As 'Subscription Fatigue' Sets In, the OTT Reckoning May Be Upon Us (adweek.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Deciding which streaming outlet you want to subscribe to can be just as hard as finding a show itself. With options from big players like Netflix, HBO Now, Hulu, Showtime, Amazon and YouTube Premium -- and looming new platforms from the likes of Disney, Apple, AT&T and NBCUniversal -- consumers are already starting to grow frustrated with the crowded streaming marketplace as "subscription fatigue" sets in, according to Deloitte's 13th edition of its Digital Media Trends survey.

Viewers are taking advantage of these options: the average video consumer subscribes to three video streaming services, said Deloitte. But they're growing frustrated over just how many options they have. Nearly half of those surveyed, at 47 percent, said they are frustrated by the growing number of subscriptions and services to watch their shows. And this audience grows attached to the content: 57 percent of consumers said it frustrates them when shows and movies disappear from their streaming libraries.

Comments

A la carte

[Sumus Semper Una]

But they're growing frustrated over just how many options they have.

No, what these people are complaining about is that nobody has been able to deliver on a reasonably priced one- or two-stop a la carte experience for viewing content they care about. And they're placing the blame squarely where it belongs - on subscription services basing their model on producing "you can only find this show on this service" content to try to lock in their piece of the pie.

I don't have to subscribe to a video game service if I want to play the newest video game. I can just buy whatever game interests me.
I don't have to subscribe to a musical venue service if I want to go to the newest concert. I can just buy a ticket to the concert that interests me.
I don't have to subscribe to a movie ticket service if I want to go to the newest movie. I can just buy a ticket for whatever movie interests me.

What is so special about TV shows that intrinsically requires a subscription to a service offering many different shows when all I wanted was to follow the newest episodes of one or a few?

Keep in mind that after having said all that, streaming is still an improvement over cable.

Re:It's not the choice that "fatigues"

[Anonymous Brave Guy]

This is why I still buy movies and sometimes TV shows that I enjoy on physical discs. If it's something I might enjoy rewatching later, or a long-running show where I want to make sure I can watch the whole thing, it doesn't work out significantly more expensive given how much I typically watch on the likes of Netflix.

The frustrating thing is that because of the emphasis on streaming and rental models these days, it's much harder to buy a lot of things on disc than it used to be, You can find that seasons 1 and 2 are out on disc, but season 3 isn't, and season 4 is but only on US import that doesn't quite work right here in the UK. Then because Amazon won and killed off all the competition, and right now it doesn't have season 2 on sale, you get stuck anyway.

I miss the old days, when there were actual bricks 'n' mortar shops like Silver Screen, where you could go in and buy most moderately popular films and shows from at least the past decade or two and the classics right off the shelf, and they knew how to get hold of just about anything else if you wanted to order it for collection later. What we have with modern technology should have been better, but as usual the money-grabbing media companies have spoiled it by trying to lock everything up and squeeze out a tiny bit more profit.