Hey there! I’m Jared Newman, and this is Cord Cutter Weekly, my newsletter on how to save money on TV and make the most of streaming. Sign up here if someone shared this newsletter with you.
No more Paramount+ for free. What’s next?
Jared Newman | 
Here’s a funny thing I can talk about now that it’s finally over: For the past few years, a sizeable group of folks were getting Paramount+ for free with no hassles.
Those in my little tech community affectionately referred to this as the “Paramount+ Pit.” No one knew exactly how it happened, but after cancelling the service, some users found that they retained ongoing access with no charges on their credit cards. This happened to me with two different email addresses, and I’ve heard from 10 other readers that experienced the same phenomenon. Another 15 commenters on the Doctor of Credit website say the same thing happened to them.
But last week, the free Paramount+ Pit party unceremoniously ended, and those who’d been getting Paramount+ for free started seeing prompts to pay up. Tough timing, too, as Paramount had just ended a promo that offered two months for $1 per month—though it’s hard to complain after three years of free service.
I bring this up not merely to clown on Paramount, but to bring up a broader point about the state of streaming TV. While streamers were once happy to look the other way on various free or cheap loopholes in the name of growth, now they’re getting serious about turning a profit with regularly-paying customers.
Read about what to expect next →
Weekly rewind
More ATSC 3.0 DRM issues: SiliconDust is a small company whose HDHomeRun TV tuners provide a neat service. By plugging an HDHomeRun into your router with any over-the-air antenna, you can stream local channels to HDHomeRun’s app on various streaming platforms. With a desktop PC, you can also record local channels using HDHomeRun’s DVR software or third-party options such as Plex and Channels DVR.
For the past five years, HDHomeRun has offered tuners that support ATSC 3.0, the next-gen broadcast standard that allows for higher-quality video and audio, but there’s a problem: Many broadcasters now protect their ATSC 3.0 channels with digital rights management, and HDHomeRun systems can’t decrypt them. Over the years, SiliconDust has faced seemingly endless obstacles in trying to get its tuners approved for DRM channels.
Now, Matthew Keys reports on a new obstacle, which sounds insurmountable: A3SA, the group that governs DRM for ATSC 3.0, says that because HDHomeRun tuners use a chip made by Huawei, they simply aren’t eligible to decrypt ATSC 3.0 channels at all. (The FCC deemed Huawei a “national security threat” in 2020.)
SiliconDust is an American company, and I doubt that its hardware presents any kind of threat. But either way, why didn’t A3SA bring this up years ago? HDHomeRun tuners with ATSC 3.0 support have been available since 2020. If Huawei chips were disqualifying from the start, that would have been useful information for all involved.
From where I’m sitting, it seems like the goalposts for whole-home, ATSC 3.0 DVR are constantly moving, which is exactly why over-the-air TV shouldn’t have DRM to begin with. This gives broadcasters the final say on what consumers can do with content on public airwaves, and they’re stifling innovation as a result.
Comcast’s new bundle plan: Comcast has launched its own store for streaming services, allowing Xfinity customers to put everything under one billing system. That in itself is not particularly interesting—Amazon, Roku, YouTube, and others already have similar subscription marketplaces—but Comcast says it plans to let customers tie multiple subscriptions together at a discount.
Already, Comcast offers a “StreamSaver” bundle that includes Netflix (with ads), Peacock (with ads), and Apple TV+ for $15 per month. The company aims to add more discounted bundles later this year. I like the idea, but Verizon tried to do something similar with its +play marketplace and gave up on the endeavor last month, so we’ll see if Comcast fares any better.
More catch-up
- Here’s my hands-on with tvOS 26, the next big Apple TV software update that includes a big push for individual user profiles.
- Speaking of Apple TV, here’s a clever way to quickly toggle closed captions.
- Paramount will pay $1.5 billion for South Park streaming rights. (It was on HBO Max until June.)
- If you pay extra for Spectrum’s expanded cloud DVR service, it now includes unlimited storage.
Save more money
This section of the newsletter has some affiliate links, which earn me a commission if you wind up paying for something.
Here’s your last call for a discount on NFL Sunday Ticket. New customers can sign up by the end of July to get the full season for $276 (split up into eight monthly payments), down from the usual $480. Returning subscribers may get an offer for $336 if auto-renewal is off, but your mileage may vary.
Other notable deals:
- Apple TV+: You can still use this link to get three months free. If that doesn’t work, try this link to get one month instead.
- Walmart Onn 4K Pro streaming box is still on sale for $45. Great product, which I reviewed last year.
As always, you can see a full list of streaming deals on the Cord Cutter Weekly website.
Thanks for reading!
Got cord cutting questions or comments? Send me an email and I’ll do my best to answer.
Until next week,
Jared