Is Verizon +play a good deal?

No, Verizon +play is available only to Verizon’s postpaid wireless subscribers (including mobile, 5G Home, and LTE Home, but not Verizon FiOS).

Verizon +play is a section of Verizon’s website where you can sign up for different subscription services and manage them through a single billing system.

After signing into the site, you should see a “Manage” tab for adding new subscriptions and cancelling existing ones. There’s also a “Notifications” tab, where you can manage alerts for billing activity, price changes, and account updates.

Unlike other subscription marketplaces, such as Amazon Prime Video Channels and Apple TV Channels, Verizon doesn’t offer its own interface for streaming, so you’ll still sign into apps like Netflix and Discovery+ to access those services’ content. Verizon +play is just a centralized way to manage your subscriptions to those services. (Even so, those subscriptions are billed separately from Verizon’s wireless service and won’t appear on your regular monthly Verizon bill.)

To start using +play, just head to the website and click the “Sign In” button at the top. Once you’ve signed into your account, click the “+play” tab and choose which, if any, subscriptions you want to sign up for (you’ll find details on the one-year-of-free-Netflix offer below).

Verizon +play currently offers 32 subscription services across several categories, not all of which are streaming-related. Here’s the full list as of March 2023:

• Video: Netflix, Starz, AMC+, HBO Max, Paramount+, Disney+, Discovery+, Hallmark Movies Now, UP Faith & Family, A&E Crime Central, History Vault, Lifetime Movie Club, FlixLatino, Vix+, Fox Nation, Kocowa+, Marquee TV.
• Gaming: Xbox Game Pass, Google Play Pass
• Sports: NBA League Pass, NFL+ Premium, The Athletic
• Music: Qello Concerts
• Lifestyle: Calm, Peloton, Super Duolingo, Blue Apron Plus, MasterClass, Wondrium, ABCMouse, Adventure Academy, Perlego

With most of these services, you can’t easily switch over to +play billing if you’re already a subscriber. Instead, you’ll need to cancel the subscription, then sign up again through Verizon’s system.

The exceptions are Netflix and HBO Max. If you add either service to +play and have an account already, you’ll be able sign in with your existing account and transfer it over to Verizon’s billing system. (Do not do this for Netflix until you’ve redeemed the offer below.)

As a limited-time deal, Verizon is offering a year of Netflix Premium when you pay for a year of another service through +play. This deal is available even if you’re already a Netflix subscriber.

Those services (and their annual prices) are: Starz ($75), AMC+ ($84), Paramount+ ($100), Calm ($70), Peloton App ($130), Super Duolingo ($84), and MasterClass ($90).

Netflix Premium costs $20 per month, or $240 for an entire year. So even if you have no interest in any of the above services, you can save money on Netflix by taking advantage of Verizon’s offer. Note that you must be a new subscriber to the above services to get the deal, and you’ll be switched to monthly billing after the first year.

After signing up, head to the subscription management page on Verizon’s +play website and you’ll see an option to activate Netflix. If you’re already a Netflix subscriber, you’ll be directed to the Netflix website to sign in and transfer your subscription to Verizon’s platform.

Verizon hasn’t said how long the Netflix deal will last, but it’s available as of March 15, 2023.

With its free Netflix offering, Verizon clearly hopes that you’ll see the benefit of managing lots of services in one place, and that you’ll start using it for other services as well. But like any other subscription marketplace, Verizon +play comes with some caveats:

Some subscriptions might cost more. Verizon +play won’t always give you the best price on streaming services. Paramount+, for instance, is available for free with monthly coupon codes, and other services such as Starz and AMC+ routinely offer deals for new subscribers. You can’t get those deals through +play.

Verizon also doesn’t offer annual billing for certain subscriptions such as HBO Max and NBA League Pass. Instead, you can only sign up for monthly plans that cost more over time. Don’t sign up for anything through +play unless you’re sure a better deal isn’t available elsewhere.

It won’t cover all your subscriptions. Many popular TV services remain unavailable through +play, including Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, Apple TV+, MLB TV, YouTube TV, Sling TV, and Philo. Verizon doesn’t even offer the full Disney bundle through +play, which is amusing given that the carrier provides it for free or with an extended trial on some wireless plans. Even if you consolidate some subscriptions through +play, you’ll still have keep track of more subscriptions in other places.

Leaving Verizon can be a hassle. Verizon says you can keep using +play even after switching carriers, but you’ll need to set a username other than your Verizon phone number, and you’ll lose any deals or promo prices that were tied to your Verizon plan. That bit of extra friction might dissuade you from leaving Verizon in the first place.

Ultimately, Verizon +play represents yet another way to pay for TV when we already have too many. While it may alleviate some of your subscription headaches, it won’t eliminate them outright, and Netflix deal aside, it may prompt you to pay more for streaming than you otherwise would.

Like any bundler that claims to solve your streaming headaches, Verizon introduces a few new ones as well.