📽️ The big streaming platform problem, solved?

😵 Good day, and welcome back to the Daily Authority. Are you getting into the swing of 2023 yet? Honestly, I just wrote 2022 about three times before realizing my mistake. Nevertheless, today’s main story will take you back to the 2000s when life and media consumption were simpler.

Streaming is a boon for content-hungry users who want an easy way to consume their favorite shows. But with the rise of several platforms, those favorite shows may be scattered across several services. According to my colleague Rob Triggs, this new problem may demand an old-school fix.

Everything available, nothing to watch

• If you subscribed to the big five TV streaming services, you’d be looking at $60 a month or $720 annually.
• Push these up to family plans, and pricing could balloon by another 50%.
• Streaming is expensive and that’s even more apparent when you can’t find anything to watch on these platforms. It’s a problem Rob has faced this year.
• “Reading online, I’m not alone in my disappointment with high-budget platform exclusives that have left many wondering whether they’re paying too much.”
• On top of this, companies have boosted their prices this year, when the cost of living is already sky-high.
• But the real problem lies with exclusives. As Rob puts it, “the market’s sharp turn to exclusivity has also made it too difficult to watch what I want.”

Is ditching streaming services even possible?

• Well, yes, but it isn’t easy to justify.
• There are plenty of shows that I watch that I can only find on the likes of Netflix and Apple TV Plus.
• “You can’t watch The Boys without Prime or Andor before subscribing to Disney Plus, even if you’d prefer to pay by episode.”
• Buying older favorites is still possible, especially in physical form, but this will likely be more expensive over time.
• Buying digital movies and shows is not any easier.
• “$2.50 an episode for House of the Dragon via Apple TV is perhaps fair, but $24.99 per season of Futurama is a headscratcher when you can buy the complete collection in physical DVD form for much less.”
• If you’re looking for something cross-platform and seamless, you’re also out of luck.
• There’s also the reward of instant gratification that streaming services provide.
• Ultimately, streaming services are tough to kick.

So what’s the solution?

• There’s no blanket solution here, unfortunately, but Rob has come to something of a compromise.
• “I’ve managed to wean myself off subscriptions in favor of renting movies, mostly from Prime and via Google TV. It’s still not ideal, though, and I’ve all but given up on TV shows in the process.”
• Additionally, he’s been backing up classic movies and TV shows from DVDs to a hard drive, which can be accessed through home server platform Jellyfin.
• He argues this is the most convenient alternative, at least for now. But it’s a problem of convenience that’s plaguing streaming services.
• “Gaming and music platforms have already shown that the best way to secure customers isn’t to lock down content and call in the lawyers; it’s to make paying for content more convenient than not.”

Monday meme

It’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day across the States today, but a regular working Monday for many worldwide. Our US audience might not appreciate this meme, but at least it applies to me right now.

Have a great day of rest.

Until next week,
Andy Walker, Editor