Almost one-third of Americans now pay over $100 for subscriptions

midian182

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The big picture: It's fair to say that there are a lot of streaming services available. Over 100, in fact. This oversaturation means 27 percent of Americans now spend more than $100 per month on subscriptions, which is about the same as the average cable customer.

The data comes from a survey conducted by Amdocs Media (via CNET), which asked 1,000 US consumers about their subscriptions. It found that 59 percent were happy with their current plans and were not looking to make changes, while 22 percent would consider adding another service, but only if something new came along. With Disney+, Apple TV Plus, and others on the way, it seems some people are still willing to add to their mounting number of subscriptions.

When it comes to the factors that would lead customers to consider changing their streaming subscriptions, price was number one with 37 percent. This was followed by more content (22%), customer service (9%), personalized content (8%), fewer ads (7%), and peer recommendations (6%).

Almost 60 percent of US homes now use a streaming service. Unsurprisingly, Netflix sits at the top of the pile as the most popular choice. But the sheer number of options can be frustrating, especially when people want to watch shows that are exclusive to certain subscriptions. Disney+, for example, has a number of Star Wars and Marvel shows that won’t be available anywhere else. Additionally, one-third of respondents said that remembering passwords to each of these accounts was their biggest issue.

"The availability and access to streaming content [are] increasing, but so are consumer expectations, particularly around cost, ease of access and contextual experience," said Darcy Antonellis, head of Amdocs Media.

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But the sheer number of options can be frustrating, especially when people want to watch shows that are exclusive to certain subscriptions. Disney+, for example, has a number of Star Wars and Marvel shows that won’t be available anywhere else.
I am willing to bet that this is factually incorrect. Streaming services will not be able to resist publishing this same material, after first-run of course, on disk because it means more return for their investment. Those who are willing to delay gratification will be able to get such content from places such as Redbox or their local library.

For instance, two CBS All-Access series are on disk - Star Trek: Discovery, and The Good Fight. They are both at my local library and are on my watch list for the not-too-distant future.

I have HD Netflix and the commercial tier Hulu. I cannot watch all the things I would like to watch between the two of them. There is no way that I am buying into any additional services.

I also have an over-the-air TV/HTPC solution that has DVR capabilities in the open-source program Media Portal - https://www.team-mediaportal.com/ I expect that when ATSC 3.0 starts rolling out next year, OTA reception will drastically improve.

Though there may be other reasons for this such as children, I am willing to bet that I am not the only one with far too much TV to watch. I suspect either disposable income or addictive tendencies may be involved in at least some of the cases.
 
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Netflix: £11.99 / month - UHD/ 4 screens
Amazon: £6.67 / month or £79.99 / year
NowTV: £7.99 / month - Entertainment Pass
YouTube Premium: £11.99 / month
Spotify Family: £14.99 / month

So £53.63 per month in total, but that's shared between me and my Mrs, and we also lend Netflix and Amazon to my in-laws.

I'm lucky though as I don't have to pay for internet and my TV package is only £8 per month - if I lost my TV discount I'd cut the cord in a heartbeat.
 
To be fair, a cable bill is easily $100 but in the end, yes, there's far too many options and people will always have their limits. We pay for none of them, but share a Netflix account from some friends. It's enough for us.
 
Just Netflix and Amazon prime, for things like Star trek discovery I pay for a single month at the end of the season and watch it in a few Saturdays
 
My girlfriend is a television junkie and I'm a sports junkie, so we spend quite a bit each month on various packages:

Internet/Cable: $190
Netflix: $16
HBOGo: $11
Amazon Prime: $13

We split the cost, so it's $115 a month each which isn't bad for a month's worth of entertainment. But there is WAY more content there than we can watch, so it's a guilty pleasure for sure.
 
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Don't forget cable providers jacking the cost of internet up because you are no longer buying at a "bundle" price. This is also adding to the cost of streaming. :mad: Then you also have extra charges from those ISPs with "bandwidth limits". As bandwidth requirements go up, you can be sure ISPs are salivating at more and more overage charges. Add that in the cost for streaming.

This is just the beginning of streaming subscriptions. The price is just going to keep going up. What is the positive in all this? We pay for what we [mostly] want to actually watch, plus with no annoying advertisements. I don't buy any products from companies that spam me with commercials. Well, at least ones with alternatives. This is for the better for them.
 
