Streaming is about to get very expensive

[ncted]

Or so posits a journalist:

Streaming TV is about to get very expensive – here's why

 

[ncted]

I, for one, have my limits as to how much I'll spend in a month on entertainment. I'll be curious to see how many of these platforms fail or end up merging.

 

[Tampa8]

Who could have possibly seen this coming.

 

[comfortably_numb]

I'd take anything written by The Guardian with a very large grain of salt. That being said, none of the shows/movies/actors he mentioned are ones I can't live without. The only way it gets "very very expensive" is if you "need" a bunch of different streaming services.

PS- if there's a movie I just can't live without, I buy it on blu-ray from Ebay, usually $5-$15.

The streaming sky is not falling!

#firstworldproblems

 

[Tampa8]

.....The only way it gets "very very expensive" is if you "need" a bunch of different streaming services....

That's what he is saying is about to happen. He isn't wrong it is happening, what we don't know is to what extent will you need different streaming services so to what extent it will raise your cost.
In addition Spectrum in Ct and Fl went from $45 to $65 in 18 months, though they relented in Florida and I get a discount. Amazon Prime now costs $119 over four years up $40 so $10 on average a year, at their shareholder meeting streaming of music and video were mostly the cause. Prices go up on everything of course, just seems like it is catching up too quickly to traditional TV....

 

[EarDemon]

Even a blind man could see what future of streaming would be. I've been predicting this moment since 2011/2012 when Starz removed all of their content from Netflix. The big content and media companies are not going to negotiate deals and let Netflix or Amazon host their content, when they can just go direct to the consumer. These companies are not stupid either, they are not going to lose money. When it's all said and done, streaming won't be much cheaper, or cheaper at all versus traditional satellite or cable. The only real advantage of services like CBS All Access or Disney+ I can think of at the moment is being able to watch all of your shows at once and cancel, and re-subscribe at a later time, when there's something else on that you're interested in. But I'm sure that will eventually go away.

In a handful of years, I believe that Netflix and Amazon Prime will be nothing but original series.

 

[comfortably_numb]

I'm never going back to expensive pay-TV ever again. If I can't get it FTA, OTA, Netflix or via YTTV (which my company pays for) then I just won't have it.

If Netflix goes 100% all original series I'll drop them too and increase my blu-ray spend. I like Ozark but that's about the only original series on Netflix I care about.

 

[Vondertrenk]

I dont know you guys but there are wasy too many streaming services for free in Youtube inclduing movies, science, shows plus itnernational channels including DW, France 24, etc. I can find a variety of old and new programs there. I only pay Netflix becasue my wife likes some of the shows but I find better movies in Youtube than in Nextflix. And If I want to see a new movie, I thn go to the theaters with my whole family which is well spent time as well.
I am also paying Amazon Prime for the simple reason that my wife we have been doing a lot of online shopping and have saved tremendous amount of money, but not necessarily becasue of the movies/shows.

Som between FTA and Youtube, plus the other two above, I dont feel I do need to pay for any other service. But this is just my solution for this issue and each other one is totally respectable.

 

[ncted]

I'd take anything written by The Guardian with a very large grain of salt. That being said, none of the shows/movies/actors he mentioned are ones I can't live without. The only way it gets "very very expensive" is if you "need" a bunch of different streaming services.

PS- if there's a movie I just can't live without, I buy it on blu-ray from Ebay, usually $5-$15.

The streaming sky is not falling!

#firstworldproblems

FWP indeed

As for The Guardian, I am neither a fan nor a detractor. It is just a data point to me.

 

[NYDutch]

There are several free ad supported streaming services now, and more coming. They can't compete fully with the paid services of course, but they can limit how much paid service you need.

