Why the era of cheap streaming is over
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Published 2024-04-05
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When streaming first came onto the scene, it seemingly came with a promise: the movies and TV that you love, without ads, for a much cheaper price than cable.
Less than 20 years down the line, it feels like that promise has been broken. Streaming is more expensive than ever, and prices just keep going up. Password sharing has been cracked down on, forcing more of us to pay to stream. And in the backdrop of all that, advertising is back with a vengeance, thanks to the rise of the cheaper ad-supported subscription tiers.
As a consumer, this feels infuriating. But we’re not entirely at the whim of these companies. So why is all this happening? And what can we do to not go broke while still enjoying our favorite shows?
Note: The title on this video has been changed.
Previous title: Streaming got expensive. Now what?
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Further reading:
- www.theverge.com/23901586/streaming-service-prices…
- variety.com/2023/digital/news/streaming-service-pr…
- www.antenna.live/post/understanding-serial-churner…
- www.vox.com/recode/2023/1/5/23539590/streaming-los…
- www.businessinsider.com/netflix-wins-streaming-war…
- www.bloomberg.com/screentime
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All Comments (21)
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Cable pushed people to piracy. Streamers replaced cable. Go figure.
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cancel them all and sail the high seas!
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This video just seems unfinished like it just ended without a proper conclusion in my opinion
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No doubt that within the next few years, some of these companies will enforce minimum subscription length requirements or a forced break after cancellations.
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If buying isn't owning then piracy isn't stealing
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This video has a major flaw and completely ignores the fact that piracy exists. If things get too expensive and shows people wanna watch get split between multiple subscriptions, it's easier to just pirate it. Its not always a factor of money, but if a subscription to one service costs 100 a year, people will put up with it, if you need 10 subscriptions over different services, not only will it cost 1000, its also way more inconvenient. There's also the fact that subscription services make zero promise to keep their products up, which can lead to lost media.
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this guy just said paying for all the streaming services at the same time is an "investment"
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What bugs me is that you pay for each streaming platform and then they STILL put commercials inside the episodes. Like, why am I paying for this? It’s like watching free Youtube at this point…
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Love the 'solutions' posed to the problem: 1: i just keep paying 2: i just keep paying...sometimes
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Streaming stopped Piracy. But greed brought it right back
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In short, it's the same reason everything else goes bad. It had to find infinite growth from a finite resource, so of course it had to put the squeeze on existing customers eventually.
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I won't sail the high seas but I also won't be held hostage, either. I cancelled most and right now am only keeping one.
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Pirating would feel so much worse if these companies didn’t treat their customers so poorly. Paying for shows you don’t own is one thing; paying for artificially reduced quality or more ads than the free version? Without residuals? Why?
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why didn’t this video talk about piracy? seems like a giant piece of the story that was completely left out
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“If buying isn’t owning, piracy isn’t stealing”
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Public libraries and their free dvds and even library apps like hoopla are always an option. Most underrated public service imo
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Subscription fatigue is also a thing. Whether it's playing online, doing office work, reading an article, watching TV - (even cars are starting to do this), there's an ever growing list of companies that want more and more of your money. It's death by a thousand cuts.
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I pirated in the early 2000's because streaming didn't exist , then happily payed when that was available , now there is 50 different services, they all cost more and have a worse product I've started to pirate again, shrug , if its too annoying to pay I just wont...
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You've forgotten another option: sailing the high seas, and become free. Cost is way lower, and depending on your needs you might just use a laptop o desktop; without the need for a dedicated media server
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"If only there was a way to enjoy shows without having to pay companies ludicrous amounts of money a month!" Piracy: Mercy from Overwatch reaching out with her hand
