Fragmentation of streaming services - can they survive

Maybe it's just me but Netflix will be the ones that struggle

Amazon have limitless funds
Disney are also funded to the heavens and they have IPs coming out their ears

Netflix are going stale imo their own content isn't up to scratch and I really do see Disney taking 60 million subs to break even in no time at all
 
But Disney also have their theatrical/physical releases that they don't want to cannibalise too much, there's only so much they're going to offer for a fixed fee per month.

Plus Netflix is absolutely everywhere, you can't buy a TV these days without a dedicated Netflix button on the remote. It's going to take competitors quite a while to build up an established presence like that.
 
I just wish consumers had an option to pay a fixed amount per month for access to all the TV and leave it at that. YouTube etc. has managed it with music.
 
Currently there are only two proper ones, lets be honest - Amazon and Netflix.

Disney is a potential contender though and HBO could probably offer a decent service over here too. Amazon has a few additional services you can subscribe to.

If there were to be 4 actual Netflix-like streaming sites then the star thing to do would be to change your subscriptions regularly (it is hardly laborious to just cancel after 3 months and switch to another - takes a few minutes...) Watched the latest Bosch series on Amazon? Unsubscribe and renew your Netflix etc.. then subscribe again when the new season of the Boys is out etc..

It isn't like the exclusive content tends to disappear from these services - it's mostly the third party stuff that is time limited then pops up elsewhere so just rotate them... the other stuff will still be there when you get back... you can still watch say season 1 and 2 of the crown if you missed it first time around, Better Call Saul is still there if you never watched it before on prime etc...

Plus if you rotate services then you'll likely just be watching the good stuff.
 
If you think Netflix will go down due to this, you’re nuts. Netflix has become so part of the vernacular, it’s just something you expect to pay. It covers all age groups, it’s apps are just hit the button and go and they’ve been building dedicated buttons into TV remotes for a while now. To their credit, they’re not just sitting on their pile of cash, they’re investing in content, which is all people care about. Disney+ have the most important IP there is and can use that leverage to expect people to pay whatever they’re charging. They can and people will. Netflix’s back catalogue is not great, but if they invest in new content, subscriptions will remain the same. The main internet buzz from the last 12 months that I can think of was Birdbox, El Camino and The Irishman. That’s 3 things you can watch at home, which you want to see, just by hitting the button. Disney want you to leave the house, Netflix wants you to stay home, and Disney knows this.
 
Flibster said:
You mean a service kind of like satellite tv or cable? :D
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No because that doesn’t get you amazon/ Netflix/Disney etc. All the industry is doing at the minute is encouraging the return of piracy with a fragmented market that nobody wants to pay for. What we really need is a Spotify if the video world where one subscription gives you everything which we almost had with Netflix....
 
Armageus said:
What would be ideal imo would be an open platform that any content provider could use, but offer e.g. "channel" or "content" bundles within the same platform/app.
Want Sky Sports - just pay for that, want Netflix originals - pay for them, want BBC (or britbox etc) then pay for that.
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Netflix could be in a decent position to offer something like that given their content delivery methods and wide reach
 
a1ex2001 said:
No because that doesn’t get you amazon/ Netflix/Disney etc. All the industry is doing at the minute is encouraging the return of piracy with a fragmented market that nobody wants to pay for. What we really need is a Spotify if the video world where one subscription gives you everything which we almost had with Netflix....
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I dunno - how much do people cough up for TV license plus a Sky subscription?

Currently Netflix + Amazon Prime is a bargain in comparison, overall better content etc... and cheaper monthly cost. I occasionally get a TV license but lots of good BBC or similar dramas etc... have been on one of those.

For example Police/detective stuff like Line of Duty, the Bodyguard and Collateral were all on Netflix. Ripper street was on Prime then continued by amazon.

I watched the BBC’s War and Peace on Netflix, the complete series of Downton Abbey is now on Amazon (not watched it myself but might give it a watch at some point).

I think the current services are a bargain compared to terrestrial + virgin or sky.

I had prime regardless of the TV service and use it for music and free delivery too... it’s worth it for that alone. I then got Netflix as I’d found Prime TV useful. I’d happily rotate a third subscription service or say have Netflix for half the year and perhaps try 3 months of Disney and 3 months of some other streaming service etc...
 
dowie said:
I dunno - how much do people cough up for TV license plus a Sky subscription?

Currently Netflix + Amazon Prime is a bargain in comparison, overall better content etc... and cheaper monthly cost. I occasionally get a TV license but lots of good BBC or similar dramas etc... have been on one of those.

For example Police/detective stuff like Line of Duty, the Bodyguard and Collateral were all on Netflix. Ripper street was on Prime then continued by amazon.

I watched the BBC’s War and Peace on Netflix, the complete series of Downton Abbey is now on Amazon (not watched it myself but might give it a watch at some point).

I think the current services are a bargain compared to terrestrial + virgin or sky.

