Streaming sucks now: Ads, bundles, price
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 มิ.ย. 2024
- With higher prices, more ads, and unwanted bundling it really seems like streaming is becoming dangerously like cable. Last year alone, all of the major names in streaming - Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, Max, Apple TV Plus, Paramount Plus, and Peacock - have raised their prices. This all leads to one big question: is there an end in sight to this streaming hellscape? #Technology #TV #Streaming
00:00 My Netflix
00:46 How We Got Here
2:54 An Ad Business
5:34 Bundling
6:37 Is There Hope?
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Streaming isn’t actually cable, is it? Or are we in denial?
But it still comes through a coaxial cable.
*Stremio*
Streaming imo is fine, I don't get the doom and gloom, personally I like amazon prime, for £8.99 you get a lot of free decent services to always use. It is great, having unlimited cloud storage, next day shipping and even with the ads in prime video, I barely see even 1 ad so far.
Also a lot of free games and ebooks, ad free music, and free cloud gaming.
.
Imo I have had nothing but good times with this subscription service, even when I'm not ordering a lot of stuff on amazon. .
other subscription services have better movies but you dont need to subscribe all the time. Just sub when there is a show you like. Personally imo it is a lot of doom and gloom, it could all be in one place, but the price would probably be too expensive. And competition is good in any market.
Without getting too Geeky, you need to talk about how Plex fits into all this 😀
Yes.
One of the worst side effects of this is having to google where to watch stuff and finding out it is broken up among several streaming services. Sometimes people go for piracy just because it is more convenient.
This.
It is a service issue.
Big problem. Though, I’d recommend JustWatch to make it a little less of a hassle!
I use Just Watch for managing this, great site/app. Doesn't solve the core problem but really helps with knowing where to watch everything
Like Valve's Gabe Newell once said. "Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem"
No, what we need to do is introduce another streaming platform for just $6/month!
just torrent folks 🙂
I just watch TH-cam. I don’t stream or watch television. I don’t even pay for TH-cam Premium.
@@Armando_Aranda same here tbh
You can tell everybody is torrenting like crazy these days from the seed counts these days
@@Armando_Arandathat's literally all my wife and kid do. Though we pay for Premium. I'm the only one actually watching the streaming services and the TH-cam TV subscription I'm paying for.
Plex Is also great.
One of the reasons why Netflix was so incredibly successful is that it was more convenient than piracy. The price was low enough to not be a major hurdle for most people, password sharing was tolerated, and most things that people wanted to watch were available. Fast forward to today, where prices have skyrocketed, password sharing is tightly controlled, and the streaming landscape has fragmented. Now it is more effort to watch something legally than to find a work-around. 😢
The high seas is the best. 4K viewing, no ads and a lot of options 🏴☠️
Ah yes the technology gonna come and save the day would be p2p again 🤣
🏴☠️
@@tronghieudoan97 Good VPN is still cheaper than whole year of one Streaming Service...
Trying to romanticize online crime by likening it to sailing eh?
@@driaan_louwDoesn't even look like you know why it's called "piracy" in the first place
Stuff I hate with streaming now.
1. To many company mergers resulting in paying for content im not interested in.
2. Ads for the service own series before the content you want to see.
3. Ads in paying tiers
4. Paying premium prices for technology (4k/surround) bundled with larges higher content tiers.
5. Mixing content i already payed for and content you have to pay extra for in the same view.
Piracy is already on the rise again and i just want to be able to pay for the content i want with the tech i want and not be bothered with everything else..
Plus shows very might likely ending on cliff hangers without new season
Simple answer, just stop watching the junk. I rarely warch anything any more except TH-cam and have way more time and freedom to do stuff or just relax.
+ you're not even allowed to use it outside of your home
- Is there really hope?
- YES, yes... pirac...
- ATSC 3.0
Oh... well, I like my solution better.
I don't see how ATSC 3.0 helps anyway. It's a communication technology not a business model.
You'll still have to pay for the content you want, they can still bundle that with content you don't want (but pay for), and they can still send ads via ATSC 3.0
Unless I'm missing something the best we'll get is a repeat of the streaming cycle.
