Sometimes, I wonder how I survived as a kid without cable TV and even the internet. I finished my last years of college working with 56Kbps dial-up internet. I only had access to broadband years into my professional life.
Not too long ago, cable/satellite TV were essentials to any burgis household. And piracy was a way of life if you needed to get your timely US series fix. Until Netflix and fiber broadband connections came along, and now we’re deep into this whole streaming shenanigans.
What you might not realize is how streaming can be burning a whole in your pocket. Ever wonder how much streaming services actually cost these days?
What Streaming Services Are Available and How Much Do They Cost?
Here is a table that shows how much each of the popular streaming services cost depending on the plans:
| Streaming Service | Subscription Plans and Prices |
| Netflix | Mobile: 149 PHP / month Basic: 249 PHP / month Standard: 399 PHP / month Premium: 549 PHP / month |
| Disney Plus | Mobile: 159 PHP / month or 1150 PHP / year Premium: 369 PHP / month or 2950 / year |
| HBO Go Asia | 199 PHP / month or 399 PHP / 3 months or 1190 PHP / year |
| iFlix | 99 PHP / month (through PLDT) |
| Amazon Prime Video | 149 PHP / month |
| Viu | 149 PHP / month or 999 PHP / year (can be cheaper if availed through telco) |
| Apple TV+ | 369 PHP / month |
| Vivamax | 149 PHP / month |
| IWantTFC (formerly Sky on Demand/iWant TV) | 199 PHP / month for ad-free viewing |
| AQ Prime | 29 PHP / 7 days or 99 / 1 month or 288 / 3 months or 558 / 6 months or 888 PHP / year |
| Crunchyroll Premium | Fan: 79 PHP / month Mega Fan: 99 PHP / month or 999 PHP / year |
Which Streaming Service is the Best?
There used to be a time when Netflix was the king of locally available streaming services in the Philippines. It pretty much hosted many of the things you want to watch including Marvel series and films. But media companies eventually wizened up and just set up their own services. For instance, Disney took out all their content from Netflix and eventually launched Disney Plus.
Now, picking which is the best service really depends on what you want to watch. What’s the point of subscribing to a service that doesn’t offer you any content that you’d watch?
What Kinds of Content Do the Streaming Services Provide?
Let’s see what kinds of content are available from the different services. Most streaming services are now focused on producing their own original content, so that you’d have nowhere else to watch them legally other than through subscribing.
Netflix has amassed a bunch of originals including hit shows like Stranger Things, Wednesday, and Squid Game. Netflix also has a bunch of sports documentaries like The Last Dance and Formula 1: Drive to Survive.
HBO has long been producing original content since the early days of cable. They’ve continued producing massive series over the years. If you want to watch The Last of Us or rewatch hits like Game of Thrones, then you have to get HBO Go.
Amazon Prime Video has its own slate of originals including Tom Clancy-based series, The Grand Tour, and The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power. It also now hosts a bunch of films from Universal and all the James Bond movies.
Apply TV+ gives you access to series, films, and Apple Originals like Ted Lasso.
Discovery Plus has a bunch of documentaries and shows from the Travel Channel, Food Network, TLC, and HGTV. So, if you really like your lifestyle stuff, you should consider subscribing.
If you want Korean dramas, then you must get Viu and iflix though Netflix and HBO Go has some titles too.
Anime fans can get their dose from Netflix, HBO Go, and Prime Video. But Crunchyroll is now also available if you want a more diverse selection.
For local content, you can subscribe to iWantTFC. It has local sports, movies, and series. You can opt for an ad-free experience by paying a monthly fee.
Vivamax hosts a bunch of newly-produced steamy adult content alongside from classic Pinoy action, drama, and comedy films. Though Vivamax snuck in advertising even if you have a paid subscription plan, those turds.
AQ Prime is an up and coming streaming app for Android and iOS that features locally made films and Korean content.
One popular streaming service that currently isn’t available in the Philippines is Hulu. You can technically get a Hulu account and pay for it using gift cards purchasable online and use a streaming-friendly VPN.
How to Maximize Your Streaming Subscriptions
If you’re going to subscribe to all of the these streaming services at monthly rates, they could very well cost you about P2,000. Other associated costs would probably be a speedy and unlimited broadband internet plan. Just a single episode streamed at full HD or 1080p can easily take a huge chunk of data if you’re on a capped data plan. Upgrading your internet is a must.
To maximize your spending, try streamlining your subscriptions by picking the services that serve you the content that interests you. Many content do overlap. For example, you can watch Spy X Family on either Netflix or Prime Video.
You can get yearly subscriptions to get a “discount.” With HBO Go, for example, costs P199 a month but only P1,190 a year. That’s more than 50 percent off. Unfortunately, Netflix plans are only available on monthly rates. There is no Netflix plan with a yearly subscription.
Also, be wary of plan pricing changes, I didn’t mind when HBO Go supposedly had a price increase. Apparently, when the price change happened, they also started offering 3-month and yearly subscriptions. Switching to those could’ve saved me a lot.
Are Netflix Plans Really that Expensive?
Not really but it can be, especially if you factor in the cost of a speedy unlimited data connection. Fortunately, you should’ve probably dropped your cable TV subscription by now. This should help you defray the costs.
If you feel you’re spending too much, just pick which streaming services provide you with the shows you really like. You don’t have to subscribe on all of them.
As for Netflix plans, just select the one that fits your use case. For example, if you don’t have a 4K TV and only use two devices at a time, then go for just the Standard plan.
Keep in mind that Netflix has also cracked down on password sharing. So the tipid “hack” of getting other people to share subscription payments is quite moot these days. The other streaming services don’t seem to mind yet.