Disney+ and the evolving streaming landscape.
Netflix was too good to be true. Anyone who feels like the current state of things is "bad" has clearly already forgotten the time before Netflix. Which, oddly still exists.
What is most impressive, though I suspect long standing licensing deals play a major part, is how long the situation has remained as good as it is.
The basic problem with cable, and this will exist to an extent with subscription services, was that channels were often locked into bigger packages or bundles. And to make things worse, some were only available to certain tiers. I suspect that over time subscriptions services will move more and more this way as well. But, the present and the near future are very much nothing at all like this.
In the cable landscape, if you wanted a wide selection of quality content, it was going to cost money. And this shouldn't surprise anyone. But, cable subscriptions were out of line at the end with some packages costing upwards of $200CAD when all was factored in. Again, if you wanted the premium movie channels, sports, news, all of the hit syndicated shows... you were watching everything worth watching. You should be expecting to pay the most.
The REAL problem with cable was those who only cared about a few things. For me, it was Discovery channel. Here is Canada, it was always an add-on to a higher tier package. I literally wanted ONE channel. And, at the time it was really only to watch Myth Busters. I would probably dabble in a few other things. But, at the time that was the only show I really cared about watching on TV.
And a lot of people I knew were in the same boat. They primarily had just 1 or 2 shows they really cared about. Those people were the ones who got burned. The best syndicated networks were often not available in the basic packages, and any popular specialty channels were either in expensive bundles or bundled with higher tiered services... or both.
This brought a landscape where, if you were like me, it would cost north of $100 to get access to the one show you cared about.
Disney+ resulting in Disney pulling their content from Netflix definitely makes Netflix a harder sell for some. But then, if your only reason for subscribing to Netflix is the Disney content you cancel one subscription and replace it with another.
If it is a single show you care about, just about every platform has a store where you can buy shows and seasons passes for shows. I bought the last season of Myth Busters this way. It cost me $30. Less than a 3rd of the cost of a single month of cable package that would have only let me watch the show at predetermined times.
I'm not saying that the landscape isn't worse than it was. It certainly is. Netflix's catalogue becomes increasingly more a combination of niche content and original content rather than the catch-all for everything that it used to be. But, the landscape is still FAR better than it ever was with cable. And anyone who thinks that the old Netflix was ever sustainable is idiotic.
The value Netflix brought 10 years ago was TOTALLY disproportionate to it's cost. Today, the cost and the value are getting a lot closer together. The only way Netflix could have stayed the way it was, would be if it didn't get too popular. But, with the value it offered at the cost it charged, that was simply impossible. It offered a legal way to get desirable content, on demand, MUCH more affordably than the traditional stream. The gravy train was never going to run forever. And it isn't Netflix's or Disney's fault, or anyone else's for that matter.
I don't look forward to my monthly streaming costs going up. But, I can still easily say that I get a LOT more value for the money I spend than I did with cable. When we cut the cord, I literally watched Family Feud because it was the only thing worth watching after work, Jeopardy because I enjoyed it, and the news. We didn't subscribe to the channels I wanted because of the cost. So, I paid $90CAD/month to watch one show I enjoyed, and 2 things I could live without. Oh, and Big Bang Theory once a week.
Today, we have a subscription to Crunchy Roll for anime. I can generally find either a current series to watch most days of the week, or an old series to binge. I'd say in an average week I look forward to 3-5 shows depending on the season, another 1-3 I could live without but enjoy and a random smattering or stuff I dabble in and eventually stop watching. It is almost an order of magnitude more TV watched at a fraction the cost.
We have Netflix, and while we have gotten great value out of it historically, at the moment, we really just keep it for the kids shows for our daughter. It costs a lot less getting a cable package and has a better variety at the moment. But, maybe we'll switch to Disney+ when it comes to Canada.
We have Amazon Prime at the moment, but, I'll probably cancel it for a few months shortly. And this is seriously the best thing about streaming services. Back catalogues. If the bulk of the content, or the average new content doesn't appeal to you... cancel the service for a few months. Come back later and watch the few things you missed. I've signed up to Amazon probably 3 times now to do this.
When I cancel Prime, I'll probably switch to Crave for a few months.
The other great thing is annual subscriptions. The easiest way for me to compare these services is this; most of these services cost the same for a year, as cable cost me per month. You could, quite likely, add a new annual subscription every month for less than you paid for cable. And, you would end up with a revolving library of 12 subscription services.
That, in my opinion, would be just as wasteful, as a cable subscription. There are some services which are worth an annual sub and some which make more sense to watch for a few months at a time and cancel.
Netflix fits in the "good for an annual sub" category for most. While the catalogue is dwindling, it is still probably the largest and best. It also has the largest library of original content which it will never lose the licensing for. And adds the most original content on an ongoing basis at the moment. But, it really depends on your tastes.
Then, in most cases you can probably find a good niche streaming service for whatever your other interests are. For us it is Crunchyroll. And then rotate other services in and out on a regular basis.
3-4 active subscriptions should cost less per month than any reasonable cable package. And since you're in control of which you subscribe to, the value should be higher. If you're subbing some of those in and our regularly, you should always have SOMETHING new and interesting to watch. And, if not, cancel them. You can always use that money to rent movies or shows which aren't in your subs.
And if a show or movie is only available by subscription, you're only out of luck if you would prefer a physical or permanent digital copy. Because, otherwise, subscriptions tend to cost less than movie or TV show seasons. So, just wait for the season to wrap up or movie to come available, subscribe for a month and cancel right away.
