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Has Streaming Hit The Bubble?

4K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  elosga 
#1 ·
#2 ·
#8 ·
Netflix actually has meaningful competition. Everybody who makes video or is video-adjacent seems to be launching a streaming service. Disney+ and HBO Max may not have gone live yet, but in puling back their rights they're already making their presence felt. And outside the US, local services are popping up all over the place.

So I don't think the streaming bubble has burst by any means, but I do think maybe the Netflix bubble has. Which isn't at all to say that Netflix won't be big or even the biggest player in the space for a long time to come, I just think we're maybe transitioning to a world where they're not the default streaming service for most people anymore.
 
#9 ·
I think the bubble will burst when streaming services become unaffordable to the average consumer. Prices keep going up, content doesn't really improve, and the consumer will spend money elsewhere or look to cheaper options.

I for one cherry-pick services - subscribe to one for a month or two, cancel, and subscribe to another a month or so later for a few weeks.

I also think there is too much content saturation this moment - any project that would have been dumped 10 years ago is getting a green light as American streaming services are dying for original content.

There are several bubbles at play here - the bloated services themselves, and also the industry - lots of productions are happening at the moment that employee lots of people, and when the bubble bursts they will be looking for jobs.
 
#10 ·
Streaming is just turning into cable television now where you're going to have to spend hundreds of dollars across multiple platforms if you want to watch everything.

The one benefit of streaming though is you can subscribe and cancel at a whim. Sign up for Netflix, watch the new season of [show] and then cancel it after a week or two. Rinse and repeat with Amazon Prime, Crave, Disney+, CBS All Access, etc.
 
#11 ·
Sign up for Netflix, watch the new season of [show] and then cancel it after a week or two. Rinse and repeat with Amazon Prime, Crave, Disney+, CBS All Access, etc.
That's what I plan to do. After the latest Netflix price increase a few months ago, I dumped them (after being a member for several years). I went to Amazon Prime instead (considerably less expensive, plus Prime shipping, as a bonus). I have Crave as well, just because I was able to get annual plan at lower, locked-in price. But when that plan expires, I will most likely dump them as well.

The plan was, just like you're saying, to switch between these services, but for now I'm staying with Amazon Prime, because there's still shows there that I want to see. When there's nothing more to see, I'll probably get a month or two of Netflix, and then back to Prime, maybe Crave.

What's really confusing to me about Netflix is that they don't offer any discount on annual plan, as opposed to their monthly plan. I suppose, as the leader in the game, they got a bit too cocky. Well, with no annual discounts, and very steep price increase...they lost me. I keep getting emails from them, asking me to come back, but offering no incentives for me to even reconsider.
 
#13 ·
No argument about Netflix providing most content, however right now I find Amazon Prime at $7.99/month (even cheaper on annual plan) to be a better value, at least for me, than Netflix at $13.99/month. And there's free shipping too. Of course, it all depends on what you want to watch. Definitely more stuff on Netflix than on Prime. Like I said, being with Prime for only a few months now, I still find a lot of stuff that I want to see. And when I get tired of them, I'll probably just keep switching between these services. Having all of them at the same time is obviously the best option, talking about content, not so sure that my wallet appreciates that. :)

What did you mean by 50% discount on Crave? My annual plan expires in December, and it is roughly about $6/month.
 
#14 ·
I have Crave package that includes HBO and Starz so it costs me $12.50 a month.
As for Netflix it is still the best service for me even at a higher price since all of my family members can find something to watch that suits their preference and age and it is still cheaper than Crave.
Amazon Prime is good only because of free shipping otherwise I would never subscribe to it.
 
#17 ·
The trend so far has been in the opposite direction. Amazon Prime moved from annual to monthly subscriptions about a year ago. I usually subscribe for Prime Day or Black Friday (when regular shipping is slowest) and catch up on new programming at the same time. I stagger Netflix with that. We have a full time Crave subscription through a BDU but I'm starting to wonder why. HBO's programming has fallen in both quantity and quality and Starz programming has been siphoned off to an extra cost item. At one time I just subscribed to TMN(Crave) when they had a promo for new subscribers and cancelled when the promo was up. It might be time to go back to that.
 
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