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Worse than cable? The streaming services situation is a mess.
- Thread starter Wag
- Start date
I really don`t understand the issue, how much tv do people watch? Pick one, watch for 6 months, Cancel. Pick a different one watch for 6 months cancel, repeat.
Ehh I don't think so. No contracts + no commercials is pretty huge for us. While the combined price for a fast internet and streaming services is becoming pretty comparable (we have Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Amazon), it's still a much better experience.
The fact that the acquisition of Fox included Hulu complicates my response on this slightly but I would say no. I think they want their services to be the only way that people access their content, but that's not particularly surprising in the face of the infamous Disney Vault's means of inflating scarcity.
Despite the lower cost than Netflix I don't think Disney will be able to shut them out of the streaming market. Netflix is worth a lot and has been overall making good strides in its original content.
They have saved us from bundling. Cable made consumers pay for a whole bunch of crap they didn't want (like ESPN), just to get a handful of shows they did want.
With streaming, we get just what we want with a much lower total bill. And (thanks to Netflix looking outside the US) we're getting shows that would have otherwise never aired in America. It's win-win.
Streaming is a HUGE improvement over the old cable way.
First post captures it well.
I still find it far preferable. Cancelling any of these services is very quick and painless, no being forced to call, return equipment, etc. and can turn it back on just as easily. So it's viable to just turn on what streaming services you actually want for a month.
I'm fine with it.This is that ala carte service we wanted. we wished on that monkey paw and now we're here
It can be confusing, yes. But it's not worse than cable. If you believe that, you've bought into the cable company propaganda to fear streaming. A 4K Roku/Fire TV are not expensive. You can find deals for Apple TV 4Ks as well. Best part is they're portable and I bring mine when I travel all the time and they seamlessly connect to hotel/resort WIFI.
Content providers are beginning to avoid distribution through cable TV companies and there will be no cable TV solution if you want to watch Handmaid's Tale, Doom Patrol, Cobra Kai, new Twilight Zone, Picard, all the Disney+ series etc. So when I read these articles and they specifically mention content that can only be watched by streaming and it include it in the cost vs cable, I shake my head when they try and 1 to 1 compare it to their cable package price when they well know they're not getting that content via cable either...but cable is cheaper!
In the end, look, do what you want. Streaming isn't for everyone and I wouldn't recommend streaming if you have more than 3 concurrent viewers on your account. I personally don't like paying for rental fees for cable boxes, DVRs, HD surcharges, taxes and all sorts of crap you get nickel and dimed on with cable. I prefer a flat rate and no fuss no muss subscription and cancellation and mobility. I'd rather pay for content than incidentals that cable companies hope you just don't notice.
Content providers are beginning to avoid distribution through cable TV companies and there will be no cable TV solution if you want to watch Handmaid's Tale, Doom Patrol, Cobra Kai, new Twilight Zone, Picard, all the Disney+ series etc. So when I read these articles and they specifically mention content that can only be watched by streaming and it include it in the cost vs cable, I shake my head when they try and 1 to 1 compare it to their cable package price when they well know they're not getting that content via cable either...but cable is cheaper!
In the end, look, do what you want. Streaming isn't for everyone and I wouldn't recommend streaming if you have more than 3 concurrent viewers on your account. I personally don't like paying for rental fees for cable boxes, DVRs, HD surcharges, taxes and all sorts of crap you get nickel and dimed on with cable. I prefer a flat rate and no fuss no muss subscription and cancellation and mobility. I'd rather pay for content than incidentals that cable companies hope you just don't notice.
The value of the streaming services is that you can quite easily pick and choose what you want without being bound to lengthy contracts. I don't think it was ever about being able to consume all the content you want w/ a limited number of subscriptions.
I'm waiting for a streaming service where I can watch all of Master Chef. Instant subscription right there for at least a year.
You can afford it by not subbing to all of them. Duh.
If you're really so annoyed and think it's worse than cable then feel free to go back to watching cable, have fun I guess.
If you're really so annoyed and think it's worse than cable then feel free to go back to watching cable, have fun I guess.
With Hulu and Netflix's most expensive plans, plus Prime, for me cable would still be over a hundred bucks a month more expensive. And like others have said, the ability to cancel/restart these services at will is far superior.
I just pay for cable now which gives me Netflix for free. I would have dropped Netflix for Disney + anyway.
Just pick the ones you want. I personally share with family. I give up my hulu. They have amazon and netflix. Friend has HBO. ect And if I ever had to personally pick them all up. I would drop amazon and HBO and just have hulu and netflix. If it got bad enough that cable companies wanna charge 5 dollars per streaming service channel online then I would just resort to the old days with downloading. That or I imagine a lot of these trying it will fail. They don't have a big enough selection to make it worth the money per.
This sounds like just another excuse not to pay for something. They can't watch everything at once, why do they have to subscribe to everything at once? You can't tell me subscribing and canceling is harder than pirating, where you have to search for what you want anyway.
That's more to overseas rights reasons.
Domestically all Trek is on the same service.
I've started to just wait for a show to be over (or within a month of finishing), subscribing to its service, watching that show (or other shows I've waited on), and then canceling after a month or two.
Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon are the only services I subscribe to year round because I can always find something to watch on there (Hulu typically has the most "next day" currently on-going shows, Netflix has a ton of originals and full seasons of shows, and Amazon has a few things and I only have because of Amazon Prime).
Gets a little complicated having to keep track of all the shows I like, but it's still cheaper for me than having cable.
Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon are the only services I subscribe to year round because I can always find something to watch on there (Hulu typically has the most "next day" currently on-going shows, Netflix has a ton of originals and full seasons of shows, and Amazon has a few things and I only have because of Amazon Prime).
Gets a little complicated having to keep track of all the shows I like, but it's still cheaper for me than having cable.
How many fucking shows do you watch simultaneously? Just rotate your subs to cater to your current needs.
I've lived through the pre-Netflix era as a TV viewer. Trust me, this remains significantly better.
I've lived through the pre-Netflix era as a TV viewer. Trust me, this remains significantly better.
Same here, I'd need a spreadsheet to keep track of everything. Now I just speak into the remote and watch what I want
what are the streaming options if you just want the basic cbs, abc, nbc, fox, cw/local affiliate channels? my experience with ota antennas have been spotty at best. i was mooching off my bro up until he unbundled tv from his internet.