Don't forget cable providers jacking the cost of internet up because you are no longer buying at a "bundle" price. This is also adding to the cost of streaming. :mad: Then you also have extra charges from those ISPs with "bandwidth limits". As bandwidth requirements go up, you can be sure ISPs are salivating at more and more overage charges. Add that in the cost for streaming.

This is just the beginning of streaming subscriptions. The price is just going to keep going up. What is the positive in all this? We pay for what we [mostly] want to actually watch, plus with no annoying advertisements. I don't buy any products from companies that spam me with commercials. Well, at least ones with alternatives. This is for the better for them.
We have an independent fiber service coming into our area. $50/mo/500Mbps down / 50Mbps up. No ties to cable at all. I was informed last week that they are starting to build out our neighborhood.

I'm currently on Spectrum. I dropped them and went to an MVNO for a while, then went back. Spectrum's new customer deal is 100Mbps down for $44.95/mo/12months and, if I want it, $44.95 extra for TV. Middle finger raised at them for that.

My neighbors and others I know are also on Spectrum which has, for the time being, a monopoly in the area. Even though Spectrum has 100Mbps service as the base level for "new customers", Spectrum has not raised the data rate for any existing customers. Another middle finger raised at them for that. I am not playing their game, and their monopoly is being eroded by the independent fiber service - and other providers coming into the area. Right now, I do not think Spectrum realizes what is happening, or they, like other addicts (in that they are addicted to :poop: customer service as well as their customer's wallets) are in denial about what is happening.

I am simply not paying for anything that I am not going to watch. For people like me, I do not get why people, even if they have the money, will pay for anything they are not going to use. Subscription TV providers love people who could care less how they spend their money.

I'll paraphrase from the movie War Games - for the subscription TV game, the only way to win is not to play.
 
Netflix: £11.99 / month - UHD/ 4 screens
Amazon: £6.67 / month or £79.99 / year
NowTV: £7.99 / month - Entertainment Pass
YouTube Premium: £11.99 / month
Spotify Family: £14.99 / month

So £53.63 per month in total, but that's shared between me and my Mrs, and we also lend Netflix and Amazon to my in-laws.

I'm lucky though as I don't have to pay for internet and my TV package is only £8 per month - if I lost my TV discount I'd cut the cord in a heartbeat.
Netflix isnt 12 anymore though, on my bill it shows as 17.xx monthly for the same service/
 
I pay $33 per month on streaming services. Even though I foot the bill for everyone, if it was split 5 ways, it'd be $6.60 per month.

Amazon Prime Video $5 (included with Amazon Prime, shared with 2 businesses and 4 friends)
Netflix Premium $16 (shared with 4 family members)
Youtube Premium $12 (includes Youtube Music / Google Music, shared with 4 friends)


My 1.5Gbps/1.0Gbps unlimited bandwith internet is $60 per month. But I would pay that with or without streaming services, so I don't factor that cost in.


 
It not the cost....it's the content that makes me laugh or cry. Now Lassie and Green Acres...those are shows worth watching. No hidden messages, no global warming, no hate, no political correctness, no someone getting hit in the face 20 times and coming away with a bloody lip, no girls beating up 10 men at once, etc
And I would rather watch commercials for medicare and adult diapers then cellphones and smartcars
 
....[ ]....And I would rather watch commercials for medicare and adult diapers then cellphones and smartcars
All you need to do for that "content", is hook up an antenna to your TV, stuff a tuner in your computer, then DVR everything.

You could fast forward through the shows, and pick and choose the commercials you want to watch, as well as those that "move you", (by this I mean ads for fiber supplements). (y) (Y)

(Hashtag #Depends, #Metamucil, #IBX #athomecare, #andsoforth).
 
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All you need to do for that "content", is hook up an antenna to your TV, stuff a tuner in your computer, then DVR everything.


You could fast forward through the shows, and pick and choose the commercials you want to watch, as well as those that "move you", (by this I mean ads for fiber supplements). (y) (Y)


(Hashtag #Depends, #Metamucil, #IBX #athomecare, #andsoforth).

:laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
 
I pay zero $.
All you need is a good VPN and the knowledge where to look.

With all the alleged "over-saturation" and yet their prices keep going up!! Screw them.
 
All you need to do for that "content", is hook up an antenna to your TV, stuff a tuner in your computer, then DVR everything.

