Has Streaming Made Things Better or Worse?

I'm not a fan of the streaming model as it currently exists, for a number of reasons. I wonder how others feel about the current state of affairs.

One of the main drawbacks of streaming is that it is causing people to stop going to the movies. I could write an entire post about this, but in short, movies are better on a big screen. It's fine if some want to watch at home, but with movies streaming soon after their cinematic release, and sometimes on the same day or even in lieu of a cinematic release, it gives people more reason to watch at home. This is likely to lead to many theaters closing, meaning those of us who do appreciate seeing a film in a cinema will no longer be able to do so. It also tears at the fabric of our community, as people no longer all watch together, and instead watch at random times, and alone.

Another one is the cost. If one wants to subscribe to the major streaming channels (Netflix, Prime, Hulu, Disney+, Peacock, Max, Paramount+, Showtime, and Apple TV+) the cost is $103 per month. Add in another $73 a month if you want YouTube TV, or similar, to give you the networks and basic cable channels, and you're looking at $176 per month before tax.

In the days of videos stores, you could watch whatever and whenever, and probably not rack of $176 worth of rental fees.

Assuming you do pony up $176 each month-- you still have access to barely a fraction of the films you may want to see. There are thousands upon thousands of films that are not available on any streaming site. Many are on Prime-- for an extra $3 or more each-- but most simply are not streaming anywhere. Whereas, once you could rent them, you now either have to find a low-res YouTube version, if it exists, or spend massive amounts of cash for an out of print DVD or Blu-ray, if you can even find one, or locate the VHS release. Good luck with that.

Finally, I think streaming is going to lead to fewer films, and lower quality films, being made, as the revenue just won't be there without box office money to recoup costs. Despite the high cost to consumers for the streaming services, the revenue isn't even close to what used to be made on theatrical releases. We're already seeing this, as studios are focusing almost solely on blockbuster action fare, and/or sequels or reboots of familiar properties. Gone are the medium-budget films aimed at adults.

I'm curious to hear what others think about this.