With the simultaneous rollout of restrictions on account sharing and price increases/addition of advertising, I’m cutting back severely on streaming services.
I allowed my streaming subscriptions to grow without thinking about it. Without trying to remember the constant merging and bundling, I was subscribed to probably a dozen services at one point. They ranged from Netflix and HBO and Hulu to Shudder and Showtime. I had Paramount, Criterion, Disney, Peacock, and others. I’d do the typical thing where I’d search for a movie, find it is exclusive to a platform, and grab the free trial and forget to cancel. I excused it if I found a movie even every couple of months on it. There were still nights where it’d take an hour to find something I wanted to watch. I was probably closing in on $200/month all told, and I don’t have sports subscriptions.
I’m interested in learning what other people are doing regarding the price hikes and service compromises. Are you cancelling? Are you taking advantage of bundles with your internet services? Are you rotating on some interval? Or are you not changing at all?
Account sharing is theft. Sorry, but you agreed to a ToS rider and they're clear about that. "B-b-but it's my mom's who lives in another state" isn't a valid objection. The services have real costs for licensing they need to protect.
Now, before you down vote I agree with pretty much the rest. Introducing ads into paid tiers is utter bullshit, and capping quality for paid subscribers amounts to theft the other way. I'm paying for a product and I agreed to Terms.
We just carry Hulu here. We don't use the free Netflix we get though perks programs because They Suck, and I am canceling Huiu upon seeing the first ad I'm forced to sit through. We also have free AppleTV, bit haven't activated because its Apple and we are an Android household.
Does any of this contribute to the discussion? No, probably not but I feel better for having ranted about it. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.