data-mm-id=”_qa9wwpqsy”>Just a few months after Disney and Hulu announced they were removing series from their streaming services, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that the prices of both services would be increasing. After launching the service at $6.99 a month in 2019, the ad-free version of the service will be up to $13.99 a month come October 2023. Hulu's base price and the various Disney/Hulu/ ESPN bundles will also experience price hikes. And we haven't even gotten to the direct-to-consumer ESPN stuff yet. So what are we paying for all this nonsense while writers and actors are currently striking over unfair deals? It's actually staggering to look at all the numbers stacked on top of each other. How many streaming services subscriptions do you currently have? How many passwords are you sharing? (Keeping in mind streamers are now focused on cracking down.) Are you missing out on anything because you refuse to pay for another service? Have you, a savvy cord-cutter, ever actually considered how much you could be spending on a monthly basis to stay up to date on all the most popular movies and television shows? And is it even worth it? CURRENT STREAMING SERVICE PRICESNetflix: Ads $6.99, Basic $9.99, Standard $15.49, Premium $19.99Peacock: Ad-supported "Premium" $4.99, Ad-Free "Premium Plus" $9.99Paramount+: Ads $4.99, No Ads $9.99 ($49.99 / $99.99 annually)Amazon Prime: $14.99 (comes with free 2-day shipping) ($139.00 annually)AppleTV: $6.99Max (Formerly HBO Max): Ads $9.99 ($99.99 annually), Ad-Free $15.99 ($149.99 annually)Hulu: Ads $7.99, Ad-free $14.99 (plus the Live TV option for $69.99)Disney+: $7.99 / $10.99ESPN+: $9.99 ($99.99 annually)Hulu / Disney+: Ads $9.99Hulu / Disney+ / ESPN+ bundle: Ads $12.99, Ad-Free $19.99 ($82.99)Showtime: $10.99Starz: $8.99MGM+ (formerly Epix): $5.99 ($49.99 annually)Discovery+: $4.99, $6.99AMC+: $8.99 monthly, $83.88 annuallyThe good news is that you have $4.99 that freed up when Quibi went out of business ($6.99 if you were ad-free!). The bad news is that Walt Disney wants that money now. All of it. ESPN+ is going up a dollar. Disney and Hulu are going up $3. Hulu with live TV is going to increase $7 in October. So currently, for $101.88 you can have Netflix, Peacock, Paramount, Prime, Apple, Max, Hulu, Disney, ESPN, Showtime, Stars, MGM, Discovery, and AMC with a varying amount of ads. Or splurge for $139.88 without any ads. It's $202.88 if you want to add Hulu's Live TV option. Not that Hulu is your only option…YouTubeTV is $72.99 a month, plus $349 annually for NFL Sunday Ticket. DirecTV Stream starts at $69.99. Philo starts at $25. Then you've got all the "local" cable providers. SlingTV has two packages available for $40 or you can combine them for $55 a month. Fubo TV is available for $74.99, $84.99 or $94.99 depending on how many channels you want. You know, plus basic cable which gets you access to all the live television (and sports!) you can handle, but doesn't give you access to any of the prestige television shows being produced on the streamers. This is a la carte on steroids. Too many things for everyone to see or discuss. Too many choices to narrow down what's really worth your time. Too much money and not enough time to see it all. The good news is that a lot of these streamers are going to fail or merge. The bad news is that they're just going to combine prices so it's one budget line instead of two. There honestly looks like there's no way out for consumers.
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Chelsea hold Colwill cards amid Liverpool interest
According to former Liverpool Echo and Goal.com journalist Neil Jones, Liverpool s reported interest in Chelsea defender Levi Colwill is genuine, but the London Blues are the ones who hold all the cards in this matter.
The 20-year-old is contracted to Chelsea until the summer of 2025, which obviously means there s no rush for the club to sell him, but it s expected he ll be offered a new deal on improved terms soon.
Colwill s fantastic displays at the just-finished UEFA Euro Under-21, where he helped England lift the trophy, will have only increased the attention he s been getting.
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Spurs sign Manor Solomon on free transfer
Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed that they ve completed the …
AC Milan must navigate a tricky route through the Europa League group stage after surviving a dramatic play-off.
Stefano Pioli s team will face Celtic, a team they have frequently battled with in the Champions League, along with Sparta Prague and French club Lille in Group H.
Milan looked like being eliminated on Thursday until a last-ditch spot-kick in extra-time against Portuguese side Rio Ave gave them a 2-2 draw, and the Rossoneri went on to win 9-8 on penalties after a lengthy shoot-out.
They have been regular foes of Celtic in the Champions League, with the teams drawn to face each other in four seasons from 2004-05 to 2013-14, and Milan also lost to Lille in that competition during the 2006-07 group stage.
A 2-0 setback against the Ligue 1 side d…
Jose Mourinho took pride in Tottenham s historical victory at Manchester United and said the Red Devils had no solutions to control us in a 6-1 rout at Old Trafford.
United shambled their way to their joint-worst home Premier League defeat despite taking a 1-0 lead with a second-minute Bruno Fernandes penalty.
