You Tired of Subscription Model Content Yet?

[dolsey01]

Anything to not give Comcast my money, but I can't say I'm saving much after dumping cable. About $50 a month compared to my previous Xfinity package, but I did have to buy all my Firesticks which is about 5x$25 every couple of years.

YouTubeTV - 64.99
YouTube Premium - 11.99
HBO Max - 14.99
Paramount Plus 9.99
Netflix - 19.99
Amazon Prime - 14.99 (Only have because of shopping, not for Prime Video)
Xfinity 900Mbps - 79.99
Ooma 6.84

I hate that I don't have my local Sports network anymore, and that may cause me to switch to DirectTV Stream but I didn't like the interface last time I had a trial. That and the mediocre PQ on YTTV.

I actually tried to go back to X1 Cable but Comcast screwed me again and I ended up back as internet only.

 

[panteragstk]

Anything to not give Comcast my money, but I can't say I'm saving much after dumping cable. About $50 a month compared to my previous Xfinity package, but I did have to buy all my Firesticks which is about 5x$25 every couple of years.

YouTubeTV - 64.99
YouTube Premium - 11.99
HBO Max - 14.99
Paramount Plus 9.99
Netflix - 19.99
Amazon Prime - 14.99 (Only have because of shopping, not for Prime Video)
Xfinity 900Mbps - 79.99
Ooma 6.84

I hate that I don't have my local Sports network anymore, and that may cause me to switch to DirectTV Stream but I didn't like the interface last time I had a trial. That and the mediocre PQ on YTTV.

I actually tried to go back to X1 Cable but Comcast screwed me again and I ended up back as internet only.

I'm in a similar boat except I have ATT internet at $72 and get free HBO Max with it. Then add on Disney+ at $8 and I think I might still have Hulu. Got rid of paramount, not enough on it.

I don't have issues with YTTV PQ, but I found it really depends on your device. They use VP9 (a version of it) and if your device doesn't have full support, you don't get all the good stuff. The 4K HDR stuff with DD+ was pretty nice, but there is very little of it.

 

[lovinthehd]

I know that when I had their "full package" it was close to $200/mo. That was 10 years ago, so no idea on what it'd be now.

My main issue with DTV is that the picture is so compressed compared to my streaming services. That's saying something, but it's been an issue for 20 years.

I wasn't quite up there....think when I quit D* a coupla years ago I was more in the $140 range...but didn't have "everything". I thought picture quality was decent compared to what I'd experienced with cable previously. I think I had D* from 2008-18 in total, and had in two homes where I got no OTA reception. The first could have cable, but the service was poor so tried D* and when I moved to my current place it was really the only option for a while. When ATT bought D* they kept raising prices and trying to make more of their package dependent on a landline internet basis, which wasn't much of an option for me for a while until we had a better internet service and that's when I finally canned D*. I do prefer the higher resolution available now, tho I'm still not 4k.

 

[Big-Q]

4k content is not best streamed. It is best played on the silver disc. As far as subscriptions... I have xfinity (for internet mainly) and Amazon Prime. As for Prime, I do not stream anything, I have it for buying physical things. I closed the Quobz because I was not using it. I have FLAC files for my ROON core.

 

[Audiosaur]

I cancelled Netflix just this morning. My wife and I realized we hadn't watched it for a month or more. With the price hikes, it just didn't make sense. We only have Amazon now.

 

[panteragstk]

I cancelled Netflix just this morning. My wife and I realized we hadn't watched it for a month or more. With the price hikes, it just didn't make sense. We only have Amazon now.

That's one way they get a lot of money out of us. Make so many services we don't remember which ones we subscribe to, much less which ones you actually watch content on.

That reminds me...I need to get rid of Hulu.

 

[Hobbit]

Interesting article. I am definitely getting tired of just about all the models out there! While Netflix is definitely at the high end cost wise. But don't be fooled, the others will be there soon as they increase content. Then again, who really didn't know this was going to happen? I've been predicating this since cable cutting became a thing. The thing is, I'm not seeing a solution. It seems to me most people I talk with are just fine paying for all these services.

Also, as was pointed out in the article, this goes beyond this type of streaming. General and specialized news cites, like Cyclingnews/velonews, have gone subscription. I've been going to these sites since the dawn of the internet. Now they want me to pay a subscription. and it still comes with the advertising.

The worst to me are sites like youtube. Now that's it's become a place to make money, not just share videos, the amount of commercials interruptions are insane. To make matters worse, nothing on the site if vetted. You can put a title to get people to click, run an ad, or two, to get your 2 cents, then have content that has nothing to do with the title. I'm so ethically against this that even though the only thing I lose it time, I still try not go there anymore.

Even manufacturers and oem's are in this game. After you buy something which come with nothing but a link and you go to their site for support they have advertising and links to youtube videos for that have advertising that surely makes them more money.

I'm not sure the answer or what will happen in the long run. Again, it seems most people I meet are OK with this. They will go as far as calling me cheap because I'm not signed up for everything.

