This is what they took from us
Streaming was supposed to be the answer to expensive TV packages and overpriced DVDs.Now we're paying more than ever for multiple subscriptions, getting bombarded with ads, and watching lower-quality films than we had even 5 years ago.
In 2012, Netflix was £5.99 a month.
One subscription, thousands of films and TV shows, no ads. It was cheaper than renting DVDs and you could watch whatever you wanted whenever you wanted.
Now, Netflix is £12.99 a month without adverts. Plus you now need another 5 subscriptions if you want access to everything because films and shows are split across different platforms. If you want to watch a specific film, you have to check five different apps to see who's got it, and half the time nobody has it and you have to rent it separately for £5.99.
On top of that, most of them now have ads.
Netflix introduced an ad-supported tier.
Amazon Prime Video added ads to their standard plan unless you pay extra to remove them. Disney+ has ads on their cheaper tier.
We've gone full circle.
We're paying for multiple subscriptions, watching ads, and still not getting access to everything we want. It's TV packages all over again, just more fragmented and more expensive.
And the quality has dropped. Streaming services are churning out cheap content to fill their libraries instead of investing in good films and shows. Half of what's available is low-budget filler nobody asked for.
Meanwhile, DVDs gave you the film, the bonus features, the director's commentary, deleted scenes. You owned it. You could watch it whenever you wanted without worrying about it disappearing from the platform next month.
Blockbuster and DVD rental shops weren't the problem. Overpriced packages were. But instead of fixing that, we've ended up with something worse.
In 2012, Netflix was £5.99 a month.
One subscription, thousands of films and TV shows, no ads. It was cheaper than renting DVDs and you could watch whatever you wanted whenever you wanted.
Now, Netflix is £12.99 a month without adverts. Plus you now need another 5 subscriptions if you want access to everything because films and shows are split across different platforms. If you want to watch a specific film, you have to check five different apps to see who's got it, and half the time nobody has it and you have to rent it separately for £5.99.
On top of that, most of them now have ads.
Netflix introduced an ad-supported tier.
Amazon Prime Video added ads to their standard plan unless you pay extra to remove them. Disney+ has ads on their cheaper tier.
We've gone full circle.
We're paying for multiple subscriptions, watching ads, and still not getting access to everything we want. It's TV packages all over again, just more fragmented and more expensive.
And the quality has dropped. Streaming services are churning out cheap content to fill their libraries instead of investing in good films and shows. Half of what's available is low-budget filler nobody asked for.
Meanwhile, DVDs gave you the film, the bonus features, the director's commentary, deleted scenes. You owned it. You could watch it whenever you wanted without worrying about it disappearing from the platform next month.
Blockbuster and DVD rental shops weren't the problem. Overpriced packages were. But instead of fixing that, we've ended up with something worse.
