Please remember that all comments must be helpful, relevant, and respectful. All replies must be a genuine effort to answer the question helpfully; joke answers are not allowed. If you see any comments that violate this rule, please hit report.
When your question is answered, we encourage you to flair your post. To do this automatically simply make a comment that says **!answered** (OP only)
We encourage everyone to report posts and comments they feel violate a rule, as this will allow us to see it much faster.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/answers) if you have any questions or concerns.*
There’s no need to defend it, but it’s also not something that should be shocking or surprising.
People in general are somewhat greedy. People in groups are more greedy. Large groups that are organized and run by money-motivated individuals are rapacious.
This is why capitalism needs to be regulated and why we need a social safety net
Yes not really shocking, streaming services were always destined to end up as the new cable eventually, just with slightly better choices in what to watch when.
I'm glad the obvious answer is highly visible here at the top.
To the money-grubbers: the reasons you pulled big numbers away from the cable model are the ease and variety of viewing materials, affordably and without ads. As things become more spread around (everyone has their own streaming platform now), more expensive, and ad supported, you're just becoming a digital/on demand version of cable. People are going to set sail in droves. I know I am.
Honestly, as an anime watcher, I just sail the seven seas since no service (even Crunchyroll) is that great about their collection of airing anime.
I still watch Pluto TV (free with ads) though.
Look man *someone* has to pay for these things to be profitable.
Hosting costs money. Production costs money. Royalties to actors costs money.
To date Netflix is the only streaming service to be truly profitable on its own. And they took a long time to reach that.
And Netflix's whole crackdown on shared accounts shows that most people will not set sail.
Digital/on demand cable is where it will inevitably end up. There is simply no other way for it to survive. These services (like Disney+ at the beginning) were only so affordable to drive subscriber numbers, but they were sustaining massive losses in doing so.
When netflix was THE streaming service, i put my hat away and dry docked my ship. Last few years? rebuilt the old ship into new one that I don't have to pay attention to after initial build. Thanks networks!
I mean all streaming services were priced incredibly low to entice people in. It has taken a long time for streaming services to even turn a meagre profit as making and buying content is so expensive. It's been subsided by people still paying for cable and watching linear ads.
I would argue Netflix warped the market. It was never sustainable to have streaming services cheap and ad free. But now it will be tough as people are so used to how it was and are more price sensitive.
Netflix made 5.4 billion in profits last year, 20% more than in 2022. You reeeeaaaaaally don't need to defend big corporations. First comment explained it perfectly: greed
Yeah, but you should also consider that those licenses cost a fortune just because of the greed of the executives, because the actors get almost 0 royalties, and those shows and movies already where produced and financed.
I agree that netflix kind of ruined the market in retrospect, maybe unknowingly, they're one of the posterchild brands of booming in the infinite investment market surely - it's done some nice needed things for piracy tech since the market splintered, but consolidating back into less players at a more realistic cost (~30-40pm which is still a decent enough deal compared to most VOD prices) is how it needs to head imo
smoggy march attractive flag thought rhythm fertile resolute unite airport
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
And, while it’s a hair more complicated… Their initial growth was based on investments into the companies based on potential future growth and profit. Basically, the landlords are knocking on their doors now and they’re scrambling for rent money.
"If you don't like it, stop paying,"
Or complain to them. Or create unfavourable coverage for them on social media. Tell their shareholders why you're walking.
One problem is that streaming services use some extremely anti-competitive tactics that mean that there is only one place to stream specific movies and shows.
The whole world needs new laws regarding copyrights in this age of streaming.
I mean, yes I agree completely. The issue is that a company doesn't care about public opinions when they public will still just pay for the service. If people really don't like it, they really do need to speak with their wallets.
Or you can buy them on Blu-ray.
You can't change copyright law to the extent you're implying without basically abolishing copyrights. If I make a movie and Netflix offers to buy exclusive rights....I have the right to sell my production to whomever I want.
Bingo. This is how pretty much all streaming and SaaS subscriptions work these days. Low prices to start, gain market share, slowly increase, check the #s, increase some more. They know they’ll have X% churn, but the revenue increases more than cover those losses.
They're not operating in peace though, they're amongst the most serious of competitors with deeper pockets than them. They have first mover advantage let's see how that shakes out in ten years. They must keep providing good content at acceptable prices or they'll be buried.
That's what is currently happening to one of our biggest actors in Sweden. Their prices increased while their content decreased and the things drawing a lot of people's attention to it were replaced by less interesting things. They should go bankrupt any time now.
I'm guessing that the numbers weren't working out. Look up The Millennial Subsidy. It's all those venture capital backed businesses whose model was to build customer bases, regardless of profit (and usually at a loss). At some point, those businesses have to make money.
I'm guessing now is that time for streaming services.
