Technologies

Save on Streaming TV in 2023 With These Simple Tricks

From rotating streaming services to signing up for deals, here are all the ways to save on streaming in the new year.

This story is part of 12 Days of Tips, helping you make the most of your tech, home and health during the holiday season.

If you’re a part of the 56% of Americans impacted by inflation, cost-cutting in the new year is on your list of 2023 resolutions. One way to do so? Consider your streaming subscriptions. Crunching numbers for your streaming subscriptions could leave you with the realization you’re spending $500 per year or more. But this is one set of expenses you can easily tweak.

Here’s the scenario: You’re subscribed to multiple streaming services, you watch one or two of them until your favorite series ends its seasonal run, then look for the next thing. But is it worth keeping all those accounts active if you’re not watching anything on them? I don’t think so.

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Take a look at this money-saving strategy to help you tame your streaming costs.

Rotate your streaming services

Dumping cable for good and switching to streaming is a crafty money move for cord-cutters. Because you’re able to sign up for monthly plans, it’s easy to jump into a streaming service and jump out when prices increase or content dries up. But according to Deloitte’s 2022 Media Trends report, the main reasons people cancel their streaming subscriptions are because of costs and lack of fresh content. Media companies call this behavior «churn.» We’re calling this the rotation method, and you should try it.

The incentive? You save your coins and avoid content droughts. Let’s say a popular title like The Last of Us or Willow is set to premiere on a service. Find the total episode count and wait until they’re all available at once on a platform. You cancel HBO Max, Disney Plus or other service and then, once all the episodes are available, resubscribe to catch up. Alternatively, you can start streaming a show midseason to cut costs. My monthly guide on which streaming services to cancel can help you keep up.

The downside? You won’t have immediate access to every show you want to watch and will have to wait until the full season airs. And since many streaming services release new episodes weekly, you might not be caught up at the same time as your friends. If you’re someone who prefers to watch episodes immediately when they drop, you may decide it’s worth it to have multiple subscriptions at a time. If you have patience, however, you can save some money.

The strategy can also work if you have a live TV streaming service to watch a particular sport or major event like the Super Bowl. Once the season wraps, cancel the service or move to a cheaper platform with fewer channels, like Sling TV.

Tip No. 1: Cancel your subscription before getting charged

Set calendar reminders for your billing cycle and upcoming TV show or movie release dates. Give yourself enough warning to begin or end a subscription. Apps such as JustWatch, V Time and Hobi help you track when and where TV shows and movies appear on a streaming service. And JustWatch recently added a tracker specifically for sports. If you have a smart home device from Google or Amazon, you can set reminders for specific dates and allow a voice assistant like Alexa to notify you of an upcoming bill or streaming release date.

Tip No. 2: Sign up for streaming service deals

Look for discounts on streaming services. For example, Starz is now $3 per month for three months, a drop from its regular $9-a-month rate. You can also take advantage of the Disney Bundle, which provides access to Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus in a single package for a reduced price. And eligible Hulu subscribers can add on Disney Plus for $2. Lastly, be sure to check with your mobile carrier to see which ones offer free streaming subscriptions.

Tip No. 3: Pick one or two default streaming services

Subscribe to one or two must-have services for the year, and select only one or two more options to fit your monthly budget. Rotate the bonus service(s) according to what you want to watch, ensuring you don’t miss your favorite shows while sticking to your monthly spending cap.

Tip No. 4: Use monthly billing only

Avoid annual subscriptions and pay attention to your auto-renewal payment dates. Your billing cycle can help determine when it’s the best time to quit a service, even if you’ve only signed up for a free trial. The only advantage to signing up for an annual plan is when the price is drastically cut down.

Tip No. 5: Don’t cancel your subscription, pause it

Hulu allows you to pause your subscription for up to 12 weeks, and Sling has a similar option with stipulations. Check with your streaming provider to see if you can take a temporary break without canceling.

Give it a shot, and if you don’t like it you can always resubscribe. For more excellent tips on streaming TV, check out this guide to Netflix’s hidden tricks and our tips on the best VPNs.

All the Nintendo Games You Can Update to Switch 2 for Free

Bad news: Mario Kart World will cost $80. Good news: These classic games will get free revamped versions for Switch 2.

