings on Peacock and Apple TV+
Slicing and dicing
As I mentioned in last week’s column, we’re quickly entering an area of streaming bundle chaos, in which streaming services are packaged up in different ways by competing providers. Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are also planning their own bundle of Disney+, Hulu, and Max—pricing still undisclosed—and we’ll likely see more packages to come.
The goal with these bundles is not really to save you money, but to discourage subscription-hopping and convince you to pay for more than you otherwise would. That’s not to say StreamSaver is a bad deal, but unless your streaming diet already involves year-round subscriptions to Netflix, Peacock, and Apple TV+, the savings will be illusory. Choose your bundles wisely.
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Author: Jared Newman, Contributor
Jared has been a freelance technology journalist for more than 15 years and is a regular contributor to PCWorld, Fast Company, and TechHive, where he's written a weekly cord-cutting column since 2014. His Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter has more than 30,000 subscribers, and his Advisorator tech advice newsletter is read by nearly 10,000 people each week. Jared has a master's degree in journalism from NYU and specializes in making complex tech topics easy to understand, from streaming and cord-cutting to neat apps and useful tech tricks. He is based in Cincinnati, OH.