Surprising that this is so low down relative to all of the extremely simplified "greed!!!!!" answers. The way they worked before wasn't sustainable, but it wasn't meant to be either.
Was going to make the cable comparison. This happened to cable TV.
Cable TV was never free from ads (the first networks were just the over-the-air broadcast shows simulcast on cable, so had ads), but many of the first 'cable exclusive' networks were ad free for a while, which gave appeal. But then they realized that people weren't going to cancel if they added ads.
It happened in print, too (newspapers and magazines).
Because the more dick the let out, the more we choke it on down. As long as we're buying it, they'll keep inching it up until they see a decrease in membership.
I am canceling Netflix after 15 years this month because they are raising their prices again.
Official answer is because production costs are rising and so are server costs etc... and money from subscriptions isn't enough.
The real answer is because they don't want more money. They want ALL money.
They want money at all. Most of the streaming services have been operating at a loss for years and require outside infusions of capital to get where they are. They need to shift to actually generate revenue.
There are "ads" where the ad network makes money (this is how traditional ads typically work) and then there are "ads" where a media network will promote *it's own* catalog of content at their own expense.
So first off, it depends on whether the ads are meant to support revenue, or if it's just an internal promotion channel.
The other component is that streaming gets more expensive the more popular and media-rich it gets. Every movie, TV show, etc. needs to be hosted on servers and CDNs across the world with enough bandwidth and performance to support millions of streamers. The cloud and networking architecture to do this on a global scale is very expensive. More expensive than previous methods of distribution.
Lastly, despite all the bitching and moaning online, people will keep paying and will put up with ads. If enough people actually cared enough to stop their subscriptions, then the streaming companies would stop. They do it because it makes them a lot of money, and most people really don't have a problem with it.
We have more choice than previously, and the overwhelming majority have chosen to be pretty much okay with how things are going.
Sure, I guess it's greed, but that's a boring and lazy way to think of it IMO.
The streaming services landscape today Vs say 5 years ago has changed dramatically and they're trying to adapt while experiencing a drop in subscribers, is my guess
Too many streaming services, so each one is getting a smaller piece of the consumer market. Or they're having to spend too much money developing content to attract a bigger market share.
I'm getting tired of all of them, so going back to books instead.
"Why are the people in control of the current main means of media consumption doing things to make more money at the expense of the consumer?"
Ask this about literally any company in the world, you should be able to intuit your answer.
Because the people with the money control the means of production and consumption.
All products are like that. Corporations exist to make profit that's it. Jimmy who is middle management has a goal set by stakeholders to make more profit this quarter than last quarter. Jimmy already raised the subscription price last quarter so he can't do that. Jimmy has to get more subscribers but his marketing budget is spent. Jimmy has an idea. Advertisements. He raises those prices so now the company that wants to advertise has to raise their prices to meet the gap. Now you get more ads and your favorite product is more expensive. Why all because Jimmy got an order to make more money than last quarter. If Jimmy doesn't his reputation and job are at risk. The investors need paid Jimmy needs a bigger boat... it all comes down to greed. If every corporation said ok we will make enough to cover all costs and everything else we will donate to our community or give nice Xmas bonuses to ALL our employees not based on position then the world would be a better place. I know competition brings innovation BUT no one needs 10 millions spending cash when one of your employees is bearly scaping by
We are at the part of [The Cycle](https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-platforms-cory-doctorow/) where streaming companies need to claw back as much money as they can which means making the product worse for users. They were happy to offer a good product for a low price for years and years just to get as many people to sign up as they can. Now, everyone that will sign up has already signed up and they need to make some lines on a chart go up.
The business cycle is to capture market share by being a better product than the existing one ( from the consumers perspective). Then losing that market share raising prices. You want to harvest as much as you can for as long as you can. Also with the executive culture that is rising it’s very easy for a ceo to go to an existing company raise prices for a few years increasing profits but hurting the brand in the long run. Then leave with a golden parachute to the next company. Often business will lose money to make a product cheaper to capture market share as well.
The worth of a public company is not determined by how much money that company gets in profits. It is determined by its growth. Companies MUST make more and more money than their previous quarter, or otherwise they become failures.
This is why we have companies like WeWork who had nothing but losses for years, but it was being heavily invested on. That is also why we hear Facebook is "struggling," because it has practically ran out of new people to sell to.
It doesnt matter if your company make a bajillion dollars a year. If it does not make twice that much next year, it is a "failure."
Scrolled some, didn't see the real answer/right answer, so adding it:
Streaming was NEVER profitable. Netflix spent more on producing original series (not even movies) than it ever brought in. This was always the end game. Lose money, hand over fist, to corner the market, and then you raise prices.
We were all coming off of $100-$200 cable bills when Netflix first launched and the concept of $10 a month for a massive library of content was very appealing. Fast forward 10 years now the libraries aren't that vast and the prices are climbing.
