Everything costs too much these days. The good news is, consumers can afford to scrimp on streaming in August. While almost every major streaming service has a blockbuster series on the way, in most cases they don’t have much else new. So August’s picks come down to which services offer the most bang for the buck right now, knowing viewers can always binge standout shows later on down the line.
With an eye on budgets, this month’s must-have picks can be had for a measly $15 (though that cost could double depending on how excited one is about HBO Max’s “House of the Dragon,” “Netflix’s “The Sandman” or Prime Video’s “A League of Their Own”). Each month, this column offers tips on how to maximize your streaming — along with your budget — rating the major services as a “play,” “pause” or “stop,” similar to investment analysts’ traditional ratings of buy, hold and sell, and picks the best content to help you make your monthly decisions. As we’ve previously mentioned, consumers can take full advantage of cord-cutting though a churn-and-return strategy — that’s adding and dropping streaming services each month — and all it takes is good planning. Keep in mind that a billing cycle starts when you sign up, not necessarily at the beginning of a month. Also keep an eye out for lower-priced tiers, limited-time discounts, free trials and cost-saving bundles. There are a lot of offers out there, but the deals don’t last forever. Here’s a look at what’s coming to the various streaming services in August 2022, and what’s really worth the monthly subscription fee. D …