Editor

Sam Allcock

Sam Allcock is the editor of Now I Am Updated.

He has spent more than two decades in UK digital marketing, working across digital PR, SEO and content. He founded and sold two agencies - Custard, an SEO firm, in 2018, and the digital PR business PR Fire in 2024 - and wrote How to Sell Digital Assets (2025). He has contributed to HuffPost and HubSpot among others.

He writes here on the running cost of consumer technology: what carriers charge, what changes on a bill and when, and whether the published price is the price you actually pay.

He oversees the site from Dubai and can be reached at sam@nowiamupdated.com.

Articles by Sam Allcock

Consumer Tech

Amazon Cuts Up to $260 Off Its Ember TVs: What You'd Actually Save

Amazon's house-brand Ember TVs are discounted across four lines right now, but the headline number matters less than which model actually fits your room and budget.

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Streaming

Cable Viewing Hits a New Low - Here's Why Your Bill Isn't Following It Down

Nielsen says cable's share of TV time just fell to 18.7%, but that has nothing to do with what you're still paying for it.

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Streaming

DOJ Digs Deeper Into Fox-Roku Deal: What It Could Mean for Your Streaming Setup

No new fees yet, but a deeper antitrust review of Fox's $22 billion Roku buyout could shape what shows up on your TV screen and how much competing apps have to pay to get there.

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Streaming

Rogers Streaming Hikes Show Cord-Cutting's 'Cheap' Promise Is Fading Fast

Sportsnet+, Citytv+ and Discovery+ are all getting pricier this fall, a preview of where U.S. streaming bundles may be headed next.

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Policy

House to Vote on AM Radio Mandate for New Cars, What It Could Mean for Vehicle Prices

A bill requiring AM radio in every new car, including EVs, heads to a House vote this month, automakers warn it could raise costs, though no price tag has been set.

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Streaming

Optimum Keeps ESPN, Adds Free ESPN Unlimited, But No Date Yet

Disney and Optimum struck a new deal ahead of football season, so your bill won't jump from a blackout, and some subscribers get a streaming perk thrown in for free, eventually.

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Streaming

YouTube TV's Network Deals Are Done, Here's What It Means for Your Bill

With Fox, Paramount, Disney and NBCUniversal all locked in through 2025 and 2026, YouTube TV is using its newfound stability to sell smaller, cheaper bundles, but the full package still isn't cheap.

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Streaming

DAZN's New Orlando Magic Streaming Plan: What It Actually Costs

DAZN is launching a team-branded Magic streaming plan this fall, but most fans can still watch for free with an antenna.

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Carriers

PureTalk's $15 Wireless Deal: What It Actually Costs After Three Months

A veteran-owned carrier is offering any plan, including unlimited, for $15 a month, but only for a limited time and only for new customers.

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Streaming

CNN All Access Drops to $1.99 a Month for a Limited Time

A Labor Day promo cuts CNN's streaming news service to $1.99 monthly for two months, but the discount expires fast and the price triples after that.

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Streaming

Nashville Predators Launch Their Own Streaming App, But What Will It Cost You?

The team is building a direct-to-fan streaming service for the 2026-27 season, but the price tag that actually matters to your wallet hasn't been set yet.

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Streaming

Sling TV's Parent Is in Bankruptcy Court, Here's What It Means for Your Bill

DISH's Chapter 11 filing hasn't changed Sling's price tag yet, but the pioneer of cheap live TV is now a restructuring asset that could change hands.

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Streaming

DIRECTV Ends Decade-Old $5 HBO Deals for Legacy DIRECTV NOW Customers

A small group of holdout streamers who've paid the same discounted add-on prices for seven-plus years will finally see their bills jump to current rates next month.

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Broadband

Visible's New Fiber-Plus-Phone Bundle: What It Actually Costs

Visible is combining phone and home internet on one bill for the first time, but the deal is only for households sitting on an unused Fios connection.

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Consumer Tech

Amazon Hikes Prices On Echo, Kindle, Fire TV Devices By Up To 60%

A memory-chip shortage tied to AI demand just made your next Echo Dot or Kindle noticeably pricier, here's what actually changed and by how much.

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Streaming

YouTube TV Adds AMC, BBC America and More to Cheaper Plans, No Price Hike

Five new networks just landed in YouTube TV's genre packages, and current subscribers on those plans don't pay a dime more.

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Broadband

Leaving Xfinity or Spectrum? Here's What the Alternatives Actually Cost

Cable companies lost 185,000 broadband customers last quarter as fiber and 5G home internet rivals undercut them by hundreds of dollars a year, here's the real math.

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Streaming

ESPN Unlimited and ESPN Select Prices Are Going Up Sept. 17, Here's What You'll Pay

ESPN's standalone streaming plans get their first price hike since launch, though most bundle subscribers won't feel it.

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Streaming

MS NOW's New Membership Costs $7.99 a Month: Is It Worth It?

The rebranded MSNBC spinoff is adding a paid membership tier on September 9, here's what it costs and what you actually get.

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Consumer Tech

AirPods Max 2 Drop to $429: Is the 22% Discount Worth It?

Apple's second-gen over-ear headphones are $120 cheaper than list right now, here's what that actually saves you and whether it's the right time to buy.

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Streaming

Peacock's Price Goes Up Again, Right Before NFL Season Kicks Off

Comcast's streamer is raising prices on every tier for the fourth year running, and this time even the ad-free-lite plan without sports is getting more expensive.

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Streaming

Breezeline Drops Cable, Adds DIRECTV Streaming, But No Prices Yet

Another cable operator is killing traditional TV for a streaming bundle, and the company still hasn't said what it will cost you.

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Broadband

Charter-Cox Merger Closes This Week: What It Means for Your Cable and Internet Bill

A $34.5 billion deal makes Spectrum the largest cable and broadband provider in the country - here's what Cox customers can expect on their bill and when.

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Streaming

Paramount+ Is Testing Free Episodes on Android - Here's What It Won't Change on Your Bill

A limited free trial lets Android users sample up to two episodes before hitting the paywall, but existing subscribers won't see their bill move.

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Phones

Why your next phone costs more: tariffs added $23.5 billion to US tech import bills last year

The average tariff on consumer technology jumped from 1% to 7% through 2025, and importers paid five times as much duty as the year before. That bill does not stay with the importer - it lands on the shelf price of your next handset.

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Streaming

Netflix's ad-free Standard plan is now $19.99, its second US price rise in 16 months

Every US tier went up in late March. The ad-free Standard plan crossed $20 a year in cost - and the cheapest way to keep watching is now the ad tier at $8.99, less than half the price. Here is the annual maths.

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Policy

The FTC is mailing $23.8 million to Grubhub drivers and diners - here is who gets paid

More than 640,000 people are getting a check or a PayPal payment from a 2024 settlement. There is a clock on both, and a scam to watch for. Here is what the money is, and what you have to do to keep it.

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Consumer Tech

Windows 10 security updates have three prices, and the free one is not free

Microsoft will keep patching Windows 10 until October 2027. It costs $30, or 1,000 Rewards points, or a Microsoft account and your settings in its cloud. The third option is the one worth reading twice.

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