I canceled all of my streaming services to get these Black Friday streaming deals

This year we’ve all consumed a lot of content via streaming services – and only our bank accounts are feeling a little lighter. With all the holiday shopping still to be done, you might be thinking that this is a good time to cut your entertainment budget and cancel your streaming services.

You’re right… and wrong.

Every year, after my turkey and TV binge, I cancel all my streaming services on Black Friday weekend. But here’s the catch: I re-subscribe to them all and take advantage of the excellent Black Friday streaming deals.

According to a Deloitte report, Americans now pay an average of $61 per month for four streaming services. That’s a whopping $732 per year. Of course, you don’t have to subscribe to every streamer every month. In fact, here at Tom’s Guide we recommend churning – canceling a service for a month or two and subscribing again later when there’s a new show or movie that you really can’t miss.

But at this time of year, it’s better to cancel everything and log right back in. I’ll explain exactly why and how – and the four Black Friday streaming deals you definitely shouldn’t miss.

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4 Black Friday streaming deals you shouldn’t miss

Treat yourself to Black Friday streaming deals

Every Black Friday/Cyber Monday, most streaming services offer some sort of discount. But generally, these offers are only available to new subscribers (in some cases, returning subscribers who canceled some time ago).

There’s a really easy way to get around this fine print: sign in with a different email address.

You probably already have one (or more). But if not, just go to one of the many email services with a free tier, like Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, AOL, etc.

I do it like this every year. First, Past Me has already set up calendar reminders to cancel the services I subscribed to during Black Friday week last year. So I just make sure I cancel on the scheduled date.

I then register for the streaming offers with my new email address. In my opinion the best ones every year are Hulu, Peacock, Max and Paramount Plus.

The best streaming deals right now are on annual plans, meaning you can’t really offer these services on a monthly basis. But since they’re so heavily discounted, the upfront price is worth it.

Just don’t forget to set reminders for next year’s cancellation.

Is there a Netflix Black Friday deal?

Unfortunately the answer is: NO.

In the past, Netflix has rarely offered discounts on its plans, and that includes not participating in Black Friday deals.

Therefore, Netflix sticks with its usual monthly prices: $6.99 for the standard ad-supported plan; $15.49 for standard without ads; and $22.99 for Premium with 4K Ultra HD.

However, because you’re not locked into a discounted annual plan, Netflix is the easiest streaming service to switch to. They know this too, which is why they split up the seasons of their hottest shows (“Stranger Things,” “Cobra Kai,” “Emily in Paris,” “Outer Banks,” “You,” etc.). So you are forced to keep Netflix to watch the rest of the new episodes.

Is there an Apple TV Plus Black Friday deal?

The answer is also: NO. That’s a shame because Apple TV Plus is in full swing right now and the excellent series “Shrinking,” “Silo” and “Bad Sisters” are all currently streaming.

However, when you purchase an Apple device, you can get three months of Apple TV Plus free (as long as you’ve never had a free trial before). Check out our guide to the best Black Friday Apple deals.

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