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[DragoonKain]

I was thinking about this in recent days because of the whole YouTube TV vs Disney dispute where all Disney channels were pulled from YouTube TV. Right now if we want to see all the shows or movies that interest us, we need to subscribe to dozens of individual streaming platforms or services. Almost every major newspaper, journal is subscription-based and behind a paywall. So if you want to get news or stories from all over, you have to subscribe to a dozen or more of those as well. Podcasts now are becoming subscription-based, where if you want to get all of their content, you have to pay extra.

We're at the point where if you want to consume all the content you're interested in--between TV, movies, content videos, news, podcasts, and more--you will have to subscribe to countless subscriptions. And it keeps growing. I mean, just for sports alone, you can't even see every national game anymore unless you subscribe to multiple services. The NBA will have exclusive games on Peacock. The NFL has exclusive games on Amazon and Netflix. MLB has exclusive games on Apple TV. So right there you need 4 separate subscriptions in addition to your regular TV subscription. And this is only for sports. This doesn't even scratch the surface, as it doesn't include every other show, which just adds to it. This doesn't seem sustainable, does it? Especially at our current moment where there is a growing sentiment of life not being affordable and things costing too much. I have to think the bubble is eventually going to burst on this ongoing trend in a major way.

What do you think the future is for how we consume content? Do you think the subscription model is going to stand? Do you think it's unsustainable? If so, what will replace it?

 

[digoutyoursoul]

I don't subscribe myself, I still buy movies , music and games individually.

Im not sure what will happen, I am pretty disappointed at how physical media seems more and more less popular, naively I was hoping it would remain a option for a good while yet.

 

[poppabk]

I have a subscription to a car wash!
Subscriptions are the perfect nickel and dime operation - slowly sucking money out of your wallet without you barely noticing it.
Insert Rocket Money ad here (if that itself doesn't have a subscription I would be shocked).
Fake edit: just checked and yep it has a subscription. So you can pay a subscription to manage your subscriptions. Xzibit would be proud.

 

[Avid Reading Horse]

You will own nothing and be happy, comrade.

 

[AJUMP23]

Constantly getting money is more fun then occasionally getting money.

 

[DKehoe]

It feels like the constant price increases and creation of ad tiers are the service providers realising that the economics don't work like they need them to.

Also, a lot of the selection on them isn't even that good, particularly when it comes to older stuff. I recently saw the stage adaptaion of To Kill A Mockingbird and it made me want to watch the film version. But when I looked it's not streaming anywhere, just available to rent or buy.

 

[Trunx81]

 

[Pagusas]

Some things I like for subscripts, like Adobe Creative Cloud (Its far cheaper and easier to be a design/filmmaker/editor than ever before) Before the subscription model, unless you were in school or a pirate, getting started with Adobe's full software suite was hella expensive and a major startup cost. Now its peanuts.

Some things I really hate subscriptions too. Like sooooo many apps lately that 99.9% should be ontime purchases want a subscription. Like a fricken slideshow photo app for my ipad... they want 19.99 a year just to use it! WTF

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I was thinking about this in recent days because of the whole YouTube TV vs Disney dispute where all Disney channels were pulled from YouTube TV. Right now if we want to see all the shows or movies that interest us, we need to subscribe to dozens of individual streaming platforms or services. Almost every major newspaper, journal is subscription-based and behind a paywall. So if you want to get news or stories from all over, you have to subscribe to a dozen or more of those as well. Podcasts now are becoming subscription-based, where if you want to get all of their content, you have to pay extra.

We're at the point where if you want to consume all the content you're interested in--between TV, movies, content videos, news, podcasts, and more--you will have to subscribe to countless subscriptions. And it keeps growing. I mean, just for sports alone, you can't even see every national game anymore unless you subscribe to multiple services. The NBA will have exclusive games on Peacock. The NFL has exclusive games on Amazon and Netflix. MLB has exclusive games on Apple TV. So right there you need 4 separate subscriptions in addition to your regular TV subscription. And this is only for sports. This doesn't even scratch the surface, as it doesn't include every other show, which just adds to it. This doesn't seem sustainable, does it? Especially at our current moment where there is a growing sentiment of life not being affordable and things costing too much. I have to think the bubble is eventually going to burst on this ongoing trend in a major way.

