Why Consumers Are Cancelling Subscriptions to Services Like Netflix | WSJ Your Money Briefing

After signing up for numerous monthly subscriptions during the pandemic, many Americans are canceling those services to save money.
WSJ’s Rachel Wolfe joins host J.R. Whalen with more.
0:00 Why Americans have built up so many subscriptions
1:02 What's caused people to reevaluate their spending on subscriptions?
2:06 Why it’s easy to lose track of what you’re paying for
2:47 Services or tools like Subscribe Up to help manage recurring payments
4:55 What companies like BarkBox are doing to change negative sentiment behind subscriptions
Your Money Briefing
WSJ's personal-finance podcast features the news that affects your money and what you do with it, breaking down complicated money questions from spending and saving to investing and taxes.
For more episodes of WSJ's Your Money Briefing: link.chtbl.com/WSJYourMoneyBr... Money Briefing
WSJ's personal-finance podcast features the news that affects your money and what you do with it, breaking down complicated money questions from spending and saving to investing and taxes.
For more episodes of WSJ's Your Money Briefing: link.chtbl.com/WSJYourMoneyBr...
#Subscription #Subscribe #WSJ

[@recocer]

Would be great if the WSJ allowed subscribers to cancel online instead of having to wait on the phone.

[@dickriggles942]

That's why I don't even touch the free subscriptions anymore. I had a nasty encounter last time with an overseas call center agent. Not worth it anymore.

[@TheGioGiol]

HAHAHAHAH🤣

[@sov19871987]

You can read any article online via your library, never need a subscription to news agency 🎉

[@amatvkhmer]

What are the benefits of services such as Netflix?

[@Neitherandboth]

Oh yea! 😂

[@infinite_vortex]

Getting rid of almost all my subscriptions was one of the best tech choices I made in recent years. I'd also recommend if you KNOW you want and can afford a subscription, pay the annual price instead of monthly. In most cases, you save 1-3 months the cost if you were to pay monthly.

[@maxjames00077]

I prefer having at least 10 subscriptions. But not over 30.

[@thechosenone1533]

That's only when you are sure you will use it for the whole year. If you have something like streaming you will be better off taking say Netflix for one month and HBO the next rather than both at once.

[@infinite_vortex]

@@thechosenone1533 exactly. For instance, I only paid for HBO Max monthly during The Last of Us and immediately cancelled.

[@Zebra66]

Netflix prices went up while quality and choice went down. Not surprising that they lose customers.

[@briancarroll0]

Audibly laughed when he said some companies make it hard for consumers to cancel. Insert the WSJ

[@stevenirby5576]

So true, I've been getting rid of tons of subscriptions lately.

[@artagain8977]

Seriously, if Netflix has one more price increase I’m done.

[@ACOEuroStudio]

Agree back in 2008 was $8 and over the years come to $20. Nothing great in their library anymore most great shows I watched aren’t even available anymore lol

[@mushymellow2]

Isn't that what you told yourself last time? Just rip the bandaid off and cancel. There aren't enough good shows/movies on Netflix to warrant the current price.

[@artagain8977]

@@mushymellow2 no, it’s not what I told myself last time.

[@br.3250]

Buckle up

[@MH-YouTube-Controlled]

I cancelled Netflix when I noticed it was mostly dubbed foreign movies and 80's/90's reruns. The thing is my money was fresh.

[@ClaxtonBay123]

She didn't know classpass was charging her every single month over 5 years up to $5,000? I call BS

[@benjamindover4337]

I saw my friends cable bill.. so many premium channel fees. I asked her why she pays for all this stuff she doesn't even use. She told me "oh i get all those for free". Of course thats what the sales person told her three years ago. Despite the itimized bill stating the charges clearly, she didn't understand the concept of it being free for a limited time.

[@AKAAAK]

Lots of naive people in this world that have no clue where their money is going or what they are paying for on a monthly basis. Mindless baboons.

[@sakizaky9270]

Right thats about 83 a month. I would have cancelled it on the second month

[@shanethomas2280]

Services like Netflix serve a temporary, fleeting desire for entertainment. Specifically for streaming, rotating services based upon the shows you consume is an old habit, similar to how some consumers would pare down cable packages after sports seasons. If everything can be watched within a month or two, then you don't necessarily need to keep the subscription until next year if you've moved on to other content on other platforms. It's why KZbin is the #1 content consumption platform because there's constant content cycling.