 

[Hobbit]

I cancelled Netflix just this morning. My wife and I realized we hadn't watched it for a month or more. With the price hikes, it just didn't make sense. We only have Amazon now.

I've been thinking of rotating through services. I find a show or two I like and start watching them. While I'm into these shows on one service I neglect the other services I pay for. Then when I'm through watching those show the other service has new seasons of shows I like.... Thus I swap back. My thought is to oscillate my subscriptions every 3 months or so. I'm sure they're already looking into ways to limit this from happening however.

 

[jeffca]

Hey, the reason I'm not in love with streaming services is because most of their content sucks.

Netflix is total crap because it shifted most of it's original content to cater to it's foreign subscribers. I understand it, but am not a fan of the decision. I hate reading subtitles.

As to Amazon, well, they have some decent domestic product, but most of it, now, is rather poor.

In either case, as a consumer from the US, it's not great. Both providers are looking to the international markets and what you have is that.

 

[jeffca]

There are two things that really suck about all the streaming services:

1. There is no way to filter the content in there apps so you don't have to see foreign films. Personally, it has to be a spectacular movie to get me to read subtitles for 90 or more minutes and, honestly, most movies suck regardless of where they are from. I illegally downloaded a French film about a year ago that had stellar ratings. It was incredibly mundane and even had a scene that lasted about 5 minutes where the main character was washing dishes. It sucked more than not having a dishwasher. I do not want my queue filled with foreign movies.
2. When Netflix and the other streaming services were making content just for the US, they had a decent amount of English speaking content that was of good quality. Trying to move worldwide has meant that all of the budget money for English speaking films has been cannibalized to offer more foreign language content. Screw that.

If you are offering lousy movies and series, which is about 90% that all of them a putting out, it's no wonder that the market is stagnant.

 

[Trell]

There are two things that really suck about all the streaming services:

1. There is no way to filter the content in there apps so you don't have to see foreign films. Personally, it has to be a spectacular movie to get me to read subtitles for 90 or more minutes and, honestly, most movies suck regardless of where they are from. I illegally downloaded a French film about a year ago that had stellar ratings. It was incredibly mundane and even had a scene that lasted about 5 minutes where the main character was washing dishes. It sucked more than not having a dishwasher. I do not want my queue filled with foreign movies.
2. When Netflix and the other streaming services were making content just for the US, they had a decent amount of English speaking content that was of good quality. Trying to move worldwide has meant that all of the budget money for English speaking films has been cannibalized to offer more foreign language content. Screw that.

If you are offering lousy movies and series, which is about 90% that all of them a putting out, it's no wonder that the market is stagnant.

Your loss to be unable to read subtitles.

 

[lovinthehd]

Hey, the reason I'm not in love with streaming services is because most of their content sucks.

Netflix is total crap because it shifted most of it's original content to cater to it's foreign subscribers. I understand it, but am not a fan of the decision. I hate reading subtitles.

As to Amazon, well, they have some decent domestic product, but most of it, now, is rather poor.

In either case, as a consumer from the US, it's not great. Both providers are looking to the international markets and what you have is that.

I was thinking about your rant when I started a Spanish made series recently (Wrong Side of the Tracks, 2nd most popular in the US at the moment apparently per Netflix ranking). Not the best provision of english translation, particularly if you listen to the english dub and read the subtitles simultaneously, as they are often very different. I don't think this is the majority of content, tho. I don't mind foreign content or subtitles....been a fan of foreign films since I was a teenager....just wish I wasn't the typical dumb murican that only speaks one language (the Latin I took in school doesn't count). We've been inundating foreign markets with crap american sitcoms and shows for a long time, perhaps its just desserts.

 

[Trell]

I was thinking about your rant when I started a Spanish made series recently (Wrong Side of the Tracks, 2nd most popular in the US at the moment apparently per Netflix ranking). Not the best provision of english translation, particularly if you listen to the english dub and read the subtitles simultaneously, as they are often very different. I don't think this is the majority of content, tho. I don't mind foreign content or subtitles....been a fan of foreign films since I was a teenager....just wish I wasn't the typical dumb murican that only speaks one language (the Latin I took in school doesn't count). We've been inundating foreign markets with crap american sitcoms and shows for a long time, perhaps its just desserts.

As a Norwegian I grew up with subtitles as dubbing is very unusual in Norway. I do prefer to watch English content without subtitles though.

 

[bladerunner6]

If people like the way streaming fits into their lifestyle that is fine.

But streaming is not about saving consumers money. It is about companies extracting money from you on a regular basis for the rest of your life.

it is all about them maximizing their revenue stream.

 

[Trell]

If people like the way streaming fits into their lifestyle that is fine.

But streaming is not about saving consumers money. It is about companies extracting money from you on a regular basis for the rest of your life.

it is all about them maximizing their revenue stream.

Sure, they are business that wants to maximize ROI and profits, same as cable TV companies or movie companies.

Where I live there next to none Blueray rental outlets and none of them close. Buying Blueray can be expensive as well, especially if recently released. And to be honest, not that much is worth buying at full retail price when released.