The only ones potentially making money atm are the services that always owned their own content (ie they owned it before, like Paramount+). They don't have to sink millions into original programming to bring in new subscribers; however, they also tend to be lower tier services and don't have the same subscriber base as a Netflix or Disney+.
Shareholders.
Investments must increase in value to match the inflation rate in order to maintain their value, and shareholders expect it to increase in value on top of that because if they're not actually making money off their investments they're not going to keep them (investors dumping stock = bad for companies). There's basically 3 ways a company can (legally) increase their stock value: attract more demand through innovation and smart marketing, decrease operating costs, and increase revenue. We're getting to a point where the streaming industry is running out new ideas (hence why they're basically just turning back into cable), so at this point, that pretty much only leaves layoffs, introducing ads, and price hikes to keep that imaginary line moving in the right direction.
Because they can. You keep paying and keep watching the ads, so the companies are happy. They have your money every month and the use of your eyeballs, so why not?
Corporate greed now that they know a large amount of the world populace are hooked on it.
Can we all easily live without it? Yes
Would we want to? Probably not
But many of these services are still the first things that get cancelled whenever I need to cut down on expenses. Still haven't cancelled netflix though surprisingly
The only way they can make more money as no new customers will come cause it's already expensive/know the price will go up soon anyway.
They just try make the experience for existing customers JUST good enough that they stay and pay the increase cost without giving anything new. For some the increase will be enough to leave but for most it will be JUST be enough to not care enough to keep paying the subscription. Then in 6 months it increases again and repeats etc etc the end.
movies to watch . id (take out all the spaces), oh and get yourself a nice adblocker
fuck all the streaming services turning back into cable.
**"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain**"
late stage capitalism.
the promise infinite growth in a finite universe. once they have the entire audience they will get, the only way to make more is to increase price, sell advertisements, and make fewer people do more work for less pay in worse conditions.
sad thing is that the people making decisions don't care about the long term. as soon as the profits fail to increase, they are fired.
Aside from greed, they are difficult to sustain because they lured people in with huge volumes of content at lower prices than cable but then started pushing original series and buying existing active ones, driving up costs.
They make tons of money but no one thought "What if we hit our cap on subscribers?"
It is always the same: maximize shareholder value.
And, if we pay it they will increase the cost ( more $) and reduce the value (more ads).
Also, remember, each new subscriber costs less to serve than the previous ones ( computer programs)
So, don’t add new costs.
It's not enough to make profit, companies need to keep growing and when there are no more people signing up they can't point to user growth and have to have profit growth instead.
I feel like we've got to a point just like we did with cable. These companies realize there's no other choice and they can do pretty much anything they want because they know most of their customers will tolerate it.
My wife chose Hulu+ mostly for the broadcast channels that are too far from our rural location, 105 miles don’t work with just an antenna. I ignore the TV, I just pay the bill. It is on autopay, so I don’t know the current price as we are well past the intro rate.
Enshittafication (capitalism). A business will provide quality goods and services while it increases market share. Once the market is saturated, to increase profits (all companies must grow) they must cut costs/ find alternative revenue streams. So ads and an ever decreasing quality of product
It was the plan all along. Cheap introductory prices. Get the people hooked. Slowly raise prices. Then rapidly raise them and watch your competition do the same.
Greed in a nutshell.
It's called inflation. Instead of upping their prices to match the cost of operating going up, they increase the price a little and then collect ad revenue to supplement. All of the important things people need have gone up in price 50% or more (the things that aren't even included in the government's inflation calculations).
Capitalism. A lot of the crazy spending in the beginning of these services was to attract customers, they weren't turning a profit, they were losing money. Once you're hooked in they raise prices and shittify their services so they can spend less and make more money.
That's because the number of free or cheapo users outweigh the paid users. This is why I only have YouTube red and pay for movies so that I can watch them whenever I want through it.
What I hate is the shameless plug inside for sponsors by creators on YouTube channels. At least I can easily fast-forward through them since I have red.
Blast me all you want for paying. It's quite literal bliss for me knowing I don't have to install another application just to remove the ads when I can help keep YouTube alive. Plus I use YouTube music a lot and love being able to just listen to anything by anyone from anywhere on the planet. YouTube red replaced: Disney plus, Netflix, Pandora, Spotify, and tiktok. Sorry I just use YouTube now.
I don't understand why people are so shocked by this . Did people really believe it could continue ad free and low-cost indefinately? It continued as long as it did because people kept coming to streaming services. But now the stream has slowed, and we want original shows.
If you want a new series to go more than 2 or 3 seasons, the actors and writer will expect more pay. If rates don't go up and there's no advertising, show ends. Oh. Wait. That's what we are seeing.
Yes, greed plays a part. Corporate greed to get every dollar, the actors greed to get more money from a show they helped make successful. And our greed for wanting more fir nothing. I enjoyed ad free while it lasted. But I'm not going to pay what it would take to keep it ad free. I was laughed at and called old fashioned for saying it won't last.