[@maxjames00077]

No it's because it's free LOL. Who wouldn't use Netflix if it was free

[@Raiya_ru17]

It’s okay to keep these subscriptions if you are sharing the bill with someone. I share it with 2 other people and we pay less than 4USD each month. I am fine keeping it knowing that someone will maximize using it even if I rarely use it. Well, we are canceling tho once password sharing charges start lol. With other subscriptions, I basically alter HBO and Disney. With Spotify, I have option to buy discounted voucher for monthly subscription.

[@Aninram1985]

I canceled Netflix and Disney+ because the content started getting weird, too much questionable sexual stuff targeted at kids, and things that felt race-baitey or unnecessarily political instead of good entertainment. If I want a lecture, I'll go to church.

[@ddc2343d]

The subscription fatigue is real! Everyone wants to nickel and dime you for everything from tv and movies to games and software. I've gone back to only purchasing software rather than subscribing to it. Lots of my friends have gone back to just downloading content rather than subscribing to 5-8 different services.

[@midlife_minimalist]

This is the reason I’m still using Quicken from 2016 for tracking expenses. I don’t want another subscription or even another “free” account.

[@shmookins]

How come many subscription services, like Netflix, don't have an annual tier? It seems logical that these companies want to lock in customers for longer. If you only offer monthly fees, it is tempting for people to switch to other providers or skip a few months.

[@benjamindover4337]

Take a drink every time someone says DURING THE PANDEMIC

[@stoundingresults]

🍻

[@dac33nr58]

Subscriptions are like vampires slowly sucking your funds dry.

[@MH-YouTube-Controlled]

Precisely and next in line is car payments.

[@midlife_minimalist]

I always say it’s death by a 1000 $10, $20, $30 per month charges. Carries over to home services too if you have those - like yard treatment, termite, security, HVAC maintenance….

[@mshark2205]

The best strategy is to rotate. While Netflix usually dumps the whole season on day 1, it’s easy to binge through in, say, a week. Then finish other shows and movies like this and cancel. It’s trickier with like HBO with their weekly episode releases. If you can wait and skip social media or water cooler discussions, then wait until the full season is released, binge and leave. So basically one service per month rotation should work.

[@andrewsilva6856]

Really?

[@AnnaSneddon]

The worst offender that I've come across is NYT. They make you jump through so many hoops to unsubscribe. It cannot be done easily, you have to call in or open a "chat", and basically convince the customer service rep that you def want to unsubscribe.

[@shmookins]

That's annoying and should be illegal. unsubscribing should be as easy as subscribing. You just click a button and you are out. Being difficult leaves a bad taste for your customers and that is negative for business. Try to attract people and make them want to do business with no as opposed of trapping them and tricking them.

[@mikesmith4352]

A good reminder to visit my subscriptions and see what I no longer need. I have all recurring payments on a credit card, which makes me forget what I am paying for but do review the charges when I pay it each month

[@Elena-er7zp]

Whenever I need to cancal my WSJ subscription, I pack a lunch.

[@eofotos]

Instead of subscription based model, what all these companies should do is incentivised monthly renewals.A simple 10% off the monthly service fee each time the customer chooses to pay the monthly fee the following month. If a month is skipped nothing is charged and when the customer want to use the service again the monthly fee is what they would have to pay. this eliminates the cancelation and resubscribing thing which is lame, yet is an incentive for those who want to keep using the service month after month. Also as long as the customer is in the system, offers or specials can be offered to incentivize the customer to add another month if they want to take advantage of a deal. the business model can then move from how many subscribers a company has back to the amount of sales they have. Just an idea..

[@johnqpublic9074]

What all these services fail to understand is customers need to see value for their money. When the Netflix catalog is different depending on where you live people feel cheated, that mixed with changing terms, encouraged me to cancel.

[@importantname]

I cancelled netflix because there are better service providers. And even after 3 or 4 months before resubscription there is only 1 or 2 new movies added that are worth watching. Meaning I might subscribe for 1 month every six or 7 months.

[@cl502004]

Guys be proud of me, I canceled my Panera Subscription!

[@TinLeadHammer]

The topic of software subscriptions was not even mentioned.

[@JJs_playground]

Why don't you do these videos as videochats?

[@DharamSookram]

WSJ missed a HUGE opportunity here to tell listeners about services that can help you find what subscriptions you have (that you may not have remembered)

[@MH-YouTube-Controlled]

I have that service, it's called BankStatement.

[@shmookins]

@@MH-KZbin-Controlled account text messages from the bank are a godsend. I get an immediate text message anytime any money goes in or out.

