Magnetic Video was the first label to put out major studio movies (not public-domain or porn) on VHS and Beta in 1977, their first big license was 20th Century Fox which bought them after a few years.
Same could be said for Fry's. I thought they'd always stay committed to physical media (they carried tons of obscure titles that nobody else would) but they couldn't get new stock in after their distributors cut them off, and finally called it quits.
I liked being able to stumble upon things on Netflix when it was new and had a lot more obscure stuff. Everything started when I wanted it to, so it wasn't like flipping TV channels and finding something that had already started. I can't tolerate the credit shrinking or skip intro prompts...
Actually, I was QUITE up in arms back in the 80s when I saw that the "basic" cable channels showed cut versions of movies, in addition to interrupting them with commercials. They aren't under any FCC regulations, and one of the original purposes of cable was to see uncut movies and other things...
Streaming services you pay for should not be considered the same as “TV stations.” Those exist mainly to sell advertising and have some laws they have to follow. If I’m paying for any streaming service, I want everything uncut and uninterrupted- as I always expected from cable as well and...
And they’ll do it depending on the political climate of the day- something that’s been online so far could suddenly be declared offensive tomorrow, and then changed or deleted to meet that new standard of inoffensiveness.
What about when the rightsholders decide for whatever reason that something shouldn’t be seen anymore, such as the Michael Jackson Simpsons episode? I have that on disc so they can do whatever they want with it but I’ll always be able to see it (assuming the disc doesn’t rot of course.)
More than once I’ve gotten a $5 Best Buy “reward certificate” yet found nothing in the stores to spend it on. Resorted to getting some batteries and empty sleeves for my blank discs once.