Thousands of people have cancelled subscription services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
With rising costs, people are cutting back on their expenses with the €8.99 monthly subscriptions services taking a hit.
Almost a million people in the UK have ditched some of the most popular streaming sites between January to September this year.
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New data from insights company Kantar shows that the number of UK homes with at least one paid-for account has dropped by over 900,000 in that eight-month period as people try to cut down on monthly bills, the Express reports.
Dominic Sunnebo, the global insight director at Kantar's worldpanel division, said: "There are a number of dynamics at play in the market, such as the cost of living crisis and subsequent ‘cord-cutting’, as well as a degree of ‘content fatigue."
Cancelling your subscription services means you may miss out on your favourite programmes, such as Stranger Things, House of the Dragon and more. But if you still want to spend your evenings and weekends binge-watching without the hefty price tag, there are a number of free apps you can turn to for entertainment.
Peacock
Peacock is a streaming service that is owned and operated by America's NBC and is one of the latest streaming services to launch in Ireland.
It is being offered for free, with ads, to Irish customers of Sky TV or NOW.
Peacock offers both original shows as well as existing content from NBC’s vast library of titles. Some of the shows you can watch on Peacock include Downton Abbey, Suits, Superstore, and The Office.
All 4
All 4 is the ad-supported streaming service from Channel 4 and is available in Ireland for free by everyone.
Viewers can download the app for free and watch on their phone or tablet, or view on the web at channel4.com.
There are some great shows available to watch in Channel 4's archive including It's a Sin, Derry Girls, Catastrophe, Gogglebox, This Way Up, The Inbetweeners and many more.
Other free apps
If you can't find anything to watch on these apps, there are plenty of other alternatives. Rakuten TV and Pluto TV can easily be tuned into by heading to their websites or by downloading the official apps. On-demand content and a range of live channels are available on both sites.
With Rakuten TV, you'll be able to find dedicated channels for movies, children's content like Teletubbies, documentaries and more. This is in addition to on-demand content like the Oscar-winning The Big Short and Hollywood rom-com Love And Other Drugs, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway.
Pluto TV also has a varied selection of on-demand options that range from boxsets like Skins and Geordie Shore, to cult classic films like J-horror Ringu, hit 90s comedy Empire Records, and much more.
Dedicated channels also air popular shows non-stop like Baywatch, CSI Miami, Mythbusters, Kim's Convenience, Location, Location, Location and much more. And since all of these apps are free, you've got nothing to lose from having a browse and seeing what you can find.
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