 

[Bruce]

Ok, math time

These are the services i have right now
You Tube TV -$50 a month/ $40 is what I pay right now ( i just stocked up on Google Play Gift Cards when on sale for 20% off a month ago)
Hulu-$11.99 / $7.19 ( stocked up for a years worth of Gift Cards last xmas time when they where 40% off)
Netflix-$15.99 / $9.59 ( stocked up for a years worth of Gift Cards last xmas time when they where 40% off)

Total-$77.98 / $56.78 a month

Now if I had Dish Network only
Top 200 ( to match what I get from You Tube TV, BBC America for example) with 3 boxes-$89.99 a month for 2 years

But I would still need Netflix and Hulu for shows like Stranger Things, Handmaid's Tale, etc so that adds another $27.98 /$16.78 to the Dish Total which makes it $117.97 / $106.77 a month

Now if I dropped live TV per the article ( which I could do but my wife is unsure ) and just went streaming services only and added the new ones coming and CBS ( guessing at the prices)
Hulu-$11.99 / $7.19
Netflix-$15.99 / $9.59
Disney-$6.99 ( I will prepay for the year at $69.99 so that discounts it to 5.83 a month )
ATT/Warner/ HBO-$17 ( I doubt I would subscribe to it, no interest as of now )
CBS-$9.99 ( I will prepay for the year at $99.99 so that discounts it to $8.33 a month )
Universal-$8.99 ( I doubt I would subscribe to it, no interest as of now )

So that makes it $70.95 ( discount price $56.93 ), that before discount price is still less then Dish only-$19.04 which leaves extra money towards a sports streaming service ( if you want it ) if one pops up, Fox Sports or real ESPN for example ( i have no interest in sports anymore) , that is a lot of content streaming only that I would not have time for, much like now.

I did not include Amazon, I do have it but only because of the shipping

So if i added Disney to what I have now $84.97 / 62.61 and that pre discount price is still less then Dish by $5.

And before the naysayers come in and say prices will go up for streaming, you are correct, they will go up, but they will also go up for Dish, Direct,Comcast etc.

Streaming is still a lot less expensive.

 

[Zookster]

If you read the article, it's not about the cost of streaming versus traditional pay TV. It's about the fragmentation of on demand streaming content. And in that, really about the demise of Netflix as a one-stop shop for popular cable and network TV shows along with movies and original programming. For me, Netflix has become like Showtime, which is mainly worth subscribing to for its original programs. And as such, I can't justify having Netflix year-round anymore, not for $13/mo. I cancelled two months ago and have put it in my rotation of other services that I sub to throughout the year (HBO, Hulu, CBSAA, Starz, etc.) to catch up on a handful of favorite shows. And if I'm patient enough, I can usually get at least one free month per year of those services, with two months being more than enough time to catch up.

 

[ncted]

Ok, math time

These are the services i have right now
You Tube TV -$50 a month/ $40 is what I pay right now ( i just stocked up on Google Play Gift Cards when on sale for 20% off a month ago)
Hulu-$11.99 / $7.19 ( stocked up for a years worth of Gift Cards last xmas time when they where 40% off)
Netflix-$15.99 / $9.59 ( stocked up for a years worth of Gift Cards last xmas time when they where 40% off)

Total-$77.98 / $56.78 a month

Now if I had Dish Network only
Top 200 ( to match what I get from You Tube TV, BBC America for example) with 3 boxes-$89.99 a month for 2 years

But I would still need Netflix and Hulu for shows like Stranger Things, Handmaid's Tale, etc so that adds another $27.98 /$16.78 to the Dish Total which makes it $117.97 / $106.77 a month

Now if I dropped live TV per the article ( which I could do but my wife is unsure ) and just went streaming services only and added the new ones coming and CBS ( guessing at the prices)
Hulu-$11.99 / $7.19
Netflix-$15.99 / $9.59
Disney-$6.99 ( I will prepay for the year at $69.99 so that discounts it to 5.83 a month )
ATT/Warner/ HBO-$17 ( I doubt I would subscribe to it, no interest as of now )
CBS-$9.99 ( I will prepay for the year at $99.99 so that discounts it to $8.33 a month )
Universal-$8.99 ( I doubt I would subscribe to it, no interest as of now )

So that makes it $70.95 ( discount price $56.93 ), that before discount price is still less then Dish only-$19.04 which leaves extra money towards a sports streaming service ( if you want it ) if one pops up, Fox Sports or real ESPN for example ( i have no interest in sports anymore) , that is a lot of content streaming only that I would not have time for, much like now.

I did not include Amazon, I do have it but only because of the shipping

So if i added Disney to what I have now $84.97 / 62.61 and that pre discount price is still less then Dish by $5.

