Pages

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

How Many Online Video Platforms Will We Have To Subscribe To?

One of the nice things about a cable subscription, believe it or not, is that it aggregates all the channels we watch, basic, premium, on demand, and sells it to us in one monthly bill that we pay.  We may become disgruntled at the amount of the bill, but we pay it.  Sometimes we wish we could drop channels we don't watch to try and lower our bills, but ultimately we still complain.

Those that cord cut seek out more inexpensive options online.  A Netflix subscription at under $10/month becomes a good alternative to basic and premium channels. But demand for the most successful titles has brought competition to the online platform.  "Amazon.com has struck a multiyear licensing agreement in the U.S. with Epix, the movie network from Paramount Pictures, MGM and Lionsgate, to stream thousands of movies after Netflix's exclusive online window with Epix expired in August."  Of course those that like these titles and don't get Epix from their cable provider will now need to add an Amazon Prime subscription to their online bills. Multiple bills, multiple payments.

And depending on your interest in different types of entertainment, the likelihood is that more individual sites will arise to sell its own subscription service.  Whether its multiple newspaper subscriptions, multiple music subscriptions, and now multiple video subscriptions, our entertainment budget continues to rise.  There is something to be said for the cable model, one monthly price for music, sports, news, and movies.  It is our insatiable appetite for more content that keeps getting us to try and  find more without paying more for it.

No comments:

Post a Comment