The world of streaming video is in free fall right now. There’s just no sugar coating it, folks. It costs more than ever to get popular shows on streaming, and it seems like there are fewer and fewer popular shows. All that would be frustrating enough, but recent price increases just don’t seem to be enough for the companies that run those apps.
Take a look at this
Disney raised their prices about 50% this year, depending on which bundle you have.. There’s some indication, too, that Disney will shutter Hulu and move all its content to Disney+ so essentially you’d get that bundle whether you like it or not.
Not only that, Amazon announced that in 2024, they would begin putting commercials into Prime Video unless you chose to pay $3.99 a month. It’s not like that’s a huge amount of money, but come on. Does Amazon really need it? It’s just bad faith to be honest.
When was the last time there was a bona fide hit on Netflix? I had to wrack my brain. Honestly I can’t think of a must-see since Orange is the New Black. I know a lot of people were streaming Suits over the summer but if Netflix hadn’t had it, someone else would have. And yet they’re the most expensive app of the major ones and their base plan still doesn’t give you 4K.
I could go on and on and rant about how Paramount+ is nothing but the Star Trek and Yellowstone app, or how we all know how Max has self-destructed, but I’m sure you’ve read enough of my rants to know what I would say.
The bottom line is it’s getting worse and that’s not good.
What’s been the solution for the decrease in quality and selection on these apps? It’s been to raise prices and add commercials. Does that make any sense to anyone? The streamers say it’s part of a long-overdue focus on profitability and yeah, I get that. The good times weren’t going to last forever. But I think we all found ourselves unprepared for just how bad things would get, and how quickly.
And I’m about to tell you how they could get worse.
2-year contracts?
Hey, remember when everything had a 2-year contract? Your pay-TV service, your cell phone plan, all that stuff? Every provider that once had a 2-year contract now has added a month-to-month plan so you have a choice. It seems to me that the next step for streaming apps is going to be 2-year contracts.
In the last year, most streaming apps have added a discounted price that you can get by paying for a year all at once. That’s great if you happen to have a spare $150 or so lying around for every app. But, not everyone does. That’s why I think providers will offer discounts for those people who are willing to sign a 2-year contract. It will be just like the old-school contract for your cell phone. You’ll be able to get out, but you’ll have to pay a fee.
But… but… but…
I can almost hear you saying how that doesn’t make sense. Isn’t the whole point of streaming that you can cancel at any time? Sure, of course. But those streaming companies have figured out how expensive it is to keep providing great content every month. They can’t do it. And so, they’re going to do the next best thing (from their point of view). They’re going to trap you so they don’t have to live up to their promises. By locking you into a contract, they’ll be able to skate from month to month instead of giving you things you actually want to watch.
This will be, in my opinion, the last step in what I’m calling the “cable-ification” of streaming. A decade ago, pay television was dominated by rising prices, too many commercials, and not enough content. A lot of pay-TV companies (Time Warner Cable / Spectrum) didn’t care, because they made it insanely hard to cancel. They raised prices over and over until people started looking for alternatives.
That’s when people found Netflix and Hulu. By the way, both of those services started out for free — Netflix streaming was free if you had a DVD plan and Hulu was just plain free. People figured they could save money by simply streaming, and even when prices started to rise, they realized they could cancel underperforming apps.
Cable TV in 2013, meet streaming in 2023
Streaming in 2023 is beginning to look a lot like cable TV did back then. It’s getting to be an increasingly bad value and if the streamers take away your ability to cancel, it’s going to get worse. At that point,you’ll seek a different choice. I have a feeling 2024 and beyond is going to be a great time for traditional pay television, because all of a sudden it’s turning into a great value. Maybe it’s time to give it another look!
