Why the era of cheap streaming is over

Why we’re all paying so much more for Netflix, and what we can do about it.

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?

Further reading:

[MrBeatzFactory]

cancel them all and sail the high seas!

[nevezeraa]

If buying isn't owning then piracy isn't stealing

[rynerath]

This video just seems unfinished like it just ended without a proper conclusion in my opinion

[yeetyeet]

this guy just said paying for all the streaming services at the same time is an "investment"

[wielsonf]

Cable pushed people to piracy. Streamers replaced cable. Go figure.

[MatthewDax]

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.

[sneakytom]

A long 6-minute video without a proper answer or conclusion to the question they asked. Perfect.

[traFREAK]

This video seems sponsored by streaming platforms

[GeeDoggy]

Love the 'solutions' posed to the problem:
1: i just keep paying
2: i just keep paying...sometimes

[zeex]

Streaming stopped Piracy. But greed brought it right back

[Daniella]

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…

[shanksmare]

You can get DVDs for $0.25 at the local thrift shop, makes more sense than paying so much for an ever inflated streaming subscription price... now with ads!

[zalfredo]

why didn’t this video talk about piracy? seems like a giant piece of the story that was completely left out

[heartofdawn]

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.

[mjstrikes]

“If buying isn’t owning, piracy isn’t stealing”

[fernandossmm]

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

[bigpurplepops]

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?

[mono-no-aware.Lem.]

we've gone full circle back to the early 2000s

[alexanderdergachev]

I feel like the main problem is that you have to subsidize a lot of content you don’t need or want. With cable, you could pick your selection of channels, but now you also get Netflix’s ridiculous reality shows and gazillion of lookalike TV shows with repeated storylines. Maybe they should make less content and prioritize high-quality stuff? Here in Europe I can get a cinema subscription for $20 and gladly pay for it, as well as occasional cinema tickets when something is not screened with my provider, but I am sailing the high seas for TV shows at this point (I actually pay about $10 to a service provider for that because I can stream all high-quality TV shows with them with a convenient interface, so that money would have gone to Netflix or HBO if they offered a wider range of things to watch).

[gwendolyn]

I moved away from home about 60km when I started uni. I couldn't use my parents' netflix account. So now I went back to piracy like many people. Greed brought it back