Hmm, would you use a streaming service if it were pay-as-you-go? Rather than subscribe/unsubscribe all the time, only get charged when you actually watch something? Basically PPV Netflix. But also assume that the per-view charge would have to be higher than the monthly subscription fee.
the new york times is just now discovering this? trial jumping and service jumping have been a thing since netflix was the only game in town. before, even, as it was not uncommon for one to jump between directv and dish for tv, or telco and cable for home internets for the 'new' customer promos (which is why those companies like the 2 year contract with promo rates only good for the first year now).
The industry made this decision, not the consumer. It's a shoddily run company that blames the inefficacy of their unsustainable business model on their customers.
While this is hardly a surprise after the streaming market became a clusterfuck of proportions hardly imaginable, that will lead to more enshitification. Over the course of the coming years, those services will incerasingly try to "re-gain" subscribers in this weird roulette of subscriptions, so they will all count on exclusives, fracturing the market even more.
The only people untouched by this will be the pirates, as always. You hit "go" in your sonarr-application and some time later, the thing you wanted to watch just appears in your library.
The increase was due to higher prices, not additional services. Nearly half the people surveyed said they would cancel their favorite streaming service if monthly prices went up another $5, the study said.
If your business model is to trick people into signing up for an indefinite monthly payment and forget about it while you keep raising the price to extract more out of your suckers, it's no surprise that people are cancelling your service. Considering how fragmented these profiteers are with the service they provide, people are voting with their wallet that they are paying these services to wstch specific shows or kind of shows.
I will subscribe and then unsubscribe right after. You can still watch for the month and then don't have to worry about canceling before the month is up.
And even better, some companies that offer subscriptions will send you a discount deal if you activate the trial sub and go a few days without upgrading.