[@michaeldougherty8344]

Agree with this so much. Thank you

[@TinLeadHammer]

I canceled Netflix streaming because it lost the shows I watched, and I don't care for their in-house productions. Then I canceled Netflix DVD because there are very few new movies I wanted to watch, and I can buy used DVDs on garage sales or thrift stores for $1-$3, and I don't watch TV that often.

[@djp1234]

I avoid subscriptions like the plague.

[@BongaChonga]

Tried to un-sub from Netflix by never giving them updated payment info, months later I find out my bank had given Netflix access to my account without telling me and had been paying max amount the whole time. Thanks German American Bank.

[@itsjeninMass]

OMG. I would switch banks! That's unacceptable!

[@ebbaakerlunddrawsprophetmu5756]

So what actions did you take to get your money back

[@jaydibernardo4320]

I have two; KZbin Premium at $11.99 & 24 Hour Fitness $29.99. That's all I need.

[@K4R3N]

$1 saved (not spent) is $1.25 earned (before taxes!)

[@thyagarajesh184]

Subscription to online services is no different from gym membership which Americans have been paying for decades while not going to gym for months or years.

[@earlybird9679]

Yeah, but the BigGuy administration hasn't been in office over all those decades. And now that he is, his economy is putting a choke-hold on everyone's wallet.

[@Matthew-rp3jf]

Its almost like we are in a recession....

[@musak.4068]

According to emperor JPOW that mild recession will hit later in the year.

[@ashrocks8443]

Consumers are laying off subscription services

[@lopezjuan316jl]

I spend 22’96€ in subscriptions + 20€ in NGOs. That’s a lot because I’m a student. If I had to choose the last one standing would be Apple Music because I listen to a lot of Music and I can’t stand ads What I do is estimate what I can spend in food and having that money on cash. For example, right now I know that I can only go out one time for breakfast (cheap) If I have money left after eating healthy food at home I save it or spend it in something I really want

[@K4R3N]

Yeah cancelled my Netflix, don't miss it. Spending more time outside and with friends/family

[@stephanbateman5410]

Due to domestic austerity measures I found that when I went through my bank avvount I had a number of products such as these. I was happy to cancel them all.

[@JoeKnowsWorst]

Meanwhile after the industry acted like the world was over when Netflix lost subscribers for the first time ever, that was already shown to be worrying for nothing.. unfortunately when it’s your job to analyze everything, you make too much out of the smallest things!

[@nwatson2773]

I cancelled all my subscriptions. I watch everything free online. YOu can also buy an antenna and get free local channels on you tV.

[@bryanpascual3543]

I’m binge watching all S3 of Mandalorian within a month of Disney+ subscription then cancel it after that

[@EmilSosnin]

For me "cuties" was the final straw.

[@homelesseconomist]

Inflation is normalized price gouging and it should be met with boycotts

[@joshuawvoss]

It’s cause we all lost our jobs and we can’t afford them

[@ulasyildirim8242]

Revuto is solving these problems.

[@ikmarchini]

Great visuals.

[@itsjeninMass]

I use Privacy, and I sign up for trials with a single-use card, and then I close it before they can charge me.

[@macnet83]

What about calling it subscription fatigue? Coining it

[@ronaldolamont]

I actually laughed out loud when it was mentioned that a woman actually expected to get her money back from class pass because she forgot that she was paying for the subscription! What a joke! 😂 If your not keeping up with your subscriptions, to me, you must not be that hard pressed for money if you've got reoccurring payments deducted from you bank account and your not aware of it for long periods of time! There's absolutely no excuse for that, and you certainly can't blame the merchant for your mistake in forgetting about them! 😂

[@Sports.Examined]

Ironically WSJ is one of the hardest subscriptions to cancel 🙃

[@jbar_85]

The reason why people are canceling their subscriptions is because they’re looking for ways to save money. Period. A lot of people are broke and this doesn’t include the idiots that pay 1k a month for a car they cannot afford. 😂

[@The-Rain-Ninja]

Spring and Summer is coming and people want to be with friends and outside too.

[@martinphillips4567]

The reason people are canceled there subscriber is the economy is terrible mismanage (democratic are in charge) money 💰 is becoming harder for them to manage. I as a consumer are watching every dime I spend.

[@TinLeadHammer]

I wonder what is your native language.

[@bdh711]

I only have spotify, my phone bill, icloud (which I will get rid of soon) and my yoga studio

[@K4R3N]

Before you type in your credit card info ask yourself...."do I really need this in my life?" And sleep on it see how your feel about it in the morning

[@jon6309]

I will be canceling my annual Disney Plus subscription. I may subscribe again once the new Star Wars series are released. Just waiting to end Mandalorian Season 3.

