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.
Heads up: Cord Cutter Weekly will likely be off next week as I’ll be on vacation with my family. If I send something, it’ll be short.
The gloomy realities of Fox acquiring Roku
Jared Newman | 
Fox is planning to buy Roku for $22 billion, and a lot of folks are already preparing for the worst.
I’ve already received a half-dozen questions from readers about Roku alternatives to consider. Meanwhile, a couple of the top posts on the cord cutting sub-Reddit include a headline calling it a “disaster” for streaming and a thread discussing what to use instead.
While these mergers seldom work in consumers’ favor, there’s also a lot of hyperbole going around about what will happen next. I can help you consider some Roku alternatives, but you should also be realistic about what switching will accomplish.
Prime Day streaming deals
This part of the newsletter has some affiliate links, which earn me a commission if you wind up buying or subscribing to something.
It’s a big week for streaming deals with Amazon’s Prime Day coming up.
Let’s start with Walmart+, which is half-off at $49 for one year. This includes your choice of either Peacock Premium or Paramount+ Essential, and you can switch between them every three months. (AARP members can also take $40 off Walmart+, but I’ve heard mixed results on whether these discounts stack together.)
HBO Max: We’ve also got a rare deal on HBO Max annual plans, including a year of Basic With Ads for $79, a year of Standard (no ads) for $133, and a year of Premium (with 4K) for $165. See those offers here.
Meanwhile, Amazon is offering a bunch of discounted subscriptions via Prime Video as expected. These are billed through Amazon, accessed via the Prime Video app, and must be cancelled through Amazon as well. Some highlights:
- Apple TV: $6 per month for two months.
- Paramount+ Premium: $1 per month for two months
- Starz: $1 per month for two months.
- MGM+: $1 per month for two months or $31 for one year.
- AMC+ (Ad-Free): $1 per month for two months or $55 for one year.
- BritBox: $1 per month for two months or $77 for one year.
- Acorn TV: $1 per month for two months or $50 for one year.
- Hallmark+: $1 per month for two months or $40 for one year.
Yes, I try to avoid subscriptions through Amazon most of the time, but it’s worth making an exception for actual savings on a a service you want. The sale runs through June 26, and I’ve got a full list of offers here.
Other notable deals:
- Paramount+: Still $1 per month for two months of Premium, but now it’s for both new and returning subscribers. No promo code needed.
- MLB.TV: The usual Father’s Day deal brings the price to $60 for the remaining season, half-off the previous partial-season price.
- Apple TV: If my usual free month link doesn’t work, try this one instead. (New and returning subscribers only.)
- Fire TV Stick 4K for $25, 4K Max for $35.
As always, I keep a full list of active streaming deals on the Cord Cutter Weekly website.
Weekly rewind
It was a pretty slow news week for streaming outside of the Fox-Roku bombshell, so let’s just do a quick roundup:
- Et tu, Philo? Now you’ll see ads when you pause a video.
- You can sign up for Netflix through Spectrum now, but it won’t save you any money.
- Netflix reportedly considered buying Roku too, but says it didn’t make a bid.
- Hulu stops offering free trials to new customers.
- Roku makes over-the-air channels easier to find again on its smart TVs.
This week in Advisorator: I just wrapped up a trio of in-depth guides to freeing up storage space, on your phone, on your computer, and in Google Drive/Photos/Gmail. Advisorator members get advice like this every week, and you can learn more here.
Thanks for reading!
As noted, I probably won’t publish Cord Cutter Weekly next week as I’ll be on vacation with my family and won’t be writing a column. If I send one, it’ll be on the short side. Feel free to send questions in the meantime.
Until next time,
Jared