Anyway, I don't that things will eventually find a way back to being as bad as they were with cable. But, this is nowhere near as bad yet as things were.
What is most impressive, though I suspect long standing licensing deals play a major part, is how long the situation has remained as good as it is.
The basic problem with cable, and this will exist to an extent with subscription services, was that channels were often locked into bigger packages or bundles. And to make things worse, some were only available to certain tiers. I suspect that over time subscriptions services will move more and more this way as well. But, the present and the near future are very much nothing at all like this.
In the cable landscape, if you wanted a wide selection of quality content, it was going to cost money. And this shouldn't surprise anyone. But, cable subscriptions were out of line at the end with some packages costing upwards of $200CAD when all was factored in. Again, if you wanted the premium movie channels, sports, news, all of the hit syndicated shows... you were watching everything worth watching. You should be expecting to pay the most.
The REAL problem with cable was those who only cared about a few things. For me, it was Discovery channel. Here is Canada, it was always an add-on to a higher tier package. I literally wanted ONE channel. And, at the time it was really only to watch Myth Busters. I would probably dabble in a few other things. But, at the time that was the only show I really cared about watching on TV.
And a lot of people I knew were in the same boat. They primarily had just 1 or 2 shows they really cared about. Those people were the ones who got burned. The best syndicated networks were often not available in the basic packages, and any popular specialty channels were either in expensive bundles or bundled with higher tiered services... or both.
This brought a landscape where, if you were like me, it would cost north of $100 to get access to the one show you cared about.
Disney+ resulting in Disney pulling their content from Netflix definitely makes Netflix a harder sell for some. But then, if your only reason for subscribing to Netflix is the Disney content you cancel one subscription and replace it with another.
If it is a single show you care about, just about every platform has a store where you can buy shows and seasons passes for shows. I bought the last season of Myth Busters this way. It cost me $30. Less than a 3rd of the cost of a single month of cable package that would have only let me watch the show at predetermined times.
I'm not saying that the landscape isn't worse than it was. It certainly is. Netflix's catalogue becomes increasingly more a combination of niche content and original content rather than the catch-all for everything that it used to be. But, the landscape is still FAR better than it ever was with cable. And anyone who thinks that the old Netflix was ever sustainable is idiotic.
The value Netflix brought 10 years ago was TOTALLY disproportionate to it's cost. Today, the cost and the value are getting a lot closer together. The only way Netflix could have stayed the way it was, would be if it didn't get too popular. But, with the value it offered at the cost it charged, that was simply impossible. It offered a legal way to get desirable content, on demand, MUCH more affordably than the traditional stream. The gravy train was never going to run forever. And it isn't Netflix's or Disney's fault, or anyone else's for that matter.
I don't look forward to my monthly streaming costs going up. But, I can still easily say that I get a LOT more value for the money I spend than I did with cable. When we cut the cord, I literally watched Family Feud because it was the only thing worth watching after work, Jeopardy because I enjoyed it, and the news. We didn't subscribe to the channels I wanted because of the cost. So, I paid $90CAD/month to watch one show I enjoyed, and 2 things I could live without. Oh, and Big Bang Theory once a week.
Today, we have a subscription to Crunchy Roll for anime. I can generally find either a current series to watch most days of the week, or an old series to binge. I'd say in an average week I look forward to 3-5 shows depending on the season, another 1-3 I could live without but enjoy and a random smattering or stuff I dabble in and eventually stop watching. It is almost an order of magnitude more TV watched at a fraction the cost.
We have Netflix, and while we have gotten great value out of it historically, at the moment, we really just keep it for the kids shows for our daughter. It costs a lot less getting a cable package and has a better variety at the moment. But, maybe we'll switch to Disney+ when it comes to Canada.
We have Amazon Prime at the moment, but, I'll probably cancel it for a few months shortly. And this is seriously the best thing about streaming services. Back catalogues. If the bulk of the content, or the average new content doesn't appeal to you... cancel the service for a few months. Come back later and watch the few things you missed. I've signed up to Amazon probably 3 times now to do this.
When I cancel Prime, I'll probably switch to Crave for a few months.
The other great thing is annual subscriptions. The easiest way for me to compare these services is this; most of these services cost the same for a year, as cable cost me per month. You could, quite likely, add a new annual subscription every month for less than you paid for cable. And, you would end up with a revolving library of 12 subscription services.
That, in my opinion, would be just as wasteful, as a cable subscription. There are some services which are worth an annual sub and some which make more sense to watch for a few months at a time and cancel.
Netflix fits in the "good for an annual sub" category for most. While the catalogue is dwindling, it is still probably the largest and best. It also has the largest library of original content which it will never lose the licensing for. And adds the most original content on an ongoing basis at the moment. But, it really depends on your tastes.
Then, in most cases you can probably find a good niche streaming service for whatever your other interests are. For us it is Crunchyroll. And then rotate other services in and out on a regular basis.
3-4 active subscriptions should cost less per month than any reasonable cable package. And since you're in control of which you subscribe to, the value should be higher. If you're subbing some of those in and our regularly, you should always have SOMETHING new and interesting to watch. And, if not, cancel them. You can always use that money to rent movies or shows which aren't in your subs.
And if a show or movie is only available by subscription, you're only out of luck if you would prefer a physical or permanent digital copy. Because, otherwise, subscriptions tend to cost less than movie or TV show seasons. So, just wait for the season to wrap up or movie to come available, subscribe for a month and cancel right away.
Anyway, I don't that things will eventually find a way back to being as bad as they were with cable. But, this is nowhere near as bad yet as things were.
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