General Discussion Caleb D: The cord cutting dream is officially over (1 Viewer)

[andrew]

That all seems, as has been said, pretty predictable, however I've found that outside of Netflix no ones really taken cracking down on sharing seriously and the key to making steaming viable it seems like is having a group that shares. The morality of that aside for anyone who is against those things. For international services like Netflix you can also utilize a VPN to get lower rates. For a subscription initiated in Albania or Turkey Netflix's top tier runs between $10-11/month rather than what, over $20 for one started in the US? I'm about $40/month hooked and have access to 6 services, four that I pay for (Netflix, HBO Max w/legacy annual plan, Peacock, Dropout.tv - all ad free) and two via sharing (Hulu, Apple TV), which is more that I really need anyway.

 

[John Dirk]

I guess “dream is over” is really perspective dependent.

I used to pay for both cable and all the apps I have now. By the end of my cable subscription I did not use it at all. It was literally throwing money down the garbage disposal. Now I just pay for the apps. However much the apps went up since 2019 is still far less than what the cable bill was.

If you want the convenience of just paying for service and not thinking twice about it and not putting any effort into keeping on top of it - which is not an unreasonable desire - you’ll probably pay more. If you’re willing to take a critical look at what content you consume, where it’s available and willing to put the effort into actively managing what you sign up for - you’ll probably pay less.

Agreed, but I'd add, for those willing to invest a little effort and view content categorically instead of automatically considering the popular shows offered by the big providers as "must-see" options, there's a ton of absolutely free alternatives. For instance, for me, "comedy is comedy" and there are great lesser-known options out there outside of the paid streaming world. I pay for Netflix and only Netflix at this point. The rest of my content comes from...

• OTA - Install a cheap antenna in most markets and get a host of free channels. Sure there are ads, but that's fair when it's free.
• Tubi, Pluto, etc - Again, there are ads but it's free. The streamers now have ads and aren't free.
• Kanopy - Free [and commercial free] with a library card in most markets
• You Tube - Free with minimal ads
• Catalog Titles - [Some of us have larger catalogs than others but, IMO, a lot of the older stuff is much better than what is being produced now]
• Physical Media - Not free but no subscription nonsense. I bought most of Curb, King of Queens and a lot more shows years ago and they're still worth returning to on occasion. If enough time passes, it becomes "new to me."

 

[JohnRice]

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Companies exist to make money. As much money as they can. They will try pretty much anything, hoping customers will tolerate it.

Has everyone forgotten (or are too young to remember) "Downgrade Fees"? It's something the wonderful cable companies did, which was such a crass money grab, it was outlawed. Back in the '80s, say you are paying $9.95/month to have HBO with your cable service. You decide you don't want HBO anymore, so you call up the wonderful, virtuous people at the cable company to cancel it. They inform you there will be a $60 "Downgrade Fee" to take HBO off your account.

If streamers implement a "re-subscription fee" and enough customers cancel their service and never come back, it'll change.

Personally, I seriously doubt this will be implemented by many, if any services. If it is, punish them for it. Cancel your service all together, and make certain they know this is the sole reason.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I just got renewal emails from Apple today. To have AppleTV+ and Apple Music subscriptions, it's going to cost me $218.00 for a year.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I just got renewal emails from Apple today. To have AppleTV+ and Apple Music subscriptions, it's going to cost me $218.00 for a year.

Ouch. There wouldn’t be a compelling enough reason for me to dish $218 for a year those. I’ve had both and dropped them because they didn’t offer a value for me.