Streaming | Movies | Television
The Legacy of Cord-Cutting: Has Streaming Become the New Cable Nightmare?
The cords have been cut. So why does it feel like they’re gradually coming back?
Lately, I’ve been binge watching a few shows that I’ve been meaning to catch up on, one of which is 3 Body Problem. I plan to eventually give my thoughts on that series once I finish episode 8 tonight. That said, while bouncing back and forth between Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and Hulu, I’ve found myself growing increasingly disgusted with what these streaming platforms are becoming.
Although, saying that I’m disgusted at what they’re “becoming” may be wrong. After all, streaming services became everything we hated about the cords quite some time ago. In addition to being nearly indistinguishable from cable now, the way that shows are presented to us have also changed, and not necessarily for the better.
So, what is it exactly that has made a once viable alternative to traditional telecommunication corporations so despised? I might have a few guesses.
How It Started Versus How It’s Going
Netflix was the first media company to introduce a video-on-demand streaming service in 2007. For a short while, it was the only service of its kind, until other platforms started to emerge, such as Hulu in 2008 and Prime Video in 2011. Since then, we’ve seen a myriad of streaming services rise, each with their own pros and cons.
Originally, streaming services were a convenient but low-quality option for people who wanted to start separating themselves from the primary telecommunication giants. AT&T, Comcast, and Dish Network, among others, were starting to experience a disconnect with their consumer bases. Not only were these providers becoming more expensive every year, but you were paying hundreds of dollars for there to be nothing interesting to watch on TV. Overall, the quality of service just didn’t match what was coming out of people’s pockets, and honestly, it still doesn’t.
However, streaming wasn’t always as convenient as it is now. When platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video first launched, their reliability was abysmal. If you didn’t have the world’s best internet connection, you’d either be buffering or getting resolutions at 240p. At that point, you would’ve gotten more enjoyment out of watching static. What’s more, because these services were still in their infancies, their libraries were as well. The early 2010s just weren’t a good time to consider cutting your cords.
Now, video-on-demand services have grown into beasts, which are causing a large shift in how people consume media worldwide. They’ve become so popular in recent years, that they’ve even begun to threaten the major telecommunication companies. Unfortunately, absolute power corrupts absolutely, and I think we’ve seen these platforms live long enough to become the very things they sought to destroy.
The Rise of Ads & Subscription Options
You know how people started installing ad blockers when YouTube became a little obnoxious with its marketing? Well, that’s what people wish they could do for streaming platforms now. If I went back in time and told myself that entertainment in 2024 would be riddled with completely unrelated ads, I would’ve asked myself, “Why did we go back to cable?”
Well, Keith, that’s the funny part. We didn’t!
Remember what I said before about absolute power corrupting absolutely? As the streaming companies have begun to replace cable TV, they’ve started experimenting with ways to keep that power. Most notoriously, this has been through the revenue they gain from running ads seemingly every 5–10 minutes during your programs. The irony in this, though, is that every streaming service was in high demand at one point because people knew they wouldn’t have to sit through ads. Oh, how the tables turn.
What makes it even worse is that many platforms have started bundling ad-free benefits into their packages for a higher price. Netflix, for example, offers a standard package with ads for $7 a month, but offers nearly that same package without ads for roughly $16. Obviously, that’s not much, but the predatory nature of this practice comes from the frequency at which these ads run. You almost feel like you need to pay more.
There’s also the restrictiveness that comes from the concept of these subscriptions themselves. Features that were once available to most users on a regular plan have now been moved to premium packages. For example, the number of users who can stream something at the same time decreases, and even the shows or movies you can watch become unavailable on certain plans. Undoubtedly, these are practices I expect to get worse until people decide to start cutting their credit cards next.
Bloated Libraries
I remember the days of channel surfing through the TV guide desperately searching for something to watch. Eventually, I’d always have to settle for a rerun or just something to fill the room with background noise. Cable providers would always gush about how many hundreds of channels you’d have access to, but what was the point if you hardly watched half of them?
When the streaming services were still these brand-new concepts, people discovered an assortment of movies and shows that had never hit cable broadcasting before. It truly was an untapped world of media to explore. As time has gone on, though, the list of subscribers has grown, but for some reason the content has stagnated.
There’s a vast selection of media to choose from, but how much of that selection actually includes something worth watching? In a collection of poorly rated movies, odd shows, and maybe a handful of hidden gems, how often are you really satisfied with what you’ve just seen? I think I spend more time mindlessly scrolling through Prime Video and Netflix more than I do watching something. It’s almost as if I’m surfing through the guide list all over again.
The issue is compounded when you take a look at other platforms, like Peacock, Movieplex, Tubi, and PlutoTV. We have the benefits of accessibility and choice, but those seem to be all we have, and let’s be honest, they’re kind of bad. I know some people like to use choice paralysis as a copout, but I think there’s a very real drop in entertainment quality that streaming is making worse. Do the bloated catalogs of poorly made shows make it better? No, but they are bringing attention to it.
That said, I’d rather be paying a few dollars to have this problem than a few hundred. Disappointingly, that’s still a sad metric to compare by, especially in this era of boundless digital media.
Conclusion
I can’t imagine that we’ll see an end to the streaming era in the same way we’ve seen with cable TV. However, I do see corporations needing to shift their business practices away from greed. As convenient as streaming is, people aren’t afraid to resort to less than savory methods for their own benefit. I highly doubt that anyone would return to the cords, so the only logical option would be piracy.
Potential lawlessness aside, though, how do you all feel about the current state of digital media? Do you think that the increasing similarities between cable and streaming will lead to another shift in media consumption? Do you believe that streaming platforms are decreasing in quality? Have you thought about leaving streaming behind due to changing business practices?
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