I recently openedNetflixand was prompted to watch the movie “Saturday Night.”
Increasingly,streaming contentis subject to tiers and the trend of “premiumization.”
But 2024 was the year things turned around.
Spotify, Netflix, and Disney+ were all posting profits, finally making investors happy.
EvenYouTube TVwent up by $10 a month last year, coming to a total of $82.99.
As streaming finally matures, our wallets may be the ultimate losers of the streaming wars.
Almost any service you give a shot to buy today will offer add-ons.
Even discount gyms like Planet Fitness offer tiered plans.
That’s when the streaming wars took off in earnest.
Companies scrambled to gobble up existing shows and new talent for their content.
Prices were low, and it felt like cinephiles and TV buffs had more control and choice than ever.
Streamers advertised themselves as if they cared if we, the watchers, had a good time.
Max announced in February that it would remove access to Bleacher Report and CNN Max from its basic tier.
Today, streamers aren’t alternatives to cable; they’re the mainstream.
Combining subscription and ad revenue was the model that made companies like Verizon and Comcast cable giants.
“We’re at that inflection point where they’re having to turn that scale into profits.”
Ironically, they’re following in the footsteps of the companies they sought to disrupt.
Spotify declined to confirm the rumored details for this story.
Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.
Ultimately, entertainment tiers might not be such a bad deal for consumers.
“What’s good about tiered pricing is they give you the choice.
It’s not like it forces you to be in business class,” he says.
“For the people who pay the higher price, it’s voluntary, they want to.
The customers all become better off; they all have their own choice.”
All of this will likely result in the bottom-tier price being a worse experience across the board.
On airplanes, I’ll take the smallest seat and forgo water if it’s not free.
I’ll watch ads with my Netflix and Hulu if it means I can justify subscribing to both.
It has been corrected to show the movie “Saturday Night” is not available.
Amanda Hooveris a senior correspondent at Business Insider covering the tech industry.
She writes about the biggest tech companies and trends.