Tbh, I'm not seeing how ATSC is going to help us. Netflix, Disney, etc. are still going to charge us a subscription fee to see their content. And no extra fees to the ISP? You think the only reason I have internet at home is to watch Netflix? Yo ho ho and a fast connection is the only way to avoid this mess.
I still didn't understand the ATSC thing...why would I want Disney Plus "on my TV"? Don't I already have it there via app or console? What would be different? So confused.
Give me streaming services before 2020 again. I only pay for Prime Video, i used to have netflix. Its just a joke to pay that much now for so little in return. ALSO WHY AM I PAYING FOR 4K but CANT WATCH 4K ON A COMPUTER. THEY ARE INCETIVISING PIRACY!!!!
You can't even watch 1080p purchased movies on TH-cam, which is a rip off.
@@andrewmulertjopu8ppp0
They do it to prevent piracy, but SURPRISINGLY when you go to torrents you can find almost everything in 4k there. Great job
I'm moving back to physical media. Cancelled all streaming services not included with my phone or Internet plans and saved over $100 a month. My local library has free movie rentals, the salvation army sells DVDs and blu rays for next to nothing and either of those look and sound better than what streaming offers. If it's a movie I really love I'll get the 4k UHD Blu Ray with HDR and Atmos.
ATSC 3.0 is being ruined by broadcasters encrypting public airways which should be illegal.
You should ask your local government to stop this nonsense
@@charlesdoesmore5488I’ve already reached out to my congressional representatives and the FCC.
Alex, you're great, but.. I already have Disney+ on my TV 😅 still not really seeing the value of ATSC 3
Eventually that tv will stop receiving updates and support for the Disney+ app. Delivering it over the airwaves via ATSC 3 means you’ll always have access to the service regardless of how old the set is
For me the solution is stock up on blu rays and ingest them into my home media server. A catalog of only things I want to watch, at the highest quality possible. And unlike steaming services my setup will only improve with age.
A lot of the ATSC digital broadcasts are DRM with encryption and require an internet connection to decrypt the signal. It's no longer like the old days where you could plug in a tv and some rabbit ears and watch your local channels. Now your tv also needs an internet connection to decrypt/decode the over-the-air DRM signals. Basically, over the air TV is no longer free.
You can still plug in antenna in I think a lot of people don't know this. It's not well understood but you can absolutely still plug in antenna in and get free channels. Lon TV is constantly talking about the best ways to do this. But you are right there is a big battle over encryption.
I feel the video is misleading by overhyping ATSC 3.0. While it offers better video/audio quality (4K, HDR, immersive sound), the interactivity is likely for targeted ads, not free premium channels.
It also nerfs the ability to record content, so its harder/impossible to fast-forward past the ads.
I doubt it will be ATSC 3.0 as they are putting DRM on some of the stations that they offer which seems to be a growing trend with this service.
yeah atsc is going to make older TVs obsolete if they DRM it, creating a lot of e-waste, specially without the TV tuner subsidies we got in the late 00s
It might also require an Internet connection to update the cryptographic keys for the DRM that we don't want. ATSC 1.0 was free, over-the-air television that allowed recording. ATSC 3.0 is not.
And now Disney & Warner Bros are teaming up on streaming bundles lol
Ahhh I love monopolization 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
Say it with me, piracy is back baby
I'm still not following you regarding ATSC 3.0. How does eliminating the need for a DVR or streaming device solve this problem? Seems like it just removes the need for an additional device but doesn't change the fundamental business model.
As soon as I saw Alex, I just knew, this was the day she was going to explain ATSC 3.0 😂
But like, I still don’t get what it is…🤷🏼♂️🤔.
@@CliffdogRussell The video is misleading. ATSC 3.0 will not allow you to watch premium content for free. It enables higher resolution video, 4K, better image contrast, HDR, and immersive audio. Also, it allows targeted advertising. And I think that's the main selling point from the broadcasters' perspective. TV channels will be able to charge much more targeted ads.
The thumbnail with the Xfinity remote is incredibly triggering for people of a certain age, oh how I hated that thing
I'm only in my 20s but those things still irritate me! At least they had fun buttons to press if you liked to fidget.
Would love a similar coverage on how TH-cam's quality is declining. The ads just keep getting longer and more frequent and what sucks even more is the youtube content isn't really uploaded on any other platform, unlike Reels and Tiktok.