What do you think the future is for how we consume content? Do you think the subscription model is going to stand? Do you think it's unsustainable? If so, what will replace it?

Easy solution - stop consuming endless content, be more selective with your time.

 

[Grildon Tundy]

The entire economy is fake/fiat/based on belief in it. The market caps with future revenue expectations already built in that would take 50 years to manifest. But if we stop believing in it, it'll fail, so get to self-deluding!

 

[Outlier]

Things are going to collapse, within the next 15 years, because gen-Alpha is critically low in population number, so things will simmer down, eventually.

 

[JayK47]

You do not need to consume everything. Odd thing to say on GAF, I know. You can juggle services, or literally just pick one and deal with it. There is also so much free stuff out there, you could also go that route. Or make friends with people who have different subscriptions and hang out with them and watch what they have.

 

[JimmyRustler]

I don't really have a problem with this to be honest. I have a few subscribers permanently because I use them all the time, all the others I juggle as I need them. No biggy.

 

[MidGenRefresh]

I subscribe to nothing. I even started moving my gaming library from Steam to GOG as much as possible. I don't watch TV. Maybe 2-3 movies a year. I have a huge music library that I ripped from CDs. If I want a specific song that I don't have yet, I download it from YouTube using YouTube to .mp3 websites on my phone.

 

[Dacvak]

I don't mind subscription models in principle, but there are just too fuckin many at this point. I've started just rotating, or making emails to get free trials.

 

[SJRB]

These dumb motherfuckers are forgetting that people signed up because they were only slightly more convenient than cable tv.

 

[Spyxos]

There are subscription based podcasts? Whats the point? Sounds like you would eliminate most people. But otherwise, I agree with you.

 

[DragoonKain]

There are subscription based podcasts? Whats the point? Sounds like you would eliminate most people. But otherwise, I agree with you.

Some. Not a lot yet, but some. Also some do free pods with extra pods via subscription only. Sam Harris several years back moved his Making Sense podcast exclusively to subscription only. A subscription is $150 per year(LOL). I like Sam Harris a lot, but that is fucking ridiculous, that's the price of Amazon Prime basically. In fairness to Sam, he used to provide free subs to less wealthy people, but he stopped because he said he was getting thousands of requests a day. Now he will offer a sub for $50 per year for those who can't afford one. But that is a hell of a lot for a podcast.

I agree to an extent with those who say just don't consume as much content. I don't subscribe to everything, but sports is one for me where I'm a sports junkie and to get every game I want to see, it's become absurd. But I think this is just going to be more and more of a thing until the bubble grows too big.

 

[CGNoire]

"The Best Life for Me"

 

[CGNoire]

I subscribe to nothing. I even started moving my gaming library from Steam to GOG as much as possible. I don't watch TV. Maybe 2-3 movies a year. I have a huge music library that I ripped from CDs. If I want a specific song that I don't have yet, I download it from YouTube using YouTube to .mp3 websites on my phone.

Yeah I dont undestand why YT2MP3 isnt more popular.

 

[Hookshot]

Never signed up for any of them. I pay for SKY and it's been annoying as they lost football matches to other companies which I didn't pay for. Sky movies on it got worse so I rarely watch anything but they did have Peacemaker for some reason so I watched all of that, but any other new TV or Disney/Marvel movie has escaped me.

 

[Escape Goat]

For tv I alternate between them all. I never have more than 2 ad free subscriptions at one time. I gave up on cable a looong time ago but 2 subscriptions will be about $30-$40.

Companies have adopted the same approach to boiling frogs. You raise the price $1 over 5 years people won't notice. It'll become normal.

But im also becoming extremely cheap in middle age.

 

[near]

I've cancelled most of my subscriptions. I only resub when a show I want to watch is exclusive to a specific service. For films I'm interested in but not sure if I want to own physically, I just rent them. Sometimes I even do this via a VPN on Amazon Prime which lets me watch certain films before they're release here in the UK. It's just not really worth maintaining all those subscriptions anymore, at least for me.