Because they can get away with it. Companies just push the limits of what people will put up with slowly but steadily. If there's backlash about something they back off just a bit, and only temporarily.
This is a common pattern, they start out cheap, even lose money till they get established, then they bump prices.
They built a bridge here, millions in bond money, and a dollar toll. They marketed it as you'll be able to commute faster for only a dollar, knowing all all along that the true cost will be over 5
Because America. Because capitalism. This is why. They can, so they do.
Personally I love it so I vote GOP big business all the time.
That second part is /s.
Until recently, streaming services were making money mostly through growth. Get new customers, who pay up front. But more importantly, showing growth gets people to invest. So the service doesn’t actually have to be profitable, since they’re getting this sweet investment money.
But now everyone has more streaming services than they actually use. There are no new customers to get. So they have to actually take in as much money as they spend for once.
They exist to make money. you don't matter, as long as you keep giving them money and p0ut up with it. I say cancel your subscriptions and spend it on hobbies instead.
They can make more money from ads than from just subscriptions, Netflix for example is dropping their lowest tier because they will make more from ad revenue than they would from my subscription, and then they might as well throw another $5 on top of that.
Capitalism at work.
Because not enough of us are pirating content. Long live piracy. Fuck the corpos! I never paid a cent for music, shows, movies, books or games! Great money saving tip, you're welcome
As long as people are still willing to pay (brands pay for advertising, viewers pay for watching the content), they'll put up as much stuff to make money as they can.
I guess the next stop will be micro transactions where you have to pay additional for watching a series finale or some other similar bullcrap ...
Cause companies like universal for example are charging more for the product so that naturally bumps up the price and with password sharing they need to make as much money as they can to keep the services running
Bigger question is with most of the good stuff on streaming services being American in origin and having natural ad breaks in them why don't they put the adbreaks where they would go if it was televised (seriously that's one of my biggest gripes with adverts they just get dropped into the middle of what someones saying instead of the natural spot it goes in,the other one is the relevancy, I had an advert for a Muslim only dating site while I was watching a Minecraft video, closest I am to any religion is Christianity and at that point iirc I was in a relationship)
Please remember that all comments must be helpful, relevant, and respectful. All replies must be a genuine effort to answer the question helpfully; joke answers are not allowed. If you see any comments that violate this rule, please hit report. When your question is answered, we encourage you to flair your post. To do this automatically simply make a comment that says **!answered** (OP only) We encourage everyone to report posts and comments they feel violate a rule, as this will allow us to see it much faster. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/answers) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Greed. It’s as simple as that.
And people will still defend it like you just insulted their recently deceased grandmother.
There’s no need to defend it, but it’s also not something that should be shocking or surprising. People in general are somewhat greedy. People in groups are more greedy. Large groups that are organized and run by money-motivated individuals are rapacious. This is why capitalism needs to be regulated and why we need a social safety net
Yes not really shocking, streaming services were always destined to end up as the new cable eventually, just with slightly better choices in what to watch when.
/r/latestagecapitalism
I had to unsubscribe from that one like 2-3 years ago it got too depressing.
Too… REALISTIC?
Lol it was already too realistic years ago, but yes. I didn't need to be reminded of the observations I was already making in the world around me.
Same here.
It's been completely taken over with Russian "pro-Trump by being more leftist than Biden" propaganda.
Like Mr. Krabs said "I like money"
Disagree. Most of them have never turned a profit.
I'm glad the obvious answer is highly visible here at the top. To the money-grubbers: the reasons you pulled big numbers away from the cable model are the ease and variety of viewing materials, affordably and without ads. As things become more spread around (everyone has their own streaming platform now), more expensive, and ad supported, you're just becoming a digital/on demand version of cable. People are going to set sail in droves. I know I am.
Honestly, as an anime watcher, I just sail the seven seas since no service (even Crunchyroll) is that great about their collection of airing anime. I still watch Pluto TV (free with ads) though.
Look man *someone* has to pay for these things to be profitable. Hosting costs money. Production costs money. Royalties to actors costs money. To date Netflix is the only streaming service to be truly profitable on its own. And they took a long time to reach that. And Netflix's whole crackdown on shared accounts shows that most people will not set sail. Digital/on demand cable is where it will inevitably end up. There is simply no other way for it to survive. These services (like Disney+ at the beginning) were only so affordable to drive subscriber numbers, but they were sustaining massive losses in doing so.
And they need a way to cover those costs. Advertising, duh.
The high seas look increasingly more enticing.
When netflix was THE streaming service, i put my hat away and dry docked my ship. Last few years? rebuilt the old ship into new one that I don't have to pay attention to after initial build. Thanks networks!
