ScreenHits TV is a streaming aggregator that claims it can solve "subscription fatigue"

[nanoguy]

The big picture: The overall impact of subscription fatigue is still subject for debate, but one company went ahead and made a solution for that problem - an aggregator that allows you to combine your streaming services into a "bundle" that can be used via a unified interface.

Cord cutting used to be a refreshing move away from cable packages that sometimes cost as much as all other utilities combined and towards a few streaming and on-demand video services that cover most of your favorite content for a fair price.

However, that equation has gradually changed over time and reached a point where we face a new problem - subscription fatigue. With so many different subscription services and your favorite content fragmented into bits and pieces that are made exclusive to attract subscribers, now you have to pay for several subscriptions at a time and keep track of where you can watch the movies and TV shows that are on your wishlist.

A company called ScreenHits claims it has a solution in the form of a streaming video aggregator. The service can be accessed via an app called ScreenHits TV, which lets you bundle several different streaming services into a single interface that should make the whole process more convenient.

The new service is supposed to offer you a way to search the libraries of free and paid subscription and video-on-demand services, as well as online TV in one place. Examples include Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Go, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, The Criterion Channel and Starz - and while you can already enjoy this functionality with Roku or by using Siri or the Search app on Apple TV, the ScreenHits TV app will extend it to Samsung's Smart TVs, Amazon's Fire Stick, as well as Android phones and desktop web browsers.

The starting price is $1.99 per month, and the first 100,000 people who express their interest in the service by the end of the month will receive a free annual subscription of your choice from one of the official partners.

ScreenHits CEO Rose Adkins Hulse didn't go into more details, but noted the idea is to "streamline the viewing experience ... customers can curate their channels and subscriptions, thus only paying for channels they actually want to watch versus contributing monthly to the channels they never watch."

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/85337-screenhits-tv-streaming-aggregator-claims-can-solve-subscription.html

 

[QuantumPhysics]

I remember when Hulu was free and I'd go there to watch a few episodes of Exosquad.

I refuse to pay a dime more for subscription services than I'm already paying Verizon for Fios and channels included in the package.

For everything else, there's Frostwire.

 

[amstech]

We have Spectrum TV Stream (pick 10, about 70 total channels) Netflix, Amazon, and ESPN+.
Disney+ came for free with Verizon, but we probably won't pay for it when the free trial expires.
We use Vudu or Amazon to rent movies.
Got rid of Hulu, crackle, and any others, we've met our quota and won't pay for anything more, even if it has something we like.
Too many independent services and apps.

 

[brucek]

I'm skeptical their UI will actually be much more convenient than the features already built into newer TVs, and/or telling your phone what you want to watch.

Also, I'd think the last thing someone suffering from "subscription fatigue" would want... is another subscription.

 

[Zor Ven]

Kinda funny I would have to subscribe to another service to use this.

 

[ZipperBoi]

I remember when Hulu was free and I'd go there to watch a few episodes of Exosquad.

I refuse to pay a dime more for subscription services than I'm already paying Verizon for Fios and channels included in the package.

For everything else, there's Frostwire.

Frost wire? Is this 2001? Also throw that iPhone in the garbage.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Frost wire? Is this 2001? Also throw that iPhone in the garbage.

My iPhone's return on investment has been several dozen fold.
As for Frostwire... if it works - it works.

 

[EClyde]

Well ya'll need a prescription for the subscription. Tell ya, when fatigued do something else.

 

[wiyosaya]

So another $1.99 to "conveniently" watch my subscription services? No thanks.

I'm good with OTA, Netflix, Hulu, a pod cast my wife subscribes to for $0.99 an episode, and our local library that has a phenomenal DVD/BR/UHD-BR collection - many of which are free to borrow. If the disks are borrowed through inter-library loan within our county system, they are $0.50 to borrow (having them sent to my local library rather than going to pick them up at the source library) for at least a week and they can be renewed for longer without charge.

I wonder how long this service will last.

IMO, the fatigue aspect of this is the number of services popping up that are trying to cash in on the fad. These services seem to be akin to flies on hoping that consumers will not notice that there is no way that they can watch all of them, and yet I would not be surprised if they do not care if consumers still pay the monthly fee for the ones they more rarely, if ever, watch.

After giving up Dish Network and an $85/mo payment over four years ago because of the fatigue on my wallet in not getting enough value due to the fact that I only watched about five of their channels with any regularity, I will never go back to anything like the old subscription model. I have very little to no interest in sports, and I would rather spend more of my time pursuing my hobbies and getting outside away from the tube.

 

[captaincranky]

Well, all I have to say about it is, "dear lord, as if we don't have enough parasites in the food chain already".

 

[Danny101]

When streaming services are trying to be like cable.

 

[Shadowboxer]

Apple TV already attempted to do this (for free for its users) but Netflix and prime aren’t present. Presumably because they don’t want to become a service within an application that could very easily be cut off.

The whole thing is a mess, when I remember a movie I want to watch I’m sick of searching multiple times. And google isn’t much help, tv shows and movies change platforms like musical chairs so google may say your show is on Netflix it may have since been removed or now on prime!

It’s a hard life.