T-Mobile’s pooled streaming advantage continues to lose its luster

T-Mobile seems to have accumulated the number of letters “L” in recent months, even though the non-carrier name only contains one. The bundled On-Us streaming benefit that was once a consideration when choosing a network provider will soon offer less value as the option to opt for Disney+ streaming goes away and the inflexible, ad-supported Hulu tier remains (via The Mobile Report). This is in addition to the January 2024 reassignment of the Netflix On Us ad-free tier to the streaming leader’s ad-supported subscription.

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Many T-Mobile customers previously enjoyed ad-free Netflix streaming as a bonus for signing up with the once-known consumer-friendly provider. That ended in January 2024 when T-Mobile’s On Us benefit was downgraded to ad-supported Netflix streaming. To ease subscribers’ frustration, the carrier offered a free one-year Hulu subscription via offer code – but that too contained advertising, similar to the Hulu offering bundled with Spotify Premium.

The biggest upcoming change (taken from internal documents that The Mobile Report is unable to publish at this time) primarily concerns billing. Instead of a free offer code, you’ll get the Hulu On Us subscription directly through your T-Mobile account. This creates a limitation for users who frequently use Hulu, as T-Mobile only supports the ad-supported tier and does not allow users to make up the difference and switch to ad-free streaming.

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As The Mobile Report points out, the restriction could result in more advertising revenue from T-Mobile On Us customers than potential incremental upgrades would allow. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s not the only change coming either. T-Mobile subscribers will also no longer be able to snag Disney+ with their On Us benefit, making the offer seem even more like a nonstarter considering Disney+ is actively picking up Hulu after Comcast sold its one-third stake in the streamer has the House of Mouse in November 2023.

All of this barely merits mention, aside from various decisions made by T-Mobile over the last year that have frustrated its loyal customers. It recently stopped allowing users to save money by pausing their plans when traveling abroad. Earlier this year, it raised prices on the old plans (resulting in thousands of complaints and a class-action lawsuit) and even threatened to cut savings on installment plans if the FCC moved to suspend its 60-day unlocking requirement for smartphones a.

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Many grateful, long-time customers found the non-carrier’s recent moves particularly uncool, even as T-Mobile looks to expand and continues to win the Internet speed wars. If the included perks are important, consider Verizon as a T-Mobile alternative as it offers more overall flexibility in additional services.