# No, multiple streaming services does not mean "we're basically back to cable" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 16, 2021, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921 "2021-08-16T06:20:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/21 "2021-08-16T16:37:59Z")
Sure, and if you think the [26%](https://www.apollotechnical.com/statistics-on-remote-workers/) of the workforce that works from home is more representative of the average household go for it. WOW and most video games work just fine on DSL and don’t require the massive bandwidth For myself I typically stream and video conference on at least two and up to 4 devices simultaneously for 7-10 hours per day. I don’t think my household usage is typical in anyway though. Even if you somehow justified your other usages to pay for upgrade of your internet you would have to break down that usage by hours spent streaming vs other things. The internet cost should be added to your streaming cost. By the way what appliances are you running that require high speed internet. Even security cameras don’t do that. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/22 "2021-08-16T16:52:26Z")
> [@Oredigger77](#): > > Sure, and if you think the [26%](https://www.apollotechnical.com/statistics-on-remote-workers/) of the workforce that works from home is more representative of the average household go for it. Wow! I actually had no idea it was that high. 26% is probably double what I’d have guessed. That’s incredible! And no, I don’t think 26% of people working remotely is representative of anything, but my wife doesn’t work remotely (anymore - she’s a teacher) yet has plenty of uses for the internet when she’s at home grading, preparing for the next day, etc. > [@Oredigger77](#): > > WOW and most video games work just fine on DSL and don’t require the massive bandwidth I don’t play WOW or any other MMO, and sure, you CAN play (or just download/keep updated) games using DSL, if you, for example, hate yourself and want to make yourself miserable 🤷‍♂️ > [@Oredigger77](#): > > Even if you somehow justified your other usages to pay for upgrade I’m sure this is geographic, but I live in a fairly sizeable city and when I just looked up whether I could get DSL if I wanted to here, I see that all of the providers in my area have canceled their DSL service. I have 4 options available at my address: one cable provider (what I use now, but I am overpaying and it’s slower than Fiber, so I will probably switch), one fiber provider, and two satellite providers that cost more and have slower speeds than my other options. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/23 "2021-08-16T17:10:26Z")
I’ve heard you can save money if family members, who don’t live in the same house, share passwords. Then you don’t have to subscribe to everything. It’s what I’ve been told, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/24 "2021-08-16T17:19:57Z")
> [@Yodalicious](#): > > I’ve heard you can save money if family members, who don’t live in the same house, share passwords. Then you don’t have to subscribe to everything. My God, that’s horrible! How is Reed Hastings gonna feed his kids, you monster? ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/25 "2021-08-16T17:43:01Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > My God, that’s horrible! How is Reed Hastings gonna feed his kids, you monster? How dare you accuse me of such heinous crimes, sir or ma’am! I said I’d only heard about such things. What could possible make you think that I, or any member of my family, would share our passwords? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/26 "2021-08-16T17:48:57Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Why can’t I watch Ted Lasso for one dollar an episode, and White Lotus for one dollar an episode, without the monthly subscription? That sounds _horrible_. That would end up costing _more_ than just the monthly fee, and you only get one episode instead of everything they have! That model may work for music, since maybe you only want one or two tracks off an album, so paying $0.99 per song is OK, but who would pay for _only_ one or two episodes? Now you’re out $10 for all ten episodes when a full month’s subscription is only $4.99. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/27 "2021-08-16T18:04:29Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > > [@MrDibble](#): > > > > Yes. _Rick and Morty_ does this, and it _pisses_ me off. > > I don’t think Rick and Morty necessarily counts as ‘going back to the older way’. It’s a cable show, which has always been that way. > > I think @BigT is more referring to services like AppleTV+ and Disney+ doing a weekly release schedule (like every Friday) even though they are entirely streaming services. Yes, that’s what I was talking about. But it sounds like, in @MrDibble’s region, _Rick and Morty_ is released in a similar way. I have to agree it’s unusual for Netflix not to dump a season (or half season) at once, regardless of the reason. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was done because they wanted it released like a cable show, since that’s what _Rick and Morty_ is in other markets. I did think it made sense for the Joel McHale show, as that was trying to remain topical. It would probably make sense for South Park, too, for similar reasons. But I get why it’s annoying for other shows. I do also get, though, why some creators want that. There is a different experience for bringing and not binging. You can tell when you binge older shows. On the other hand, it might be a ploy to get people to stay subscribed rather than just joining to binge the show. For me, though, it actually makes me more likely to wait it out, because it feels like a cynical ploy. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/28 "2021-08-16T18:10:09Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I do also get, though, why some creators want that. There is a different experience for bringing and not binging. The success of The Mandalorian probably helps the new streaming service plan to release weekly - the buzz and discussions lasted much longer than in your Netflix drop at once strategy. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/29 "2021-08-16T18:10:12Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > > [@Icarus](#): > > > > Why can’t I watch Ted Lasso for one dollar an episode, and White Lotus for one dollar an episode, without the monthly subscription? > > That sounds _horrible_. That would end up costing _more_ than just the monthly fee, and you only get one episode instead of everything they have! > > That model may work for music, since maybe you only want one or two tracks off an album, so paying $0.99 per song is OK, but who would pay for _only_ one or two episodes? Now you’re out $10 for all ten episodes when a full month’s subscription is only $4.99. I’d say that, for that model to work, it would need to be a season pass for the whole show, rather than per episode. If that price was less than the full subscription to the service, that could make sense. Though I could see allowing paying per episode for the rights to download and watch that episode in perpetuity. That might be nice if you have a particularly good episode (e.g. apparently that Christmas episode of _Ted Lasso_). I could also see the advantage if you, like me, don’t actually like binging, and want to space things out longer than the subscription. But I’m not sure that wouldn’t be a niche case. