Subj : Re: Old Geek Thoughts...
To   : Jeff
From : Avon
Date : Thu Jan 06 2022 14:22:40

On 05 Jan 2022 at 05:56p, Jeff pondered and said...
 
 Je> I'm afraid this is true. The "latest" model is streaming services, such
 Je> as Netflix, Disney+, ABC All Access, etc., that charge a smallish
 Je> monthly fee for a subscription. That, in itself, is ok, I suppose; I
 Je> mean, if no one wants it, no one will buy it, right?

agreed

 Je> The smallish fees do add up if one has multiple subscriptions, but it's
 Je> very a la carte channel-wise and currently one would have to have quite
 Je> a few subscriptions to match a monthly cable bill.

Not sure how much cable costs, as here it's not really an option.
But I agree each service you pick adds up, often they sell themselves on the basis of the content / shows they offer, so it can be a PITA to get several streaming services just to watch the shows you want :(

 Je> And, here's where I'm going with this: Most of these subscription
 Je> streaming services are currently ad-free. We're back to "if you pay for
 Je> it, you get it without ads." However, there's absolutely no guarantee
 Je> that it will continue this way into the future. The subscription
 Je> streaming services are still relatively new and are having to compete
 Je> against cable TV and satellite services. Once they get a foothold, who
 Je> knows? I'd like to imagine that it would continue as it is now, but
 Je> everyone in this discussion already knows what's going to happen.

YouTube offers a Red flavour without ads but I don't bother paying for that, but I also note YouTube is rather cautious with ad frequency and lengths of ads they run, it fascinates me to see when they allow you to 'skip' stuff and when they make you sit through it.

I'm not sure we can expect to see streamers ad in ad breaks as well... but I have seen this with a Satellite TV vendor I used here in NZ that over time went from no ads to ad breaks .... there was no drop in fees, but in the end folks (like me) voted with their wallets.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/11/06 (Linux/64)
 * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)

.