Has The Streaming Craze Peaked?

[LiamMcDuggle]

Noticed a trend with my friends, as most have started going back to cable as you can get a cable add-on to most internet packages for like $20, and it ends up being way cheaper than having to sub to 4-5 different streaming services.

It also appears the MLS's switch to being exclusively on Apple TV has also bombed. People don't want to pay $15-20/month to watch 1-2 games.

[Lizuka #BLM]

It's basically falling into the same problems that let it overtake cable to begin with, oversaturation of content and confusion of what to watch where combined with rapidly increasing costs just rendering it completely inefficient.

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

According to every service that tracks streaming data, overall usage is the highest it's ever been and continues to grow.

However...

Streaming services are now so numerous that they're all feeling the pinch as consumers are no longer paying out for multiple services, and yes, some are abandoning streaming altogether for cable TV.

[Deleted]

This was always inevitable just was matter of how long it would take to happen.

There is far too much that is split up in so many different streaming services combined with prices just continually increasing was always going to be the downfall.

[CMWaters]

I feel losing some things on streaming services will also be a detriment in the future.

It's why I still try to champion physical media as much as possible IRL.

[fg]

May 18, 2023 21:56:18 GMT -5 CMWaters said:

I feel losing some things on streaming services will also be a detriment in the future.

It's why I still try to champion physical media as much as possible IRL.

Yeah, losing things like having the option to listen to commentary on episodes of the Simpsons as well as other very rare bonus features on tv shows on DVD.

[CMWaters]

May 18, 2023 22:12:58 GMT -5 fg said:

May 18, 2023 21:56:18 GMT -5 CMWaters said:

I feel losing some things on streaming services will also be a detriment in the future.

It's why I still try to champion physical media as much as possible IRL.

Yeah, losing things like having the option to listen to commentary on episodes of the Simpsons as well as other very rare bonus features on tv shows on DVD.

Well that too, but I more meant shows and movies in general.

Like, what possible reason is there that Paramount+ has all the Star Trek series but none of the movies?

[Lizuka #BLM]

May 18, 2023 22:14:53 GMT -5 CMWaters said:

May 18, 2023 22:12:58 GMT -5 fg said:

Yeah, losing things like having the option to listen to commentary on episodes of the Simpsons as well as other very rare bonus features on tv shows on DVD.

Well that too, but I more meant shows and movies in general.

Like, what possible reason is there that Paramount+ has all the Star Trek series but none of the movies?

The movies are on Max. Yeah, who the hell knows why.

[schma]

I think we're at a correction point. Gradually some of these services will merge to tey to combat the over saturation issue. Still, one of the biggest selling points of streaming was the price. Everyone seems to be increasing their prices at least once a year after fairly stable pricing.

I don't think we'll see the same kind of exodus to cable that we saw from cable though. There will be some who go for it, but others of us have been without cable and more importantly commercials for 10, 15, 20 years. When I visit my mom and watch cable it blows me away just how many commercials there are.

That said, in Canada at least, one of the biggest frustrations is who gets the rights to what show as it doesn't always make sense. For example, with the arrow verse, Netflix got flash and supergirl, while crave got arrow and legends of tomorrow. What made it even more frustrating was that flash was updated weekly while the other shows were often only updated 1 season at a time.

Streaming at its best offers what you want, when you want and in a convenient format. However, streaming is not currently at its best. I do think though in a few years it may be in a better place.

[salz4life]

All my daughter watches is YouTube and Tik-Tok. With the younger generation, I think that's what these streaming services are going to have to compete against in the coming years. Stupid (IMO) videos from 'content creators' seem to be what the younger generation care more about than movies and series. At least that's how my daughter and a lot of her friends are. What was that App that had the 10-15 minute shows that went out of business a few years ago? That might've been ahead of its time.

[salz4life]

May 18, 2023 21:08:23 GMT -5 LiamMcDuggle said:

Noticed a trend with my friends, as most have started going back to cable as you can get a cable add-on to most internet packages for like $20, and it ends up being way cheaper than having to sub to 4-5 different streaming services.

It also appears the MLS's switch to being exclusively on Apple TV has also bombed. People don't want to pay $15-20/month to watch 1-2 games.