The streaming services I subscribe to don’t have any advertisement and that is a great plus for me. At home it’s mostly my wife that watch any cable TV at all.

For my household streaming services are worth it but there are getting many of them and subscribing to all of them at the same time is expensive.

 

[BMXTRIX]

The reason I hate cable: Most of their content sucks.
The reason I hate streaming: Most of their content sucks.

We have ALWAYS been in a subscription model since the early days of cable TV. Want cable? That'll be $XX.XX Want HBO? That's extra. Want Showtime? That's extra.

Want Disney+? THAT'S EXTRA!
Want Netflix? THAT'S EXTRA!

How is this any different than what we have been doing for the last forty years? Yes, it is 'streaming' and 'on-demand' these days. But, cable has had the DVR for years now. I rarely watch live anymore, and if I do, I often jump between shows so I can rewind and skip commercials.

We still have cable. I can't see getting rid of it. Live sports is a big reason, but the variety and spontaneity of having a movie I haven't seen in a while come up, or just throwing on an old favorite is pretty nice.

Likewise, those who couldn't seen that Netflix was in trouble from day one was pretty short sighted. Short term, Netflix put themselves out in front because they setup a model that nobody else could touch. Short term. Long term, it was inevitable (IMO) that everyone would copy their model. TV stations already were creating original content, so why would they give it to Netflix instead of just releasing it to their customers directly? Cut out the middleman? Then, everyone else follows suit. Suddenly, ABC, NBC, CBS, ESPN, Discovery, Home & Garden, TFN (The Flamingo Network), TNT, etc. all have their own direct to you streaming service for $5, 10, 20, or more every single month.

Then, as we always do... we complain. We end up paying just as much as we did for cable, but now we don't care about, or have already watched, 99% of the content on that paid service.

JUST LIKE WE SAID 40 YEARS AGO!!!

This is all such a funny concept. So inevitable. So truly unsolvable. The solution would be to make all content free, make it all streaming on demand, and make it all ad supported... Just like we had fifty+ years ago (when we only had 4 channels). Which, of course, would suck.

There really isn't a good solution. Pay for every individual show? No, that would likely cost more than what most are paying right now, and cut down on variety. They aren't going to hook me on a new show when I won't pay a dollar to just 'try it out'.

Netflix gets my money as does Verizon every month. Not sure I am willing to spend one cent beyond that at this point.

My kids NEVER watch TV. They are happy with their YouTube stuff and video games. Will be interesting to see what happens when this generation gets into their forties.

 

[SithZedi]

Content is king. With few exceptions, movie scripts and story lines are way below an already low bar around 10 years ago. Also, an important factor is that Hollywood "star" power is nothing like it was as most of them have been exposed as hypocritical frauds with an extra dolloping of sanctimony. They should have also stayed out of politics since as soon as you open your mouth you alienate 50% to 80% of your potential audience, no matter what side.

The recent success of Top Gun should point the way if Hollywood was a properly run business. Do not discount foreign films either. Americans can be lazy iro subtitles but give them a chance. Some of the greatest directors of all time were not American; Fellini, Bergman, Renoir, Leone, Kar Wai Wong, Bertolucci, on and on. Remember, if not for the exodus of film talent from Europe in the 1920s and 30s, Hollywood history would be greatly reduced. As for "foreign" story lines, well we learn about our differences but also our similarities with the world.

 

[snakeeyes]

I think the NFL + streaming channel will be out in July they say. Local NFL games not every game.

 

[CostAvoidance]

“That consolidation is well earned and heavily affected by the so-called “end of COVID” which is not over other than in most people’s willingness to take it seriously anymore.“ Typically not so subtle political opinion heard and viewed on Audioholics website and youtube videos.

Its hard to find a more left leaning group of professionals than physicians, so I give the writer a pass for his belief system. But he still earns a hard “FAIL” form me for expressing his bias on this website.

Signed,

ENT physician at a nearby university

 

[ETgoogleHOME]

I like the a la carte subscription model a lot more than the billion-channel satellite or cable packages of days past. The only place it lacks is sports, which forces you into the cable-style streaming services if you absolutely have to have them, which again have tons of channels of which I'm only likely to watch 2 or 3. I'm just slowly changing my lifestyle and consumption habits, realizing that I don't need to see every game, every play.

For movie lovers who want to watch more than just the big blockbusters, services that are a bit more niche like the Criterion Channel and MUBI have been blessings, as have been the pay-per-view services like VUDU, Prime Video, etc. I used to get a bit frustrated at reading all of the glorious reviews for a independent and/or foreign film that I might never see, but now they are all at my fingertips.

I am looking forward to Bally Sports a la carte. Would like to see the Premier League fully a la carte. I'm about to move, and YouTube TV is the first service to go. For me, the essentials are Criterion, MUBI, Disney+, and Netflix.

Also, why so much disdain for physical media in some of these articles? For me, reliability in my audio or audiovisual experience is paramount, and spinning discs, so long as you take care of them, are the best way to ensure that reliability. I also like physical products, but I live the hybrid life and enjoy physical digital products as well as streaming. There's good in all of it.