Harry Kane and Son Heung-min each scored twice, while Tanguy Ndombele and Serge Aurier were also on target against United, who had Anthony Martial sent off at 2-1.
It meant a very happy return for former United boss Mourinho and the Portuguese was effusive in his praise of his rampant side.
Manchester United doesn t lose many matches, to lose by six is of course not every day, Mourinho told Sky Sports.
[It s a] historical victory but in th…
Mikel Arteta is hoping he will be left talking about football after his Arsenal side take on Sevilla in Spain on Tuesday.
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr was allegedly racially abused during Saturday’s LaLiga clash at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium.
Vinicius later took to social media to praise staff in the ground for ejecting a fan and reporting him to the authorities.
The Brazilian then said he had also seen footage of abuse being aimed at him from a child, posting on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Congratulations to Sevilla for their quick positioning and punishment in yet another sad episode for Spanish football.
Parabéns ao Sevilla pelo rápido posicionamento e pela punição em mais um triste episódio para o futebol espanhol.
Infeli…
Marc Albrighton has signed a new three-year extension with Leicester City, the club announced on Friday.
Albrighton, 31, featured 42 times across all competitions last term as Brendan Rodgers men secured their first ever FA Cup win by defeating Chelsea in May.
The midfielder, who has racked up 253 appearances at the club, joined from Aston Villa in 2014 and played a key role in the Foxes unlikely Premier League title win under Claudio Ranieri in 2015-16.
Speaking to the club s media after extending his contract, Albrighton said: I m delighted. Obviously, it s a club that is progressing every single year. It s a fantastic club with the people here and the direction that they re going – it s great to be a part of.
I have always been the type of player …
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has had a greater impact on Italian football than Cristiano Ronaldo, according to former Milan and Juventus head coach Alberto Zaccheroni.
The 39-year-old has made a considerable impact since rejoining Milan in January, scoring 11 goals in 20 appearances in the second half of the 2019-20 campaign.
He has been in equally impressive form this season despite missing almost a month after contracting COVID-19, taking his tally to four goals in just two games with a double against Inter at the weekend.
One of the best strikers of his generation, Ibrahimovic spent two years with Milan earlier in his distinguished career, a stint that included securing the Serie A title in 2011.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, has been just as prolific since he join…
Mounting what was a thrilling comeback on Saturday afternoon, Tottenham clinched a late 3-1 victory against Crystal Palace.
Left frustrated on either side of the half-time break and failing to find any kind of fluidity in the final third, fans in north London were left stunned as Eberechi Eze produced a sublime free-kick just before the hour mark.
However, while the Eagles might have been minutes away from securing a first away victory against Tottenham since February 2016, Ange Postecoglou’s men mounted a dramatic comeback on home soil.
With ex-Chelsea striker Timo Werner notching his first Spurs goal after tapping home from close range in the 77th minute, the floodgates quickly opened as Christian Romero and Heung-Min Son completed a late charge in the capit…
Best Odds: 10/11
Bookmaker:
Simply looking to widen their buffer at the top of the Serie A standings, Inter Milan will welcome Empoli to the San Siro on Monday night.
Inter Milan
Starting with the hosts, while Inter Milan might have suffered Champions League heartbreak earlier in the month as they watched their European adventure come to an end at the hands of Atletico Madrid, the Nerrazzuri are in the midst of an iconic domestic romp. Heading into March’s international break holding a remarkable 14-point buffer at the top of the table, the Italian heavyweights will simply be looking to make another statement here. Continuing to receive a string of praise and breezing their way to a 20th Serie A crown in 2024. Suffering just a single defeat from any of their …
Paris Saint-Germain head coach Mauricio Pochettino insisted Kylian Mbappe s below-par display was not solely to blame for Sunday s 2-0 defeat against Monaco.
In-form Monaco upset Ligue 1 champions PSG in a blow to their title hopes as the Parisians slipped four points behind leaders Lille with 12 games remaining.
PSG have already lost six Ligue 1 games this season, their worst tally in a single campaign since the beginning of the Qatar Sports Investment (QSI) era in 2011/-2, and their worst since the 2010-11 campaign (eight).
Mbappe grabbed global headlines in midweek with his hat-trick against Barcelona in the Champions League but Monaco put extra work into minimising his impact in the French capital.
Pochettino, though, leapt to the defence of Mbappe …
Best Odds: 8/13
Bookmaker:
Looking to make it three qualifying victories on the spin this weekend, the Netherlands will travel to Dublin on Sunday night when they meet Ireland.
Ireland
Starting with the hosts, while Ireland might have signed off June’s international break with a much-needed 3-0 romp against Gibraltar, it appears that might have just been a minor boost for Stephen Kenny’s squad. Although the Greens might have opened their European Championship qualifying adventure earlier in the year with their sights firmly set on clinching a top-two finish, it is no secret that Ireland are enduring a real Group B struggle this time around. Marking their return to action on Thursday night as they were eventually hit with a 2-0 loss at the hands of European …