MLS's big problem, IMO, is (besides the fact it is at best the #4 sport in America) that as good as the product has gotten since the beginning, it's an inferior product to other leagues that are available in America. Namely the English Premier League, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A, Spanish LaLiga, etc. I've tried really hard to get into MLS but it seems so much slower than the European game. The best players don't play in the MLS and when you are the 4th sports option in this country, it's just not going be as favorable as you want. I think MLS would've been better having a non-exclusivity deal with Apple. As it stands now, I think for the most part, you can only see MLS on Apple. I think there are a few exception, but still.

[eJm]

Like, let’s be honest, a lot of this stuff wasn’t about improving the consumer base or going with the times, it was catering to the fact some mooks in Wall Street saw where the breeze was turning, pressured these companies into following Netflix and then scolding them when it wasn’t an automatic blockbuster success of all successes.

There was zero need for these places to spend as much money as they did on shows nor was there a sufficient plan about the content that would go on there, it was Netflix letting a bunch of creatives make shows, taking a dartboard and choosing which ones to push, it was Disney+ just throwing whatever leftover Marvel IPs to use to have shows (I’ll give credit that the Star Wars stuff was a tad more thought out with bringing Rebels back and such), HBO Max having one of the greatest libraries ever and squandering it, Apple TV+ getting critically acclaimed shows that people are barely aware of etc. None of it felt like they were attracting a base, it was spending a bunch of money and throwing people under the bus when said money didn’t produce the new Stranger Things.

And hey, I’m not saying there shouldn’t be physical media, there absolutely should be. But in terms of making stuff consumer friendly and balancing divisions, there were a lot of headshaking decisions still being made. Especially now when exclusive content’s being removed, why should creatives want to work with you and customers respect you when there are high standards these shows need to place that nobody knows about and it’ll end with their stuff being removed and customers not sure what they’re paying for.

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

I honestly can only think of one person my age I know with cable. Everyone else I know streams or pirates.

[ANuclearError]

The key thing that streaming still has is that monthly commitments are still viable. Ultimately, it makes more sense for people to rotate one or two subscriptions between everyone when something they're interested in gets released. Unfortunately, it's just enough of a hassle for that to really become the default behaviour. Also, the existing trend of going back towards weekly episode releases (which frankly I'm not really fussed about myself) would also not gel with that approach, at least whilst the release is ongoing.

[TWERKIN' MAGGLE]

It's kinda crazy how on the nose South Park can be with these things even 26+ years on (well, the first couple years not really since the show was mostly dick and fart jokes till a few seasons in)

[The Dark Order Inferno]

The post Netflix streaming services shot themselves in the foot by going all out to try and outdo them with massive budget productions with near midrange movie budgets for a handful of episodes based on their biggest properties, and now the customers believe that is the baseline. If there's not something on that level each month, the service is expendable and people have less money to spare for services they don't watch. There's no long term commitment required either, unlike cable and other services where you're stuck for years, you can drop Netflix/HBOMax/Paramount+/Hulu/Disney+ or whatever at any point, then just pick up again when they have something good.

[tirtefaa]

I don't think it's peaked so much as it's just too busy. It's a lot like the video game market of 1983. It was still incredibly popular, but since the market was flooded with so many services, the market crashed. I predict the same thing will happen with streaming.

And if out of the ashes we see a Nintendo Entertainment Streaming service, all will be worth it.

[Kalmia]

Streaming is starting to eat itself. Too many services and each service is watering down its own appeal by becoming bogged down by too much poor quality stuff.

Netflix especially has suffered because of its own success, I think. It had success with originals and oversaturated itself with too many low quality ones, making it more difficult for people to actually watch stuff in a timely manner. Then when people don't watch things quickly enough shows get cancelled and subscribers lose faith in the service.

It's all a mess and it's a mess of the streaming services own making.

[Non Banjoble Tokens]

Streaming can't peak until FAN finally gets its own streaming app.

FAN Service Plus, now with a five hour show where I reenact famous stage shows with my stuffed animals. Also, since I don't know any famous stage shows, I just make things up.

[J. Hova]

Let's see, I have Netflix, Hulu, Prime, Peacock, PokerGo, HBO Max, and History Vault, plus a couple that I borrow from Mom (i.e. she has a Dish Network service, so I steal TBS and FX). I got rid of Direct TV about 5 years ago and I'm fine with it. They definitely have reached that tipping point, I think. My biggest grievance is that you get the notification or the section of "Leaving this month" on x service, and the next month it is on Y service. A lot of times it isn't anything I care about, but it still annoys me.