I hate advertising so much!
I'm back to physical media. I'm tired of paying a lot not to own anything.
Feels like it's intentionally more difficult to buy blurays these days.
8:18 I just don't understand how that's different, practically, from the status quo. All those are already on my TV.
Buy physical media, rip it to a NAS and it is yours with no extra cost plus 4K/Bluray/Dolby Atmos quality. Forever.
With added cost of maintenance
Is that all that much more maintenance than having to keep track of your subscriptions, keep up with where all the different shows are going, not being able to access stuff that is no longer commercially available. Again I don't think most people need nAs. But some local storage with your favorite movies saved... SSD etc..
Anyone can do that without any maintenance at all really.
Without any accessibility for Blind and other disabled people, that the streaming service office. I am good at the streaming market.
@@anenglishmanplusamerican7107easy to get open subtitles on Jellyfish
Cable used to be worse, remember you had to pay for bundles and those came with contracts. Now you can just sub when a show you wish to see is on, and cancel after.
I don't think i've watched anything on Amazon since they added ads to their non-freevee stuff. I'll torrent it if i really want to watch it.
While ATSC 3.0 offers many cool features, the rollout is not going nearly a smoothly as it did for ATSC 1.0 (yes, 2.0 got skipped). The big issue right now with ATSC 3.0 is that it allows broadcasters to encrypt their main channels (and many are). This may limit folks like me that have an ATSC tuner box (HDHomeRun) on my home network for all my TVs and my Plex DVR. This requirement, alongside licensing costs, is probably why LG (as an example) has actually dropped support for 3.0 in their newest TVs. Further, many of those new features will still require internet connections and could likely become subscription services themselves.
I’m so confused. I’m watching this from Europe. Over here, TV is on demand. We can watch whatever we want, when we want, rewind, fast forward, record shows for later, … And we have all the streaming apps from the local and international providers. Is that not the case in the US?
For free?
The Pre Internet cable locked us into high prices because all the major players joined forces for one subscription services. Netflix broke that model and now we are seeing a reconsolidating with bundled services and the fear is is that it will just be cable on the web.
Probably the services from public broadcasters like BBC iPlayer or SVT Play? The US doesn't have such things
@@ntl_sawdust We do have PBS and they do have a streaming component but the home of Hollywood felt little need to make PBS as big as the BBC.
Same here for Australia, every free to air channel here has its own streaming app that works on TVs as well, you can watch anything you want from these channels whenever you want, I work for one of them, we have Australian movies and shows as well as international movies and shows on our free app
As a general rule you can assume that if Europe is doing something good or smart, we have things worse here in the US
I now make it a point to never buy anything that puts ad into my content stream.
I feel so old for thinking this, but one of the things I like about cable is that anything could be on at any given time, I flip through channels and a movie is in progress that I hadn't seen in a while, or that I find interesting. Also, that lack of agency that I have over the programming is what makes the ads worth it for me. In a weird way I can't quantify (though it's probably just that I was raised on pre-streaming, over-the-air TV), the ads seem like part of the bargain in that scenario. However, the amount of control and agency that streaming allows me is what makes the ads downright infuriating.
It is cheaper to just rent a VPN and pirate to a heart's content.
biggest difference between streaming and cable: with cable you can fast forward the ads if you pause/record
People who were paying attention said this would happen years, decade? Ago..
I also hate having to pay extra for 4k hdr and atmos. Ridiculous. I'll buy all the blu rays in the world before I subscribe to another streaming service.
Great video! I would love to have more videos of you here in the channel.
Regarding streaming, there's no way in hell I'll go back to watching ads. And they're are only getting worse.
I do think there's so many services now I need an app just to tell me where a movie or TV show is streaming, it's ridiculous.
I think one solution would be to have fewer services and more licensing.
What about going back to regular cable? Is it viable compared to paying almost the same amount of money using multiple streaming apps? Or is the content spread out too far that you cannot watch all the things without using apps?
If only we all had access to Alex Cranz's totally legal Plex server...
Get used to it, the next decade is going to be rough for consumers trying to do things the right way ( gaming,tv,movies)
What these companies are going to learn is that they can’t squeeze us like housing, food, education, etc. We CAN cancel our entertainment spend
The high seas haven't looked this attractive in quite some time.
