Streaming was supposed to be cheaper than cable. For anyone who follows sport, it is now routinely more expensive — and because the cost arrives as several small monthly charges rather than one large one, most households have never added it up.
Where the money goes
The film and television services are the cheap part. It is sport that moves the total: rights are split across more broadcasters every cycle, and following one league end-to-end increasingly means holding two or three subscriptions at once. Add a general entertainment package and the annual figure climbs past a thousand euros without anything feeling extravagant.
Work out your own number
- List every entertainment charge on your last three bank statements, not the ones you remember paying.
- Include the annual plans — they hide well because they only appear once.
- Multiply the monthly ones by twelve. That is the number worth comparing against.
Our calculator on the homepage does the arithmetic for you, using indicative European list prices. It is an estimate — your own statements are the authority.
