After all of the indulgences of the holidays, it's time to make a fresh start for the new year. One of your New Year's resolutions might be to tighten your budget — and one of the first places you may look is at your streaming bill.
Americans now pay an average of $61 a month for streaming services, according to a Deloitte report — or a hefty $732 a year. The not-so-secret trick to save money on streaming is through churning, or getting rid of one service for a short time and re-subscribing later when a must-see show or movie premieres.
For January 2025, I would cancel Hulu and Disney Plus. We rate both services highly on our list of the best streaming services, but no major titles are debuting in the next month. While they have some interesting offerings, they're not in the "must see immediately" category. Here's why I think you should consider canceling Disney Plus and Hulu this month.
Few big titles are arriving on Hulu or Disney Plus in January 2025
Hulu is our pick for the best streaming service for TV shows for good reason. Just think about all the amazing originals the service has streamed just in the past year: "Shogun," "The Bear," "Only Murders in the Building" and "Say Nothing."
Yet, Hulu's January 2025 lineup is decidedly lackluster when it comes to originals and exclusives. Only one title really stands out: "Paradise." The conspiracy theory comes from "This Is Us" creator Dan Fogelman and stars Sterling K. Brown as a Secret Service Agent who becomes the prime suspect in the death of the president.
"Paradise" looks like my kind of show, but it also doesn't premiere until Jan. 28, after which episodes will drop weekly. It would be easy to wait a few days to re-subscribe next month.
As for Disney Plus, we know a lot of families depend on its library of kid-friendly movies and shows. Yet, with school back in session after the holidays and "Santa's gifts" to pay for, this might be the month to pause your subscription.
January will bring the last two episodes of "Star Wars: Skeleton Crew," which is a cute if not must-watch show. But other than that, the only notable new titles are "Goosebumps: The Vanishing," "‘A Real Bug’s Life’ season 2" and "Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man." The latter is an animated take on the beloved superhero set in an alternate universe, with the 15-year-old Peter Parker voiced by Hudson Thames. There's no trailer yet and the show doesn't premiere until Jan. 29.
If you've been watching "Skeleton Crew" and can tolerate waiting to see the last two chapters of the adventure saga, then canceling Disney Plus this month won't make you miss much.
ABC and Fox shows are airing — but there's a free way to watch
One of the best things about subscribing to Hulu is next-day access to new episodes of ABC and Fox shows. That includes hits like "Abbott Elementary," "Grey's Anatomy," "The Bachelor," "9-1-1: Lone Star" and others, as well as new series like Denis Leary's upcoming comedy "Going Dutch."
But you can watch ABC and Fox for free the old-fashioned way — with a TV antenna. Mine is hooked up to a Sling AirTV Anywhere device so I can record shows to watch later. But if you don't have this setup, some smart TVs have a built-in antenna or you can get an antenna to hook up to your smart TV.
You can also watch ABC and Fox without paying a dime by signing up for a free trial from Fubo or YouTube TV. And with those live TV streaming services, you can watch the episode as it airs or record it to a cloud DVR.
How much you'll save by canceling Hulu and Disney Plus this month
How much you can save by canceling Hulu and Disney Plus depends on which plans you have — and if you subscribe to a bundle.
Hulu's ad-supported tier is $10 per month, while ad-free Hulu is a whopping $19. Disney Plus Basic (with ads) is $10 month and Premium (ad-free) is $16.
If you get them both through the Disney Bundle Duo Basic, it's $11 per month, while the ad-free bundle is $20.
So depending on which plan you have, you can save anywhere from $10 to $20 by canceling Hulu, Disney Plus or both this month. That may not sound like a lot but churning various streaming services throughout the year can save you a few hundred dollars. And as you're planning your 2025 budget, every dollar counts.
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