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/30 "2021-08-16T18:21:55Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > > [@BigT](#): > > > > I do also get, though, why some creators want that. There is a different experience for bringing and not binging. > > The success of The Mandalorian probably helps the new streaming service plan to release weekly - the buzz and discussions lasted much longer than in your Netflix drop at once strategy. And that is 100% why I didn’t subscribe to Disney+ on a monthly basis. My sister tells me to check out that show, and I had already been considering subscribing monthly for the other content. But that strategy feels manipulative to me, so it discouraged me from doing that. I hate that feeling when marketing feels like it’s trying to get me to do something. It’s why I don’t watch ads, and, when they get shoved in my face, I will deliberately check out all of their competitors before even considering what they offered. Is this probably pointless, due to a contrarian streak? Yeah, probably. I doubt this will change their practices. But I just don’t like that feeling where it seems I “fell” for their marketing strategy. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/31 "2021-08-16T18:27:02Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I will deliberately check out all of their competitors before even considering what they offered. I will note their competitors are moving in their direction. Amazon has been releasing some of their big shows on a weekly basis even. Hulu did it for Handmaid’s Tale. Apple TV+ is doing weekly. Paramount+ does it for their Star Trek stuff. Really Netflix is the only hold out as I imagine Amazon and Hulu will continue to do a weekly release for certain shows at least. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/32 "2021-08-16T18:57:55Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > That sounds _horrible_ . That would end up costing _more_ than just the monthly fee, and you only get one episode instead of everything they have! It would take some economist analysis to come up with the proper pricing. I pulled one dollar out of thin air. Granted, some households with 5 TVs/tablets going 8 hours a day every day would be a very different proposition than one watching 3 hours for 3 nights a week. For me, I just don’t want to pay for time and content I’m not using. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/33 "2021-08-16T18:58:39Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > That model may work for music, since maybe you only want one or two tracks off an album, so paying $0.99 per song is OK, but who would pay for _only_ one or two episodes? Now you’re out $10 for all ten episodes when a full month’s subscription is only $4.99. You’re assuming that someone will watch all ten episodes within one month. Some people might prefer to watch one episode a week, on Thursday when they get home because that’s their busy day at work, or the like. Keeping a $5/month service for ten weeks would then cost more than $1 per episode. Not saying I’d do it that way, but some folks might. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/34 "2021-08-16T19:00:35Z")
I’d like to point out again, that NO ONE is charging $1 an episode. They charge per episode now on Amazon and iTunes and it’s usually $2.99 or $3.99 an episode. They aren’t charging less than that because they won’t make any money doing so. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/35 "2021-08-16T20:06:00Z")
While theoretically you can switch streaming channels after watching all the content you care to see, most people won’t and will keep paying for stuff they don’t watch much. We watch 10x the hours on satellite than we do on streaming. It helps to have a lot of good local stations on your satellite feed. And we have only so many hours a day to sit in front of the tube. There are streaming channels we might add when we got the time. BTW we play everything through our DVR, recorded in advance, so it is pretty much on demand, practically speaking, and we see few ads, except for stuff on local news. Even that we often pause at the beginning of the show and get back to later skipping ads and boring stories, ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/36 "2021-08-16T20:21:30Z")
I just realized that there is one Netflix show I watch that does release one episode a week - " Explained". It’s probably not the only one. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/37 "2021-08-16T20:26:30Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > When I cancelled DirectTV (owned by AT&T) to go entirely to streaming, my internet bill (also AT&T) immediately jumped up an additional $50 per month. Not a coincidence I’m sure. Wouldn’t surprise me if a broadband-only service used these price hikes as a way to shoehorn themselves into the industry. If, as people ditched cable (and their landlines) and found their high speed internet going up from, say, $50 to $100, it would create an opportunity for a new IP to offer service at a cheaper (than the new, higher) price. At this point, it wouldn’t surprise me if Amazon or Netflix tried to get in on that game. And as long as Net Neutrality is still in place, you don’t need to be worried about having other services throttled. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/38 "2021-08-16T21:35:50Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > If, as people ditched cable (and their landlines) and found their high speed internet going up from, say, $50 to $100, it would create an opportunity for a new IP to offer service at a cheaper (than the new, higher) price. How is this supposed to work? Most people have an option between their local cable monopoly and their local phone monopoly. As far as I know, there are not that many (any?) places in the country where a new ISP can easily set up shop and get even a hundred thousand customers without running afoul of the existing legal monopolies. > [@Joey\_P](#): > > At this point, it wouldn’t surprise me if Amazon or Netflix tried to get in on that game. Google was in that game. They decided it wasn’t for them. Google Fiber still exists in the handful of cities where they initially installed but there are no plans to expand it any further. It’s very pricy and there’s dubious return on investment. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2021, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/39 "2021-08-16T23:59:04Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > I’d like to point out again, that NO ONE is charging $1 an episode. They charge per episode now on Amazon and iTunes and it’s usually $2.99 or $3.99 an episode. They aren’t charging less than that because they won’t make any money doing so. iTunes has dozens of shows at 99 cents per episode. I assume it’s promotional, but it’s a very large catalog with a lot of high quality/popular shows for their entire runs like Cheers, Futurama, a bunch of the CSIs, The Larry Sanders Show. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2021, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921/40 "2021-08-17T00:06:11Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > iTunes has dozens of shows at 99 cents per episode. I assume it’s promotional, but it’s a very large catalog with a lot of high quality/popular shows for their entire runs like Cheers, Futurama, a bunch of the CSIs, The Larry Sanders Show. Sure but **ISidduqui** was referring to new shows, not classic stuff that ended their run in past decades [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-multiple-streaming-services-does-not-mean-were-basically-back-to-cable/948921.md?page=3)