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There Are Way Too Many Streaming Services

Posted by msmash on from the thank-you-very-much dept.

Cord-cutting promised us that we won't have to pay the ludicrously large cable bills. But it turns out, as long as you do not just want to watch a very limited set of movies and TV shows, you will have to subscribe to any number of these services: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Go, Hulu, and Disney+ (and more.) For some living outside the US, the situation has become even more dire as they browse through as many as three dozen services. This, in addition to making watching TV expensive, is also creating a number of other confusions. No wonder piracy is on rise again.

4 of 218 comments (clear)

  1. very limited? by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I haven't found Amazon Prime Video to be "very limited". There's a vast catalog, from every genre imaginable, more than I could ever watch.

    Now sure, if you absolutely must have {something that Prime doesn't have}, then you'll need to add something else. And that's your choice.

    But "doesn't have everything on earth" != "very limited"

  2. Most people could just buy by bobstreo · · Score: 3, Interesting

    z nice antenna and an OTA compatible DVR. Some new content, and better resolution than cable companies provide.

    It's a one time purchase of a couple hundred bucks. Some OTA DVR services have a monthly charge for things like television guides or cloud services, I'm surprised that a whole lot of little companies haven't popped up to install stuff like this.

  3. Re:Too many choices? Bad? Are you fucking kidding? by slinches · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Exactly this. It's exclusive licensing that allows for the balkanization of content among increasingly various streaming services. Instead, we should insist on FRAND type licensing like we do for many patents. That along with separating the content creation from distribution will allow a competitive market to develop rather than the monopoly on creative content we are trending toward.

    --
    Knowledge Brings Fear
  4. Re:Too many choices? Bad? Are you fucking kidding? by alexo · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The constitution requires giving the creators "exclusive right" of the work.

    No it doesn't. It allows congress to give the creators "exclusive right" for limited times.

    U.S. Constitution - Article 1 Section 8:
    The Congress shall have Power [...] To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;

    And I would like to add for the record that 5 nanoseconds satisfies "for limited times" quite well.