Paid streamers like Spotify and Netflix are costing Kiwi's hundreds. Why not give free streaming a go? Photo / NZHerald
Kiwis are spending almost $400 a year on TV service subscriptions according to recent data from Westpac. Add on sport subscriptions, music streaming and paid podcasts and getting your entertainment fix isn’t cheap.
But there are also plenty of free options available that you might have missed and, depending on your preferences, could save you a bit of cash. Mitchell Hageman went streaming free for a week and found some hidden gems.
Netflix, Prime, Spotify, and even Sky Sport - they’re great to have, but as I’ve found out, price hikes and fees put a dent in the wallet.
Upon calculation, I spend about $120 on streaming music and movies per month, depending on whether I opt for ads or not. That maths was a wake-up call.
While I’m happy to pay for these services, as watching and listening to lots of different content helps me in my role as an entertainment reporter, I was also curious: are there any ways to save money while still getting the same experience?
Could all the free streaming options New Zealand had to offer be a suitable replacement?
And are there some hidden gems on these that will stop me craving my nightly HBO or Netflix fix?
So I went hunting for answers. Here’s how my week without using a paid streaming service went.
In what was a happy coincidence, streaming apps were down for most of the night anyway because of the major Amazon Web Services outage, impacting everything from Netflix to SkyGo.
While I couldn’t use Spotify for my daily 5km run, streaming YouTube Music for free was actually great because there were plenty of drum and bass - and other alternative music - mixes that I hadn’t come across on paid streaming platforms.
Tomorrow, I’ll give Soundcloud a try, as it has fewer ads and will likely load faster on 5G than YouTube.
When it came to TV, most services were back up and running by the time I sat down to watch, including the free TVNZ+.
Amazingly, my favourite comedy, Seinfeld, currently has its own dedicated channel (it’s no longer available on paid platforms Prime Video or Netflix in New Zealand), so it was a bonus that I could stream it free-to-air.
Despite ads, and having to essentially watch on the half hour to catch a full episode, the quality was fantastic, and great for an easy watch before bed.
TVNZ+ also has plenty of other films and TV series you can’t get (or have to pay for) on other paid streaming services, like Paul Thomas Anderson’s modern cult classic Licorice Pizza and The Office sequel The Paper.
Because I reviewed James Blunt at Spark Arena, my streaming time was limited (besides the occasional streaming of tears at the concert, of course). But as someone who doesn’t often listen to podcasts, I thought I’d give that a go in the car on the drive home instead of a playlist. IHeartRadio has some great free podcasts and is free to sign up for.
After my colleague’s recent interview with her, I decided to try Paula Bennett’s Ask Me Anything, which was thoroughly enjoyable, particularly when hearing Bennett speak about her past political tenure in Sir John Key’s Cabinet.
I’d also seen The Morning Shift and their antics on TikTok previously, so I gave their podcast a go. This was a great time filler, and good if you want something light and breezy to keep you entertained on a drive home.
Sick of the constant ads on YouTube, I opted to try out online streaming platform Soundcloud for my evening run.
This was much easier than YouTube Music, and still contained a great selection of up-and-coming artists to try out, despite having a little less mainstream content.
I’d never really listened to Kiwi artist BAYNK, but his driving electronic beats were perfect for my hill climbs.
That night, I had a gander at what was on offer on ThreeNow, and it turns out it was the perfect place to get my reality TV fix.
As a former ‘Blockhead’, it was too hard to resist binging last year’s Phillip Island season of The Block Australia before the latest one starts in a few weeks.
ThreeNow also has some hidden gems when it comes to films. DC Superhero hit The Batman, which is available with a paid subscription via Neon, can be viewed for free (with ads) on ThreeNow, and the cult classic Scooby Doo live-action films, which are on Netflix, are also available.
The season finale of The Boys spinoff Gen V was on Prime Video tonight but instead, I took advice from my colleagues on some free alternatives.
One suggested Beamafilm, a free streaming service that anyone with an Auckland Library card can access. While you won’t find the usual recent blockbusters, there are plenty of deep cuts, including Geoffrey Rush’s Oscar-winning film Shine and Jane Campion’s NZ thriller series Top Of The Lake.
The other suggestion was NZ On Screen, a non-profit resource with an incredible archive of Kiwi-made content dating back to the early days of television (when we still had Goodnight Kiwi!).
You can view full episodes of shows, short films, and documentaries, as well as explore helpful biographies and film history write-ups.
From episodes of the Topp Twins’ classic series to Billy T James concerts and the life-and-times of Temuera Morrison, there’s no shortage of nostalgia.
I normally watch the A-League and Premier League football games on SkyGo on Fridays, but I opted instead to see what was happening on Fifa+ for my football fix.
The free streaming service taps into both Fifa-officiated friendlies and historic World Cup games, as well as homegrown matches from the Dettol National League.
TVNZ+ also has rights to selected sports events and games streaming for free, and cricket tragics are in luck if they want to watch the Black Caps or White Ferns this season, as their home games are streaming live all summer.
Streaming for free has plenty of benefits, particularly when it comes to content that isn’t on many of the other major streaming providers.
The range is wide, but you may run into a bit of trouble when trying to find the likes of HBO content, because of the strong agreements the paid streamers have.
It was also nice to experiment with lesser-known and older films and TV series through the likes of Beafilm and NZ On Screen, making me watch something that I wouldn’t normally watch.
While advertisements were a bit of a pain, many paid subscription services also have them, so in essence, you aren’t any worse off.
Streaming music was a little harder, but you can make it work if you have a good data plan and a good internet service in your area.
If you’re tight on your budget, open to new experiences, and love Kiwi-made content, going subs-free is definitely worth your while.
Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.