I had prime regardless of the TV service and use it for music and free delivery too... it’s worth it for that alone. I then got Netflix as I’d found Prime TV useful. I’d happily rotate a third subscription service or say have Netflix for half the year and perhaps try 3 months of Disney and 3 months of some other streaming service etc...
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Current services are good value but they are now falling to pieces as the market fractures into about a dozen services which means we will see less and less cross network stuff Disney stuff will be on Disney etc etc etc making competitively priced comprehensive service a thing of the past!
 
a1ex2001 said:
Current services are good value but they are now falling to pieces as the market fractures into about a dozen services which means we will see less and less cross network stuff Disney stuff will be on Disney etc etc etc making competitively priced comprehensive service a thing of the past!
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How are they falling to pieces?

Disney making its own streaming service doesn’t make netflix fall to pieces. There aren’t that many companies who could really pull it off.
 
dowie said:
How are they falling to pieces?

Disney making its own streaming service doesn’t make netflix fall to pieces. There aren’t that many companies who could really pull it off.
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Disney have pulled there content, HBO are going to do the same for their streaming service the BBC are likely to do the same for Britbox etc etc etc the market is fragmenting which means you need more subscriptions so the cost goes up and bang people are pirating stuff again.
 
a1ex2001 said:
Disney have pulled there content, HBO are going to do the same for their streaming service the BBC are likely to do the same for Britbox etc etc etc the market is fragmenting which means you need more subscriptions so the cost goes up and bang people are pirating stuff again.
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IIRC there isn't much (or any) HBO content on Netflix.

IIRC You can get access to HBO via Amazon as a channel... essentially as another streaming service.

There is some BBC stuff on Netflix after it has aired but it is hardly a big feature of that service.

I don't see how Netflix is "falling to pieces" just because HBO has a service or Disney has a service etc...

The simple solution if there is some stuff you really must watch on one of the services is to just buy a couple of subscriptions and rotate one or them. We're already at the point where there is way more good content than you could possibly watch.
 
Smokey Deza said:
Where do people get the 'people will just go back to piracy' vision from?

Since everyone uses google these days, not going to get very far.
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Yeah, and they’ll google how to pirate stuff and end up downloading TOR browser and learn about MagnetDL... lol
 
Smokey Deza said:
Where do people get the 'people will just go back to piracy' vision from?

Since everyone uses google these days, not going to get very far.
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Piracy has been in decline not because it was blocked on google but because the media companies finally woke up to sensible priced easy access to content. Spotify is cheap, convenient and gives access to pretty much every song on the planet. The music industry so far has been clever enough not to fragment the market there are multiple services with effectively the same content. We had got to a great position with video where we had a couple of very affordable services giving access to a vast array of quality content, the video industry being consistently annoying have decided to fragment this across a raft of streaming services making access more complicated and expensive. Piracy will return unless some of the services quickly fall by the way side or we see some sort of aggregator subscription.
 
We still have a couple of very affordable services, at no point has it meant you can get absolutely everything on them.

People still want to watch particular sporting matches, stuff gets shown on Sky that isn't available on streaming services or terrestrial etc.. Game of Thrones for example.

Piracy hasn't gone away - we even have a US TV show sub forum on here for people who download stuff illegally.

The hyperbole about these services falling to pieces simply because Disney might stream some stuff or the BBC might finally move into the 21st century is a bit silly tbh...
 
Armageus said:
It's getting pretty ridiculous - even within the free TV market (Freeview vs Youview vs Freesat vs Freesat from Sky) there is fragmentation within which channels are available.

What would be ideal imo would be an open platform that any content provider could use, but offer e.g. "channel" or "content" bundles within the same platform/app.
Want Sky Sports - just pay for that, want Netflix originals - pay for them, want BBC (or britbox etc) then pay for that.

I keep looking for a viable Sky Alternative, and legally there still isn't one. Having several different apps/subscriptions in order to cover all the content I would want, just isn't a user friendly way of doing things.
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Prime has that option. It’s got a fair few channels you can subscribe to separately. Whether that’s any better than individual streaming services is another question.

The fragmentation of the market is a worrying trend. I’m refusing to subscribe to any more than one or two services. If it’s not on the service then it doesn’t exist (or I’ll watch it by other means). Unfortunate they haven’t learned from the music industry.
 
I'm struggling to care all of a sudden if some of these services survive - through approx. 2015 to early 2018 seemed to be a big push to get more content out there and quicker but of late more and more shows/movies not available in the UK or taking months and months to be available here and movies more and more delayed to digital release or locked behind various silly restrictions or clunky fragmented subscription models. Then I flick through my Netflix, etc. list at the moment and realise how much stuff I got bored of after 10-15 minutes and never finished watching it - a lot of that due to the inappropriate and in your face insertion of social justice agendas into even things like historic settings where it was never a factor, etc. which just gets really old fast.
 
A big factor in people returning to piracy is if these streaming services start clamping down on account sharing. If one pays for netflix, another prime, another Disney etc them it remains affordable but if Netflix started to enforce device limits (rather than active streams) then I wouldn't use it anymore.

Spotify has already started on this path with their family plans where it can ask you at any time to verify your location to make sure your all at the same address.

Plus piracy is a lot easier now as well for the average viewer, buy a kodi stick off ebay and bingo you've got it all. No faffing about with torrents and media servers.
 
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