You could fast forward through the shows, and pick and choose the commercials you want to watch, as well as those that "move you", (by this I mean ads for fiber supplements). (y) (Y)

(Hashtag #Depends, #Metamucil, #IBX #athomecare, #andsoforth).
I didn't laugh but someone did
 
It not the cost....it's the content that makes me laugh or cry. Now Lassie and Green Acres...those are shows worth watching. No hidden messages, no global warming, no hate, no political correctness, no someone getting hit in the face 20 times and coming away with a bloody lip, no girls beating up 10 men at once, etc
And I would rather watch commercials for medicare and adult diapers then cellphones and smartcars
I didn't laugh but someone did
Perhaps this will help:
Science fiction is an existential metaphor that allows us to tell stories about the human condition. Isaac Asimov once said, "Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinded critics and philosophers of today, but the core of science fiction, its essence, has become crucial to our salvation, if we are to be saved at all."
- Douglas Anders from the end of the 200th episode of Stargate SG-1
 
I use local TV during Football season. Lotsa of free content. And I can stare at my phone or do the dishes etc during commercials. Or hell even change the channel. We split the Netflix\Hulu bill with our inlaws aka we pay for everything. Bunch of grifters. It's some kind of special hulu and netflix account that changes price every time I ask my gf about it.... Somewhere around $80? Covers 7+ people.

I spend most of my time watching tech content. I'm a bit burnt out on water cooling, custom mounting issues bleh. I need to get down to a hardware store that has expansion washers.

I have Amazon prime right now for the shipping but can't think of a single show I want to watch, I'm all caught up on the TIck.

Some stuff I'm currently digesting
South Side
LetterKenny
The Terror Season 2
What we do in the Shadows
Newest American Horror Story
FireFly, finally watched a few episodes it was really amazing compared to shows like stargate
South Parks having a pretty good season.

Just started War of The Worlds ep 1
Bill Bur podcasts somewhat entertaining, love his standups

Backburner shows
HandMaids tale
Preacher Newest
Happy Newest
Walkingdead newest
some netflix show with superheroes and monkey leader
The Prestigue, Hancock, The Pacific, Band of Brothers (great stuff will rewatch em)
New Spiderman
Monster Anime Series bout half way through
Legion season 3
Peaky Blinders
 
The number of services keep going up, the prices go up, the total cost goes up, and the amount of content per service goes down.

The streaming bubble is coming. The moment any retraction of the economy hits, all these services are going to be scrambling to cover their massive debts. Warner media is in massive debt. Disney spent rediculous amount on star wars and fox, and now is spending even mroe on disney+ when they already own hulu. Netflix's western growth is slowing rapidly, their overseas markets are not growing nearly as fast, and invvestors are worried about the igh cost of netflix produced content. Crunchyroll is clamping down on new series, roosterteeth is slowing releases and jacking up rates, in some cases by more then 50%, and there are still even MORE players trying to get into the game.

It's the dot com bubble all over again. It's gonna happen in a few years, and it is going to cause mass casualties in the industry. Many of the small players are either going to sink or get bought up, I cant see netflix staying independent for much longer, disney and warner are going to be puckering with unseen intensity, and the eventual result will be a decline of current streaming services, with a few big players left, and new companies popping up for a lower price elsewhere.
 
The number of services keep going up, the prices go up, the total cost goes up, and the amount of content per service goes down.

The streaming bubble is coming. The moment any retraction of the economy hits, all these services are going to be scrambling to cover their massive debts. Warner media is in massive debt. Disney spent rediculous amount on star wars and fox, and now is spending even mroe on disney+ when they already own hulu. Netflix's western growth is slowing rapidly, their overseas markets are not growing nearly as fast, and invvestors are worried about the igh cost of netflix produced content. Crunchyroll is clamping down on new series, roosterteeth is slowing releases and jacking up rates, in some cases by more then 50%, and there are still even MORE players trying to get into the game.

It's the dot com bubble all over again. It's gonna happen in a few years, and it is going to cause mass casualties in the industry. Many of the small players are either going to sink or get bought up, I cant see netflix staying independent for much longer, disney and warner are going to be puckering with unseen intensity, and the eventual result will be a decline of current streaming services, with a few big players left, and new companies popping up for a lower price elsewhere.
I agree, and I think the "war" is already heating up. Disney has banned Netflix ads from ABC, Hulu, and others - https://www.inc.com/jason-aten/disn...-serious-streaming-wars-are-about-to-get.html

To me, the ban sounds like it might be fallout from an underwhelming number of people signing up for Disney's service.
 
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