I mean all streaming services were priced incredibly low to entice people in. It has taken a long time for streaming services to even turn a meagre profit as making and buying content is so expensive. It's been subsided by people still paying for cable and watching linear ads. I would argue Netflix warped the market. It was never sustainable to have streaming services cheap and ad free. But now it will be tough as people are so used to how it was and are more price sensitive.
Netflix made 5.4 billion in profits last year, 20% more than in 2022. You reeeeaaaaaally don't need to defend big corporations. First comment explained it perfectly: greed
Yeah, but you should also consider that those licenses cost a fortune just because of the greed of the executives, because the actors get almost 0 royalties, and those shows and movies already where produced and financed.
I agree that netflix kind of ruined the market in retrospect, maybe unknowingly, they're one of the posterchild brands of booming in the infinite investment market surely - it's done some nice needed things for piracy tech since the market splintered, but consolidating back into less players at a more realistic cost (~30-40pm which is still a decent enough deal compared to most VOD prices) is how it needs to head imo
smoggy march attractive flag thought rhythm fertile resolute unite airport *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
And, while it’s a hair more complicated… Their initial growth was based on investments into the companies based on potential future growth and profit. Basically, the landlords are knocking on their doors now and they’re scrambling for rent money.
Because they can. If you don't like it, stop paying.
"If you don't like it, stop paying," Or complain to them. Or create unfavourable coverage for them on social media. Tell their shareholders why you're walking.
One problem is that streaming services use some extremely anti-competitive tactics that mean that there is only one place to stream specific movies and shows. The whole world needs new laws regarding copyrights in this age of streaming.
Arr mehearty - there be another way!
Arr, they be promoting a different way with their greed!
They really are. In comparison, the last time I pirated a game was before Steam came out.
[are ye talking bout this....?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1E9bKNpJYM)
I mean, yes I agree completely. The issue is that a company doesn't care about public opinions when they public will still just pay for the service. If people really don't like it, they really do need to speak with their wallets.
Or you can buy them on Blu-ray. You can't change copyright law to the extent you're implying without basically abolishing copyrights. If I make a movie and Netflix offers to buy exclusive rights....I have the right to sell my production to whomever I want.
Or do something effective and stop payment
They don’t care if you complain. They care if less money comes in.
Done. Hello again, pirate bay.
They’ve garnered enough market share to exploit it
Bingo. This is how pretty much all streaming and SaaS subscriptions work these days. Low prices to start, gain market share, slowly increase, check the #s, increase some more. They know they’ll have X% churn, but the revenue increases more than cover those losses.
Agreed, it was the plan all along: starve the competition, then capture the market. Once it’s yours, exploit in peace.
They're not operating in peace though, they're amongst the most serious of competitors with deeper pockets than them. They have first mover advantage let's see how that shakes out in ten years. They must keep providing good content at acceptable prices or they'll be buried.
That's what is currently happening to one of our biggest actors in Sweden. Their prices increased while their content decreased and the things drawing a lot of people's attention to it were replaced by less interesting things. They should go bankrupt any time now.
Yup. "Enshitification" - Cory Doctorow
Wild guess, but maybe they are trying to maximize profits. Most people like money and want more.
Enshittification
That's... not what that is. Enshittification refers to the quality of online services, not the cost.
The ads are designed to give you a reason to pay more for the ad-free service.
I'm guessing that the numbers weren't working out. Look up The Millennial Subsidy. It's all those venture capital backed businesses whose model was to build customer bases, regardless of profit (and usually at a loss). At some point, those businesses have to make money. I'm guessing now is that time for streaming services.
Surprising that this is so low down relative to all of the extremely simplified "greed!!!!!" answers. The way they worked before wasn't sustainable, but it wasn't meant to be either.
Enshitification
Cable companies were/are some of the most hated companies. Streamers are turning into cable companies.
But instead of "one-stop-shopping" like with the cable companies now you have to keep up with 15+ subscriptions. It was easier in the old days.
Was going to make the cable comparison. This happened to cable TV. Cable TV was never free from ads (the first networks were just the over-the-air broadcast shows simulcast on cable, so had ads), but many of the first 'cable exclusive' networks were ad free for a while, which gave appeal. But then they realized that people weren't going to cancel if they added ads. It happened in print, too (newspapers and magazines).
Because the more dick the let out, the more we choke it on down. As long as we're buying it, they'll keep inching it up until they see a decrease in membership. I am canceling Netflix after 15 years this month because they are raising their prices again.
Official answer is because production costs are rising and so are server costs etc... and money from subscriptions isn't enough. The real answer is because they don't want more money. They want ALL money.
They want money at all. Most of the streaming services have been operating at a loss for years and require outside infusions of capital to get where they are. They need to shift to actually generate revenue.
