There are Luddites among us who miss basic cable — certainly not the customer service that seemed to redefine the concept, and not in a good way. The relative simplicity of the basic cable model, that is what we miss.
Once upon a time, one could turn on the TV and land at the exact spot you left off. Familiar, comfortable, non-threatening, one click gets you to the menu.
Streaming, on the other hand, though it does indeed open up a veritable universe of content, requires tedious daily tribute, an encomium worthy of Bilbo’s encounter with Smaug under the mountain, for each viewing.
Need to click on the set in a hurry to catch that final shot? OK then — only seven or eight steps to go. The service, after all, needs to confirm who you are and what you like first, if not establish a personality profile worthy of Freud.
It wasn’t that long ago major media companies were struggling to get a handle on the new phenomenon called streaming and all the dexterity gymnastics that come with it.
Get a handle they did. Consumption of TV and movies is now absorbed mostly via streaming services. TV networks have their companion streaming services. Most major movies are released both theatrically and through a streaming platform (though how much longer for the former?)
Streaming has become so mainstream as to saturate the market, which is in the process of determining winners and losers.
Consumers shouldn’t expect many new platforms, the experts tell us — the existing players are in survival mode. As the marketplace wars play themselves out, expect to pay higher prices for streaming, of course.
Remember when Netflix emerged as the remote alternative to Blockbuster? Seems like a generation ago, and perhaps it was. Netflix is producing its own blockbusters these days.
CNET warned last year that consumers should expect more ad-supported tiers (the services that make money from both the consumer and the advertiser), as well as rising costs for ad-free tiers. The latter, of course, will make platforms more money but also likely lure more customers into the ad-supported tiers.
As for mergers — expect more of them, CNET warned. The only way to survive moving forward? “Be gigantic.”
There are two silver linings. First, those automated La-Z-Boys that provided everything one could need and whirled folks around the Ark 2.0 in Pixar’s WALL-E sure looked comfy. Better yet, with content condensed down to fewer platforms, maybe it’ll be easier for the Luddites among us to turn on the TV at a moment’s notice and see that last second jumper find the bottom of the net.
READ ALSO: Three Arkansans to Square Up Against International Sumo Pros
