Streaming Price Hikes! Is This the End?

So, I’m not sure where you’re at as far as streaming content goes, but I have some specific thoughts on the matter, especially in light of the recently announced price hikes. You can check out this article here on Yahoo! Finance for specific pricing.

For starters, I would have considered myself a die hard streaming guy an hour ago. But, as I pondered the whole streaming thing, I realized that if you held me over the abyss and told me I had to pick just one form of entertainment, I’d pick reading books, hands down.

“I volunteer as tribute! I volunteer as tribute!”

Not that this is a surprise to me. I just thought there would be a little more resistance to giving up TV and movies. Now if we were talking music …

But back to my main point. Every single streaming service is or has already raised their monthly subscription price as well as started offering an ad-supported tier if you want to keep that monthly cost down. This isn’t a surprise either. Acquiring new content, producing it, and releasing it into the wild requires money. Lots of it!

I think I’m more surprised that it actually took this long. Maybe the pandemic had something to do with it or maybe it was the plan all along. Strangely enough, the price hikes don’t bother me (other than the fact that it costs more money). Much of the pushback I’m seeing, based on the handful of articles I’ve read, has to do with streaming services soon costing the same as cable TV. Remember the whole “cut the cord” thing? Sure, at one point it made sense to cancel your cable and make the jump to streaming only. When there were only two streaming services. Now that there’s at least nine? Uh, yes, if you subscribe to all of them then you will probably be paying more than cable. But I think we’re comparing apples to oranges.

In my opinion, live TV and streaming services serve two different markets, although there can be some crossover, I’m sure. I didn’t cancel cable because streaming was cheaper. I cancelled cable because the majority of programming sucked and I couldn’t watch what I wanted, when I wanted, where I wanted. There are a quadrillion channels on cable but maybe two things I actually wanted to watch. With streaming, the problem is the opposite. I have so many choices, I can get bogged down in the decision making. So many shows, so little time! As for you sport enthusiasts out there, sure, cable is easy access to those events. But dammit! How many times have you wanted to watch the Patriot’s game only to have it blocked out because the local team was playing at the same time? Just me? I see.

I should add that there are some streaming services that offer live TV as well (I’m looking at you, YouTube). But since I don’t subscribe to them, I can’t offer up much of an opinion.

Honestly, it’s going to boil down to personal preferences. As a consumer, my approach is this: how often am I really watching? What is my return on investment? So, whether you’re interested or not, here are the streaming services I subscribe to and why I may or may not be keeping them:

·        Paramount + (with ads): this is currently free with my phone plan, and I use it almost exclusively for watching Star Trek (yes folks, I am a Trekkie). However, once my free pass is up, I’m out. I should have bought all of the Trek series a long time ago anyway.

·        Netflix (no ads): every time I think about cancelling my subscription, I see something that I “just need to check out”. And then two months pass. Netflix! I think this service is still worth paying for, but I may drop to the ad supported tier, because, you know, bills.

·        Hulu (no ads): I have three things to say about Hulu – The X-Files, 24, and anime. I will probably never stop paying for you, Hulu. You’re welcome. (Side Note: I could always buy the X-Files & 24 and there are less expensive alternatives for watching anime, so … never say never.)

·        Disney + (no ads): this one’s a little tricky. I love Disney programming, I really do. Star Wars? Marvel? Pixar? The Island at the Top of the World? Heck yeah! But, with that being said, I bundle Disney + with Hulu, which reduces the current cost of Disney to $2.99 a month. Would I pay full price? Ask me when I have to pull the trigger on that because honestly, I’m on the fence.

·        Amazon Prime: Yes, I pay tribute to the Amazon machine, if for no other reason than it gave us Kindle Direct Publishing, arguably the beginning of the indie author revolution. I will probably always have Amazon Prime Video for as long as it’s a part of the Amazon Prime membership. The original programming is ok, but then there’s Freevee (I’m a sucker for old movies and TV shows – I see You Magnum P.I.) as well as the ability to rent or buy digital versions of movies and TV shows.

If push came to shove, I’d seriously consider dropping to the ad-supported tiers, even though ads can turn a 45 to 50 minute watch into an hour. And really, manscaping ads? What the hell! Regardless, my reasons for cutting the cord remain the same, less the cost and more the convenience (watching when I want, where I want, even on my phone) and variety.

As for you, maybe this is a good time to take a personal inventory of what you watch and why you watch. Would you absolutely lose your mind if you had to cut the cord and ditch your streaming services? Or do you watch as inspiration for your other creative endeavors? Is it part of your creative process? Maybe you’re a video game enthusiast like me. I would love to take more time doing that. Would your time be better served doing something else that you love? Like writing that damn book (I’m talking to you again, Max!). It might also be a little weird that I refer to myself in the third person.

I’m super curious as to what your thoughts are on the matter. Please feel free to comment and I will catch you on the flip side. Write On!