Nintendo’s Switch 2 launch event on Wednesday has upset some fans for one key reason: pricing. The new console will be released on June 5 at a starting price of $450, and it will have new games, like Mario Kart World, Kirby Air Riders and Donkey Kong Bananza. But those games could cost as much as $80 (and that’s before factoring in possible tariffs).

Fortunately, Nintendo has also announced that some Nintendo Switch games will get free updates to improve playability on the upcoming console.

«By connecting your Nintendo Switch 2 to the internet, you can download free updates that may improve performance or add support for features such as GameShare in select games,» the company posted.

Here are all the Nintendo Switch games that can get a free update for the Switch 2.

Nintendo also announced that other Switch games will have upgraded versions of the base game, called Switch 2 Editions. These games, which include The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, may offer improved graphics, unique ways to play the game with the Switch 2 hardware, and other features.

You can buy a digital or physical copy of these games if you’re purchasing them for the first time. But Switch 2 Edition games are not free if you already own the Switch version of one of these games, so you’ll have to buy an upgrade pack to play the updated version.

It’s unclear how much Switch 2 Editions of games and upgrade packs will cost, and it’s also unclear how upgrade packs will work with physical versions of Switch games.

The Nintendo Switch 2 will also be backward compatible with certain games. While we don’t know all the Switch games that will be playable on the Switch 2, we know some Switch games have startup (PDF) or in-game (PDF) compatibility issues with the upcoming console.

For more on the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, here’s what we know about the upcoming console and what to know about games like Mario Kart World and Duskbloods.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, April 4

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 4.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword about knocked me out. I struggled with 1-Across, «Elphaba’s broom in ‘Wicked’ or Aladdin’s lamp in ‘Aladdin,’ thinking it was a word like «magic» but with one less letter. And I was also stumped by 4-Down, «kibble nibblers,» which I thought for sure was «dogs» or «pups.» Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Elphaba’s broom in «Wicked» or Aladdin’s lamp in «Aladdin»
Answer: PROP

5A clue: Thorough investigation
Answer: PROBE

6A clue: Metaphor for an unquestioning rule-follower
Answer: ROBOT

7A clue: Harvard and Yale, for two
Answer: IVIES

8A clue: ___ Wearhouse (department store chain)
Answer: MENS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Definitively determine
Answer: PROVE

2D clue: Herald of spring
Answer: ROBIN

3D clue: Orchestral reeds
Answer: OBOES

4D clue: Kibble nibblers
Answer: PETS

5D clue: Fastidiously proper
Answer: PRIM

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Zelle App Is Gone. Use These Alternatives to Send Money Digitally

You still have lots of free ways to send money to friends and family electronically.

If Zelle has been your go-to app for sending money digitally, it’s time to find a new method. The digital payment app shut down on April 1.

That doesn’t mean you can’t use Zelle altogether, however. Zelle has only discontinued its standalone app. You can still send money using Zelle if your bank belongs to the Zelle network. You’ll just need to do it through your bank’s app or website. You also have other services to choose from. Here’s what you need to know about this change and your options moving forward.

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Why the Zelle app is shutting down

When Zelle launched in 2017, only about 60 US financial institutions offered the service by the end of that year. Today, that number exceeds 2,200. As a result, less than 2% of Zelle transactions occur through the standalone app. Zelle has been phasing out the ability to make transactions on its mobile app since October 2024.

«Today, the vast majority of people using Zelle to send money use it through their financial institution’s mobile app or online banking experience, and we believe this is the best place for Zelle transactions to occur,» Zelle said in an October 2024 press release.

In December, Zelle was in the spotlight when the Consumer Financial Protected Bureau sued the company and three of the largest US banks for failing to protect consumers from widespread fraud on the peer-to-peer payment network. The lawsuit has since been dropped.

Other ways to send money digitally

You can still use Zelle through your bank’s app or website if it belongs to the Zelle network. You can also switch to another digital payment app, such as:

Apple Wallet
Cash App
PayPal
Venmo

Take some basic precautions when using Zelle or any other digital payment service. These apps are a frequent target for scammers, and Chase Bank has started blocking some Zelle payments it believes could be fraudulent. Only send money to people you know and trust, and watch for red flags like an urgent message claiming to be from your bank or an online ad for concert tickets that seem impossibly cheap.