So it's cable ott with better ad tracking!
No but seriously this is a great and having watched the vergecast its nice to see this talked about!
How would any company make money of ATSC 3.0 if we can get it without a subscription or hardware? (If they can’t profit off it, it won’t be viable, no?) Is there a Verge article about this? (Didn’t see one in the description.)
First time viewer of you. Love your style. Keep it up 🙂
I’m so happy this is being covered because at some level, I’m just done with content and I just learn stuff from memes now.
Also, I like this niche movement of preserving digital media. Reminds me of video libraries growing up.
The thing especially ticks me off about Prime ads is to start a show, you see ads. It makes hopping into a few things before you settle in and watch it through very frustrating...
excited for ATSC, but I can't get ANY broadcast signals in the valley I live in 😞
It’s just what happens when things get popular. The only real fix is to find the next best thing and gatekeep it from being popular, because once it does, companies start milking it and the cycle continues.
The sports subsidy has been a big reason I've been reluctant to add Disney+, which has typically been bundled with ESPN (particularly if I want to keep my ad-free Hulu subscription). I'm not thrilled to think of how that's going to play out as Disney+ and Hulu slowly meld together
Yeah I don't really think I get how ATSC 3.0 helps here. Getting Disney+ on my TV isn't one of the problems that was outlined in this video, nor is it one that I, or just about anyone I know, has struggled with. And if I need to have a relatively new television to make use of it anyways it doesn't seem meaningfully more convenient than just installing the app they want me inside of.
Maybe it helps to limit the ad data they can collect about me? But again, not the biggest concern I have about the current state of streaming services.
Hell yeah... an Alex Cranz video about streaming? Yes please!
I've gotten to where I will avoid streaming services for the most part. I may get Netflix for a month once a year if there's something there I really want to watch. I'd just rather watch my physical media that paying more and more for something I don't even own. I get why people pirate content, and I don't blame them for doing so. These companies brought it onto themselves.
One other thing: Back in 2020 everybody was watching the same shows. Because everybody had Netflix and that was enough. Therefor I could recommend shows to friends and we could talk about what we are watching. But today everybody has a different set of streaming services. Leading to more isolated watching and less socializing about it.
0:58 was way earlier in the decade. That is a relic from the early 00's
0:58 THAT WAS A CLASSIC
Solid video, but music seemed a bit loud at times. (2:10)
I don’t like the direction streaming went but I also only pay for Hulu bundle no ads and Netflix no ads I get prime video with my Amazon account and Apple TV plus with my phone plan and I don’t care about the other streaming platforms so this doesn’t really affect me right now
I've been following ATSC 3.0 since it came out. What mainly interests me even more than the DVR aspect is how much higher bitrate and picture quality you can potentially get. Every streaming service is giving us the lowest possible quality to save money on bandwidth and counting on our tvs to upconvert their QuickTime streams lol. I can see that being a competitive advantage for over the air
sail the high seas.
No offense meant towards Alex (you did great!), but how many times will this *same exact* article/video be written/produced? I feel like every website and TH-cam channel that is even vaguely tech-oriented puts one out about every 3-4 months, if not more often. Streaming is cable with a new name and better advertising for the companies- we get it.
I just watch TH-cam honestly.
Ads at lower tier prices would be bearable if they weren’t the exact same two or three on repeat, sometimes twice in one ad break.
Not quite sure what ATSC has over the streaming apps already built into TVs and some cable boxes.
We have ziggo in the Netherlands, it’s what you tell and it’s been here for years.
The BIG problem with ATSC 3.0 is that cable companys can encrypt there channels. Unlike ATSC 1.0
Great explainer! I love the idea of ATSC 3 but I doubt it will do all the things they say it will do. One way or another companies find ways to squeeze a little more out of their customers. The only way things go down is for the companies to feel some pain. The way companies feel pain is my reducing $$ coming into them via people leaving or piracy. Piracy creates multiple risks for them and the end user though so the best thing to do is to leave. That’s the only way you will see change unfortunately.
A big step between Netflix being DVD's and streaming their own stuff, is that they promised they would never make content and only make it available on Netflix. They wanted content to be available through all kinds of media. And then they smelled money.
As soon as they made their own series and didnt allow those to be streamed elsewhere I got rid of em.