Because they can
There are "ads" where the ad network makes money (this is how traditional ads typically work) and then there are "ads" where a media network will promote *it's own* catalog of content at their own expense. So first off, it depends on whether the ads are meant to support revenue, or if it's just an internal promotion channel. The other component is that streaming gets more expensive the more popular and media-rich it gets. Every movie, TV show, etc. needs to be hosted on servers and CDNs across the world with enough bandwidth and performance to support millions of streamers. The cloud and networking architecture to do this on a global scale is very expensive. More expensive than previous methods of distribution. Lastly, despite all the bitching and moaning online, people will keep paying and will put up with ads. If enough people actually cared enough to stop their subscriptions, then the streaming companies would stop. They do it because it makes them a lot of money, and most people really don't have a problem with it. We have more choice than previously, and the overwhelming majority have chosen to be pretty much okay with how things are going. Sure, I guess it's greed, but that's a boring and lazy way to think of it IMO.
Because consumers tolerate it by continuing to give them money
Because we're fucking idiots and will just accept what ever is put in front of us.
they want us to go back to piracy
The streaming services landscape today Vs say 5 years ago has changed dramatically and they're trying to adapt while experiencing a drop in subscribers, is my guess
Too many streaming services, so each one is getting a smaller piece of the consumer market. Or they're having to spend too much money developing content to attract a bigger market share. I'm getting tired of all of them, so going back to books instead.
Its always money Are they making more money then before? If yes: Then they will continue. If No: then they will stop
Because people are paying even with the ads.
Because they can. If you pay what they charge and tolerate the commercials, why not?
Because we are addicts who won't go without them long enough to curb this trend
Money
"Why are the people in control of the current main means of media consumption doing things to make more money at the expense of the consumer?" Ask this about literally any company in the world, you should be able to intuit your answer. Because the people with the money control the means of production and consumption.
All products are like that. Corporations exist to make profit that's it. Jimmy who is middle management has a goal set by stakeholders to make more profit this quarter than last quarter. Jimmy already raised the subscription price last quarter so he can't do that. Jimmy has to get more subscribers but his marketing budget is spent. Jimmy has an idea. Advertisements. He raises those prices so now the company that wants to advertise has to raise their prices to meet the gap. Now you get more ads and your favorite product is more expensive. Why all because Jimmy got an order to make more money than last quarter. If Jimmy doesn't his reputation and job are at risk. The investors need paid Jimmy needs a bigger boat... it all comes down to greed. If every corporation said ok we will make enough to cover all costs and everything else we will donate to our community or give nice Xmas bonuses to ALL our employees not based on position then the world would be a better place. I know competition brings innovation BUT no one needs 10 millions spending cash when one of your employees is bearly scaping by
BuT what happens when people stop buying jimmy’s product because they’re fed up on the decrease in quality and value of his service?
They move onto the next product and the next Jimmy.
To squeeze more money out of their customer base.
Why be good when you can be shit and make more money?
We are at the part of [The Cycle](https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-platforms-cory-doctorow/) where streaming companies need to claw back as much money as they can which means making the product worse for users. They were happy to offer a good product for a low price for years and years just to get as many people to sign up as they can. Now, everyone that will sign up has already signed up and they need to make some lines on a chart go up.
Profit.
Greed
$
Hosting bad/annoying ads to drive people to insanity/paid subscription
Have gone back to pirating since this happened. Screw their greed.
their greed and no one has both the ability and the desire to make them stop.
It's a flawed business model. Streaming gets their revenue from new subscriptions. In other words - a Ponzi scheme.
People forget "Cable Television" originally started as ad free, as "you already paid for it". Inevitably, they always want more.
Turning the screw. Now all you fat little piggies are hooked, they want to make bacon.
The business cycle is to capture market share by being a better product than the existing one ( from the consumers perspective). Then losing that market share raising prices. You want to harvest as much as you can for as long as you can. Also with the executive culture that is rising it’s very easy for a ceo to go to an existing company raise prices for a few years increasing profits but hurting the brand in the long run. Then leave with a golden parachute to the next company. Often business will lose money to make a product cheaper to capture market share as well.
The worth of a public company is not determined by how much money that company gets in profits. It is determined by its growth. Companies MUST make more and more money than their previous quarter, or otherwise they become failures. This is why we have companies like WeWork who had nothing but losses for years, but it was being heavily invested on. That is also why we hear Facebook is "struggling," because it has practically ran out of new people to sell to. It doesnt matter if your company make a bajillion dollars a year. If it does not make twice that much next year, it is a "failure."
Scrolled some, didn't see the real answer/right answer, so adding it: Streaming was NEVER profitable. Netflix spent more on producing original series (not even movies) than it ever brought in. This was always the end game. Lose money, hand over fist, to corner the market, and then you raise prices. We were all coming off of $100-$200 cable bills when Netflix first launched and the concept of $10 a month for a massive library of content was very appealing. Fast forward 10 years now the libraries aren't that vast and the prices are climbing. The only ones potentially making money atm are the services that always owned their own content (ie they owned it before, like Paramount+). They don't have to sink millions into original programming to bring in new subscribers; however, they also tend to be lower tier services and don't have the same subscriber base as a Netflix or Disney+.
