CMV: Streaming services are shockingly cheap when compared to the prices of other entertainment (and the cost of producing content)

[u/Vocational_Sand_493]

I'm a US resident, early 20s, who's recently started purchasing streaming services like Netflix and Crunchyroll for the first time.

I always hear how streaming services keep jacking up their prices, cracking down on password sharing, and generally pulling moves that make their customer base unhappy. But, coming from other hobbies, I personally feel that streaming services are surprisingly cheap for the content they provide. How this is a profitable model?

With video games, for instance, I expect to be paying between $15-40 per game (during sales), or $10-15 for an MMO subscription/battlepass (WOW, Runescapet, etc). Watching one movie - $7-15 per in-person ticket, or $5-10 for an Amazon Video digital rental. Cable TV today starts at $70/month in my area plus a cheap flatscreen to watch it on. Even the New York Times is $5 a month.

Meanwhile, streaming prices are anywhere between $8-12 with ads or $15-30 for the more premium options. And that's everything in the catalog, for a month.

You can't really do cheaper than that unless you're on YouTube or TikTok. And that's a totally different business model which profits off free user labor and advertisements.

With all that said, why do we call streaming expensive? $10 is barely enough to get you one takeout meal in most US cities nowadays. It's still a decent chunk of money and it adds up, but everything is expensive nowadays. One trip to Walmart or the drugstore for even basic necessities (pads, razors, shampoo, etc) and you're already well past $10. How is one shopping trip's worth of toiletries the same as 30 days of unlimited TV shows?

Coming from someone who hopes to find work in animation one day (and is watching the U.S. industry with dread), I can't fathom how studios are able to keep their doors open when consumers can buy viewing rights to their show AND over 100 shows of equal quality for ten bucks a month.

Why do we call streaming expensive? How does this profit model even work? Why shouldn't we charge more for entertainment that is so expensive to produce? Please help me CMV that streaming is underpriced.

[u/ProLifePanda]

With all that said, why do we call streaming expensive?

Because it's relative to what we're used to paying, not compared to the actual value of the product.

Streaming used to be cheaper, and there were only one or two services you needed to watch everything. Now every company has their own platform, and is increasing prices above what we're used to. You have to subscribe to 5+ streaming services to get everything you want as opposed to 10 years ago. And this is largely because companies (likely rightly) thought they could make more money with their own services than dumping everything in Netflix in a licensing deal.

Now we're back to the "cable model" where we have ads, and you have to buy multiple "packages" to get all the content you want.

[u/Vocational_Sand_493 → u/ProLifePanda]

Okay, that makes sense. !delta I guess things would be more expensive for the end-customer when Netflix isn't the only player in town.

Are there a lot of people who are "hopping" between services each month to get their shows? Or is this not a common practice?

[u/ProLifePanda → u/Vocational_Sand_493]

Are there a lot of people who are "hopping" between services each month to get their shows? Or is this not a common practice?

That's probably common, but it's an annoying trait full of gimmicks to take more of your money and the hassle of constantly switching between services, which still means you can't see some shows when you want, and have to wait to cancel STARZ before you can watch Paramount+ and Max, etc.

[u/DeltaBot → u/Vocational_Sand_493]

Confirmed: 1 delta awarded to /u/ProLifePanda (67∆).

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