And before the naysayers come in and say prices will go up for streaming, you are correct, they will go up, but they will also go up for Dish, Direct,Comcast etc.

Streaming is still a lot less expensive.

For now, and as things currently stand, you can add and remove services on a monthly basis. Hopefully that won't change, but I expect content and delivery costs to continue to be a pain point for streaming though at the same time investors start to expect these ventures to start making money/make more money. My prediction is streaming costs will increase faster than traditional linear services over the next few years because their current profitability is so low/nonexistent. Given what I perceive as IU deficiencies in live streaming platforms (ad skipping, trick-play, general navigation clickiness), I don't see myself dropping linear service any time soon. I am willing to accept I may be in the minority with respect to those things however.

 

[Radioguy41]

Or so posits a journalist:

Streaming TV is about to get very expensive – here's why

Wow, I'm all tingley thinking about original content from the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey, and Reese Witherspoon, etc.

It's the same old "The sky is falling." drivel we've heard before. The supposition of that article is that all those services will be viable (they won't) and people will be so hungry for decade old content they'll pay through the nose for it by subscribing to everything. What an idiotic notion. If Office were such a hot commodity it wouldn't have been canceled to begin with. It represents 7% of Netflix viewing, a measly seven percent! Yeah, that's the little kernal he's basing the whole article on.

 

[ncted]

Wow, I'm all tingley thinking about original content from the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey, and Reese Witherspoon, etc.

It's the same old "The sky is falling." drivel we've heard before. The supposition of that article is that all those services will be viable (they won't) and people will be so hungry for decade old content they'll pay through the nose for it by subscribing to everything. What an idiotic notion. If Office were such a hot commodity it wouldn't have been canceled to begin with. It represents 7% of Netflix viewing, a measly seven percent! Yeah, that's the little kernal he's basing the whole article on.

So a single, non-original, title out of many hundreds of items in their total catalog representing 7% of viewership across dozens of countries isn't significant? No wonder NBC Universal wants it back. That is enough to make millions in revenue every month on its own. The Office wasn't exactly cancelled due to ratings. It had 9 seasons, and it is still clearly drawing huge audiences.

 

[Zookster]

So a single, non-original, title out of many hundreds of items in their total catalog representing 7% of viewership across dozens of countries isn't significant? No wonder NBC Universal wants it back. That is enough to make millions in revenue every month on its own. The Office wasn't exactly cancelled due to ratings. It had 9 seasons, and it is still clearly drawing huge audiences.

It's a mind-blowing statistic IMO. To put it another way, if it were a Netflix original accounting for 7% of viewership, it would easily justify spending GoT amounts of money ($10+ million/per episode) to produce.

 

[KaptainRandom]

Oh,
here's a thought....

A La Carte

Yep,
I said it.

Stream whichever individual 'channels' you want.
Stream only the particular 'channels' you want.
Only pay to stream the particular 'channels' you want.
Directly from the channel owner.
Don't pay for bundled unwanted channels.
Add up the costs of those individual direct purchased channels.
Hmm...
Saving anything with A La Carte?



Sent from my SM-G930P using the SatelliteGuys app!

 

[harshness]

Som between FTA and Youtube, plus the other two above, I dont feel I do need to pay for any other service.

You don't need X-ray vision to see that you're going to need to pay for YouTube in the not-too-distant future.

 

[harshness]

Directly from the channel owner.

Nothing like having a dozen different billings a month to cover all of your programs. Overhead is something nobody wants so the program groups (Disney group, Discovery group, AMC group, MTV group, etc.) will be the smallest unit available going forward.

A la carte is a long dead concept and you can probably blame Viacom for the first dose of poison. Consolidation will insure that it can not be resurrected no matter how badly anyone wants it nor how sound their reasoning.

 

[Juan]

People will just stop buying...much like cable and satellite

Nothing like having a dozen different billings a month to cover all of your programs. Overhead is something nobody wants so the program groups (Disney group, Discovery group, AMC group, MTV group, etc.) will be the smallest unit available going forward.

A la carte is a long dead concept and you can probably blame Viacom for the first dose of poison. Consolidation will insure that it can not be resurrected no matter how badly anyone wants it nor how sound their reasoning.

Sent from my SM-G950U using the SatelliteGuys app!