March Offers Plenty of Streaming Fun, but You Don’t Need Every Service

It’s going to be hard to put the remote down this month. You can choose to stream NCAA March Madness games, Disney Plus’ new animated X-Men series, the Oscars, primetime TV shows that are returning with new seasons (like Grey’s Anatomy) and a string of films and original series.

Netflix releases its 3 Body Problem adaptation from Game of Thrones co-creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, and it’s also dropping Damsel, a feature film starring Millie Bobby Brown, a live tennis match and a new series called The Gentlemen. Disney Plus brings you Taylor Swift’s Eras movie, Invincibles returns to Prime Video and The Regime arrives on Max. Meanwhile, The Harry Potter franchise teleports to Peacock beginning March 1. 

While some streaming services have more new films and shows to offer than others this March, new seasons, new movies and interesting new shows can make it hard to ignore what’s on TV. But you probably don’t want to spend money on every platform.

Every month, you may need to weigh whether to cancel a streaming service because of cost and the content that’s currently available. With that in mind, I’d like to offer one strategy: Churn like ice cream, which is to say, rotate. 

Wondering how? Try subscribing, canceling, watching other services and then resubscribing, ensuring the services you want are on rotation. Rotating streaming services can mix things up and save you cash when Netflix, Disney Plus, Max and others don’t have the content you want to watch at a given time. Just remember to shut off autorenewal for your monthly subscriptions. This method may not fly if you’re sharing your streaming accounts, but if you can work it out, go for it. 

Here are my suggestions for which platforms to cancel or keep in March, based on new shows and movies (I didn’t consider live TV streaming services) coming to each platform. Your tastes may be different, but if nothing else, I urge you to at least consider the concept of rotating for savings. Embracing it is easier than you might think. And remember, a VPN can also be a useful tool when you’re streaming. 

Read more: 50 TV Shows We’re Looking Forward to Watching in 2024

Keep these subscriptions for March

Disney Plus: Why? Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour arrives here on March 15, so Swifties as well as more casual fans should subscribe to Disney Plus to watch the film. Additionally, Marvel’s X-Men ’97 drops on March 20 on the streamer, reviving the old animated series from the ’90s with 10 episodes. If you want to watch each week, keep this service.

Hulu: I know you probably don’t want to miss Shōgun each week, so don’t drop Hulu. And keep streaming Abbott Elementary here if you’re a cord-cutter. Here’s what else is coming:

• The Cleaning Lady, season 3 (March 6)
• The Masked Singer, season 11 (March 7)
• Oscars 2024 ceremony (March 10)
• Grey’s Anatomy, season 20 (March 15)
• Station 19, season 7 (March 15)
• Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told (March 21)
• We Were the Lucky Ones (March 28)

Netflix: 3 Body Problem, Damsel and The Gentlemen are among the most anticipated titles on Netflix in March, but here’s what you may want to stream:

• Spaceman starring Adam Sandler (March 1)
• Somebody Feed Phil, season 7 (March 1)
• The Netflix Slam, a live tennis match between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz (March 3)
• Hot Wheels Let’s Race (March 4)
• The Gentlemen (March 7)
• Pokemon Horizons: The Series (March 7)
• Damsel (March 8)
• Queen of Tears (K-drama, March 9)
• Girls 5Eva, season 3 (March 14) 
• Physical: 100, season 2 (March 19)
• 3 Body Problem (March 21)
• Irish Wish with Lindsey Lohan (March 15)
• Buying Beverly Hills, season 2 (March 22)
• The Beautiful Game (March 29)
• Is it Cake? season 3 (March 29)

Max: Max is not a definite keeper, depending on your tastes, but college basketball fans may want Max to stream March Madness on B/R Sports. The sports tier is still available at no additional charge for now. Along with that, there’s also The Regime, a limited series starring Kate Winslet (March 3), Wonka (March 8) and A24’s Dream Scenario (March 15). You can also continue to stream Tokyo Vice, season 2, into April.

Peacock: Peacock is a toss-up. Apples Never Fall has BookTok excited for its TV adaptation, which debuts on March 14. If you have kids, you may want to stream Trolls Band Together on March 14, as well as Megamind vs. The Doom Syndicate and Megamind Rules! on March 1. Only keep Peacock if they are a must-watch for you, or if you want to watch the last two episodes of The Traitors.

Prime Video: Invincible returns with the second half of season 2 on March 14. There’s a new Road House film with Jake Gyllenhaal (March 21), and Ricky Stanicky arrives on March 7. If you have a standalone Prime Video subscription and are not interested in these titles, drop it. Remember, Amazon now charges $3 monthly if you want to stream without ads. 

You might want to cancel these services

Paramount Plus: The Halo season 2 finale hits on March 21. You can drop Paramount Plus unless you’re a fan of CBS shows, reality TV or want to see The Thundermans Return on March 7. There are also NCAA tournament games available to stream throughout March.

Starz: Keep this service if you want to watch BMF each week, as the new season returns on March 1. Hightown is also airing its final season. Otherwise, cancel the service.

Apple TV Plus: The Napoleon film lands on March 1, with Manhunt arriving on March 15 and Palm Royale on March 20. You can still stream The New Look or Masters of the Air. I suggest waiting until these series have all episodes available, but if you prefer to watch weekly (or you’re interested in checking out the recently announced Great Movies collection), don’t cancel your $10 Apple TV Plus subscription. 

Wait things out to save money

Waiting until most or all of the episodes of your favorite series are available on a platform is a wise strategy if you don’t get FOMO. That way, rather than pay for a service for several months to cover the six- to 10-week run of a show, you can catch up on everything by subscribing for one month. And then repeat the cycle again. This works well if you don’t mind being a binge-watcher. 

For example, if you’re keeping Max for Curb Your Enthusiasm (10 episodes) or Tokyo Vice (also 10 episodes), why not hold off until April or May after they wrap? The new X-Men series on Disney Plus has 10 episodes that will be released weekly, and Palm Royale on Apple TV Plus will air its 10 episodes into May. Avoid paying for two or three months of these services when you can wait to watch these shows in full anytime in the spring.

Think about how much you’re paying per month for each streaming service you have, and do the math. Netflix is $7 to $23 (plus extra member fees), and Paramount Plus starts at $6. Apple TV Plus is $10. Disney Plus is anywhere from $2 to $25 depending on bundles, Max costs $10 to $20, Hulu starts at $8 and Starz runs $10. Peacock has a base rate of $6 a month. Should you decide to rotate, set yourself a calendar reminder to alert you when it’s time to re-subscribe or cancel. 

See you in April for another streaming service rundown.