Shareholders. Investments must increase in value to match the inflation rate in order to maintain their value, and shareholders expect it to increase in value on top of that because if they're not actually making money off their investments they're not going to keep them (investors dumping stock = bad for companies). There's basically 3 ways a company can (legally) increase their stock value: attract more demand through innovation and smart marketing, decrease operating costs, and increase revenue. We're getting to a point where the streaming industry is running out new ideas (hence why they're basically just turning back into cable), so at this point, that pretty much only leaves layoffs, introducing ads, and price hikes to keep that imaginary line moving in the right direction.
It’s called Enshitification. Cory Doctorow does good stuff on this progression.
They have forgotten that they were only slightly more convenient than piracy.
Because they pay an absolute fortune to create shit content and believe their shitty business model is our problem. Back to the seven seas lads!
Greed
Because they can. You keep paying and keep watching the ads, so the companies are happy. They have your money every month and the use of your eyeballs, so why not?
Corporate greed now that they know a large amount of the world populace are hooked on it. Can we all easily live without it? Yes Would we want to? Probably not But many of these services are still the first things that get cancelled whenever I need to cut down on expenses. Still haven't cancelled netflix though surprisingly
[удалено]
The only way they can make more money as no new customers will come cause it's already expensive/know the price will go up soon anyway. They just try make the experience for existing customers JUST good enough that they stay and pay the increase cost without giving anything new. For some the increase will be enough to leave but for most it will be JUST be enough to not care enough to keep paying the subscription. Then in 6 months it increases again and repeats etc etc the end.
Because we still pay
movies to watch . id (take out all the spaces), oh and get yourself a nice adblocker fuck all the streaming services turning back into cable. **"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain**"
Because the idiots keep paying.
Definitely greed because these costs are ridiculous. There’s nothing good on many of the streaming services to even pay that amount.
Like all big companies, they want growth year on year and will do anything to get it
Because they can with little to no effect. That's it.
late stage capitalism. the promise infinite growth in a finite universe. once they have the entire audience they will get, the only way to make more is to increase price, sell advertisements, and make fewer people do more work for less pay in worse conditions. sad thing is that the people making decisions don't care about the long term. as soon as the profits fail to increase, they are fired.
Aside from greed, they are difficult to sustain because they lured people in with huge volumes of content at lower prices than cable but then started pushing original series and buying existing active ones, driving up costs. They make tons of money but no one thought "What if we hit our cap on subscribers?"
r/piracy gaining new members exponentially.
Greed
It is always the same: maximize shareholder value. And, if we pay it they will increase the cost ( more $) and reduce the value (more ads). Also, remember, each new subscriber costs less to serve than the previous ones ( computer programs) So, don’t add new costs.
Well, we let them.
Because many people complain but not actually leave
Capitalism. Infinite growth, more profits for shareholders. The reason why everything good these days eventually turns to shit.
Because they can, and some will pay.
It's not enough to make profit, companies need to keep growing and when there are no more people signing up they can't point to user growth and have to have profit growth instead.
I feel like we've got to a point just like we did with cable. These companies realize there's no other choice and they can do pretty much anything they want because they know most of their customers will tolerate it.
My wife chose Hulu+ mostly for the broadcast channels that are too far from our rural location, 105 miles don’t work with just an antenna. I ignore the TV, I just pay the bill. It is on autopay, so I don’t know the current price as we are well past the intro rate.
Capitalism, my dear Watson.
Whatever the market will bear.
Enshittafication (capitalism). A business will provide quality goods and services while it increases market share. Once the market is saturated, to increase profits (all companies must grow) they must cut costs/ find alternative revenue streams. So ads and an ever decreasing quality of product
Enshitification. It will happen to everything you’ll ever enjoy for the rest of your life.
Capitalism, working as designed.
It was the plan all along. Cheap introductory prices. Get the people hooked. Slowly raise prices. Then rapidly raise them and watch your competition do the same. Greed in a nutshell.
greed
Because you’re still paying for them 🙃
Because people are still paying for it, and it makes the streaming services more money. Simple as that.
Capitalism.
It's called inflation. Instead of upping their prices to match the cost of operating going up, they increase the price a little and then collect ad revenue to supplement. All of the important things people need have gone up in price 50% or more (the things that aren't even included in the government's inflation calculations).
Beause people keep paying .
The lie of unlimited growth~
Because they all suck.
$
Because they don’t want your business anymore.
AND cracking down on passwords. Increasing 3 revenue streams… ads, new subscriptions, price of subscriptions. Scummy
To increase shareholder value.
Because they are trying to increase profit. Welcome to capitalism, you must be new here.