[@starrwinter]

…because we need to eat. Solved the question for you 😂

[@amatvkhmer]

What are the benefits of services such as Netflix?

[@mrbasalt8553]

They don't assume you remember but do it on purpose.

[@sentinel151]

No one actually likes subscriptions.

[@hectormanuel8360]

This uploaded after WBD announced Max for $20

[@bigzgaming9487]

These topics are usually so interesting, but the host and guests sound so scripted. It’s like a rehearsed podcast where they each know what they’re gonna say next

[@adiposerex5150]

I will not cancel my subs of Amazon Prime or KZbin.

[@auro1986]

why? busy in lot of work so no time to watch all movies in netflix

[@cilldublin07]

cancelled netflix at 8.99 euro a month. was nothing on it and was barely watching anymore

[@bricee75]

This is KZbin not radio. Turn your camera on. Everytime I see this type of video I watch something else.

[@catalindeluxus8545]

Should also talk about cancelling Prime, but WSJ is owned by Amazon

[@firestarter1888]

Spoiler: They broke AF

[@_TopG]

Brokies

[@Cyno7]

Ikr- before watching the vid, I was going to say... uh inflation, high IR and these subscription services are luxuries. Economics 101.

[@firestarter1888]

@@Cyno7 Ya man, wall st spiv mates just talking for the sake of talking, whilst adding no value whatsoever and to think of the staggering amount of corruption and financial crime going on every day, these clowns overlook.

[@user-dx9ul2cn3k]

6 minute video on something that can be explained in one sentence

[@chrischungy]

I spend more on gasoline. I'm saving by riding my bike.

[@joshs3916]

Never subscribed to streaming services. I work for my money, last thing I’ll do is put on auto pay/forget to use what I paid for. Clearly I’m in the minority

[@CBkid7]

We don't have any services, with the new tech, tvs they have free tv services.

[@paoloangelino24]

Piratebay is the key.

[@MiamiMillionaire]

I only have a good old TV, i dont like subscriptions ( It's just a waste of money )

[@phamquanghuy8000]

Cable TV is just another subscription service.

[@yongchen4158]

Ads paid for everything old school tv

[@TinLeadHammer]

Wait till ATSC 3.0 will encrypt everything.

[@MiamiMillionaire]

@@TinLeadHammer then i have my VHS collection 📼😁👍

[@michaelarmstrong9722]

For some reason, this conversation sounds very AI like but idk that's just me.

[@Lonelyplanet3]

Groceries vs Subscription guess who won?

[@AnweshAdhikari]

❤

[@civilengineer3349]

Because pirate ships are fun to sail

[@landerboy90]

Especially when you could side load them to android Tv' with 4K quality🤫

[@twinturboinfinitiq60az]

I have no live TV streaming or cable. I hate the types of commercials being forced upon us and the type of subject matter and show content. Propaganda reigns supreme on the major TV networks! I have Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu basic, HBO. My son pays for HBO and Netflix since thats part of his living at home still arrangements. Had Disney for when my granddaughter comes over, but cancelled it. Now finding the cancellation screen through Prime was very difficult. It was a maze of sorts since of your membership menu there's nothing that states streaming cancellation. It's very time consuming to find the area needed and I'm sure this is done by design.

[@michaelh4227]

Elon: The perfect time to start up a Twitter subscription service.

[@61JWolf]

"When everbody was at homeeeeeeeeeeeee. ??? streamingggggggggggggg. Delivered to your doorrrrrrrrrrrrrr." 38 seconds into the clip and my tolerance ran out.

[@CHMichael]

That's a dumb question. Money, time - Captain obvious

[@brucemsabin]

A long video to tell you people are figuring out they are paying for lots of subscriptions they forgot about it, and so now they're canceling.

[@alinabolyn]

Cuz we poor?

[@peter-radiantpipes2800]

Magazines still exist?😂

[@josephwinder6878]

You'd be better off unsubscribing from any fox media outlet

[@dbonneville]

Stop the vocal fry.

[@robbiefromcali]

This sound like two AIs reading off some script.

[@Ayden9705]

Ukraine 🎉❤❤❤

[@MiamiMillionaire]

Ukraine 🤮👎

[@Mcmastergirththesplitter]

Nobody is cancelling Netflix

[@kaseyc5078]

Woke films and shows that no one wants to watch

[@TinLeadHammer]

Right, while porn is free.

[@Abhishek-kg3jr]

Propaganda everywhere. Doesn't reflect reality. Horrible stuff

[@walkmanutd19]

Dont want to feed woke fund

[@pachomiussinanicus1728]

Maybe some of them are too woke to subscribe?