Which is why I'm already back upgrading my NAS setup for my PLEX server, streaming now makes very little sense with the insane pricing.
I did not like cable but I kind of miss just turning on the TV and seeing *something* playing. If I'm working on a project or something it was nice to just turn on for background noise. Now, I have to pick an app, open it, find something that I kind of want to watch but not really just so it's in the background keeping me company.
“Imagine having Disney plus on your tv” caused me physical pain. I stood up to turn this off
The ATSC 3.0 shoe finally drops!!!
I don't have time or energy (or money...) to investigate what is on all those platforms. They've lost sight of the 'convenience' factor. Only themselves to blame when it all goes pear-shaped.
5:54 NETFLIX F**KING SPEND THAT MONEY NOT CANCELLING THE GOOD STUFF
It's great to mention atsc 3.0 but what about the drm stuff that atsc has?
I've got an idea. An add supported tier where you pay X cents every time you skip an ad. I wouldn't actually do it, but I'd love to see it implemented lol.
Correlating interest rates and advertising was not an appropriate connection. Ads were introduced due to slowed subscriber growth and revenue stagnation. Nothing to do with interest rates lol
We became used to things that were too good to be true. These companies weren’t making money. The new changes are bad, but they are also understandable.
Zombie Blockbuster licking its chops right about now. "Time to disrupt the market!"
Great analysis, thanks!
This was very well done. Love it. Makes me want to go back to basic cable like when I was growing up. 13 channels is all you need! 😂
ATSC 3.0 won't save us from the streaming hellscape. ATSC 3.0 allows broadcasting to become a part of the internet and conditional access / DRM enables monetization. It'll be the same but on a different platform
Netflix should have channels for its live programming, and could be used as a delivery method to help shows find audiences.
Great video! I'm just waiting for their business model to really cause them headaches, So they can figure something else out.. Or I guess wait for the mentioned disruptor. The main thing is that the rumored bundle and things like it, Won't make these companies money.. So we'll see what they do 😂 The sad reality of piracy will always come back around if the distributors scam consumers so openly for a long time 🤷🏽♂️
I went from having a yearly subscription to Netflix to getting it once a year for just a month. I feel like they'd make way more money if they made it affordable
ATSC 3.0 still requires internet to my knowledge not just completely over the airwaves.
Congrats to Kranz for getting to finally go off on ATSC 🎉
1:46 I never knew that DC had their own streaming service
the section on ATSC 3.0 was not explained very well...
It’s a weird time, but torrenting now is easier than trying for figure out what service has what you want to watch.
Its why I always prefer physical media over streaming. I like being able to just rip the media I own and put it on any device.
Its wild how so many people thought zero interest rates would last forever
I used to use a NAS + Plex, then streaming became good and I started using that instead… now we’ve gone full circle and I’m thinking about going back to NAS + Plex.
Yeah streaming with ads is a complete waste of time. Just do something else. Why would anyone pay to have them turn around and sell your time to advertisers… hell no. We cancelled cable for a reason. More and more will cancel paid ad streams too.
Looking at streaming services makes me fear the incoming dystopia.
Streaming just doesn't do it for me anymore since Netflix shifted away from being a hub for classic films and shows and started pushing their own content, which, let's be honest, rarely captures my interest enough to justify the monthly subscription fee. And it's not just Netflix; all the other platforms seem to follow suit. What I really crave is diving into the timeless Oscar-winning gems of the 70s and 80s, bingeing on the entire filmographies of my favorite actors, or exploring titles that shaped cinematic movements. But finding that kind of content on these platforms is like searching for a needle in a haystack. That's why I've remained loyal to torrenting.
Swamp Thing was truly ahead of its time!
1. They want something for everyone and
2. The best stuff was the old stuff AND
3. Those are "complete" shows that one doesn't have to suffer after it's been canceled.
At the end of the day streaming is best cause it can be streamed at any time vs. Televisions time slots.
P.S. why doesn't Max have ALL DC shows & movies ???
I canceled Netflix, and if Disney stops password sharing, I will also cancel Disney. I have started buying movies and series I like so I can watch them without needing stupid subscriptions or advertising.
Wow i had no idea about ATSC 3.0 and i am well informed about new technologies 😅