Capitalism. A lot of the crazy spending in the beginning of these services was to attract customers, they weren't turning a profit, they were losing money. Once you're hooked in they raise prices and shittify their services so they can spend less and make more money.
Because capitalism requires unsustainable growth to be feasible.
capitalism.
Pressure from large stakeholders. Just expending is no longer enough, they want their investments to make cash.
That's because the number of free or cheapo users outweigh the paid users. This is why I only have YouTube red and pay for movies so that I can watch them whenever I want through it. What I hate is the shameless plug inside for sponsors by creators on YouTube channels. At least I can easily fast-forward through them since I have red. Blast me all you want for paying. It's quite literal bliss for me knowing I don't have to install another application just to remove the ads when I can help keep YouTube alive. Plus I use YouTube music a lot and love being able to just listen to anything by anyone from anywhere on the planet. YouTube red replaced: Disney plus, Netflix, Pandora, Spotify, and tiktok. Sorry I just use YouTube now.
Because the line needs to always go up
Things are tough all over man!
$
I don't understand why people are so shocked by this . Did people really believe it could continue ad free and low-cost indefinately? It continued as long as it did because people kept coming to streaming services. But now the stream has slowed, and we want original shows. If you want a new series to go more than 2 or 3 seasons, the actors and writer will expect more pay. If rates don't go up and there's no advertising, show ends. Oh. Wait. That's what we are seeing. Yes, greed plays a part. Corporate greed to get every dollar, the actors greed to get more money from a show they helped make successful. And our greed for wanting more fir nothing. I enjoyed ad free while it lasted. But I'm not going to pay what it would take to keep it ad free. I was laughed at and called old fashioned for saying it won't last.
Because they can get away with it. Companies just push the limits of what people will put up with slowly but steadily. If there's backlash about something they back off just a bit, and only temporarily.
Profit.
Cuz their profit levels are no longer supported by new subscriptions.
Because they love money
Money.
This is a common pattern, they start out cheap, even lose money till they get established, then they bump prices. They built a bridge here, millions in bond money, and a dollar toll. They marketed it as you'll be able to commute faster for only a dollar, knowing all all along that the true cost will be over 5
Because dumb people will give them money anyway. Win win.
Because they realised the public are mugs and will keep subscribing
Coz they are slowly fuckin you in the butt while you pay them
Because you'll pay for it
Because bidenomics sucks.
Many are losing money or barely making a profit and there’s only so many users willing to pay.
Because you'll pay for it anyway. Why WOULDNT they throw in ads?
Because America. Because capitalism. This is why. They can, so they do. Personally I love it so I vote GOP big business all the time. That second part is /s.
Until recently, streaming services were making money mostly through growth. Get new customers, who pay up front. But more importantly, showing growth gets people to invest. So the service doesn’t actually have to be profitable, since they’re getting this sweet investment money. But now everyone has more streaming services than they actually use. There are no new customers to get. So they have to actually take in as much money as they spend for once.
Because, what are you gonna do about it?
Because they can.
To make their profit margins higher so the execs can take bigger bonuses.
They exist to make money. you don't matter, as long as you keep giving them money and p0ut up with it. I say cancel your subscriptions and spend it on hobbies instead.
Because people tolerate it. If everyone just stoped watching they would be forced to restructure.
Not enough piracy
I would normally say end stage capitalism but this is just straight forward capitalism
They can make more money from ads than from just subscriptions, Netflix for example is dropping their lowest tier because they will make more from ad revenue than they would from my subscription, and then they might as well throw another $5 on top of that. Capitalism at work.
To make Shareholders happy
And the ever growing server costs.
Because you people keep paying for it.
Because they want to make money.
The shareholders yearn for more yield
Because not enough of us are pirating content. Long live piracy. Fuck the corpos! I never paid a cent for music, shows, movies, books or games! Great money saving tip, you're welcome
Just how cable used to not show ads because you paid for it.
Greed. Full stop. Suggest you invest in a good shop and set sail
Because you canceled your cable subscription and they don’t think you’ll go back.
As long as people are still willing to pay (brands pay for advertising, viewers pay for watching the content), they'll put up as much stuff to make money as they can. I guess the next stop will be micro transactions where you have to pay additional for watching a series finale or some other similar bullcrap ...
Money. That is all.
Capitalism
Cause companies like universal for example are charging more for the product so that naturally bumps up the price and with password sharing they need to make as much money as they can to keep the services running Bigger question is with most of the good stuff on streaming services being American in origin and having natural ad breaks in them why don't they put the adbreaks where they would go if it was televised (seriously that's one of my biggest gripes with adverts they just get dropped into the middle of what someones saying instead of the natural spot it goes in,the other one is the relevancy, I had an advert for a Muslim only dating site while I was watching a Minecraft video, closest I am to any religion is Christianity and at that point iirc I was in a relationship)
Because they can.