Overwhelming amount of streaming services

Nia Mitchell, Business Manager|January 23, 2020

In today’s media landscape,  people are constantly trying to keep up with the variety of streaming services that are available to consumers, the only way to  stay updated on TV shows, movies or even music. 

While it may be  a hassle to choose among  the variety of streaming services that are available, having the option to determine  the services that best suit the buyer gives customers the ability to choose streaming services that are specific to their liking. 

The recent debate started after Disney Plus was released. Many customers  who are already paying for another streaming service, are faced with paying for yet another service  to see the TV and movies available through Disney. From my perspective, because the costs of the various streaming programs are relatively inexpensive, it’s not that bothersome to pay the separate costs for each service.

The average cost for the streaming platforms ranges between $4 and $12 a month, depending on the platform. Considering the low price, users can access a variety of content. 

There are many streaming services customers can subscribe to. If you are a big Disney fan, then it would make sense to subscribe to Disney Plus.  If you are a fan of original movies or independent films, then Netflix would most likely be a platform that you would be interested in. Interested in sports? Then paying for ESPN Plus would make sense. 

If the streaming services combined to become one large streaming service, essentially what cable television once offered, the monthly service fee would greatly increase. This could possibly result in users becoming upset about paying for shows that they don’t necessarily watch, and people would most likely want to switch back to the cheaper, separate services that offer shows more specific to their liking.  

Some people argue that having a large variety of streaming services makes it hard for consumers to watch their favorite TV shows and movies in one place without having to subscribe and pay monthly fees for multiple service providers. 

The one inconvenience that I would agree with would be the fact that Disney owns Hulu, ESPN Plus and Disney Plus, but the company still requires those who are subscribed to these services to pay separate monthly payments. I can see how that would be an inconvenience, only because they are provided by the same provider. Companies that are separate from each other and aren’t brought to you by the same provider would probably be more reluctant to combine with each other  because they are two seperate businesses.

As a subscriber to Netflix, Disney Plus and Apple Music, I am not bothered by having to pay the low prices for all three different platforms. If I were to pay a higher price for all the companies I am already subscribed to, plus other platforms that would come included in the combined service, then I would find it more of a hassle and possibly skip the subscribing process altogether. 

 I wouldn’t want to pay more money for platforms that I wouldn’t usually subscribe to. I would find it a waste of money if I had to pay an ESPN Plus fee because it was combined with the other services I actually wanted, because I wouldn’t watch what streams  on ESPN Plus. 

When it comes to music streaming services, I do think that there are too many, especially because they all provide the same content. The same music that you would find on Spotify or Pandora, you can find on Apple Music because artists release their music on all platforms. When paying for different music services, most of the time you are paying to get rid of advertisements, to get unlimited skips, or to play your music anywhere you go.  

Keeping all streaming services separate is probably the best for the consumer because it allows people to subscribe to the platforms that they enjoy most.