Streaming Scams

Easy access to favorite shows, being able to watch movies without commercials, the ability to watch outside of the home- all of these reasons make it seem like streaming services are the best way to go for an entertainment fix. However, the outrage induced after the removal of the show "Anne with an E" from Netflix shows that streaming services don't always have the viewers' best interest in mind. According to an article written by Leyland Cecco for The Guardian, fans of the show posted at least 13m tweets, signed a petition and put up billboards to demand the revival of the show.

There are several glaring issues with today's streaming options, but Netflix has the most. The cheapest ad-free option for a monthly Netflix subscription is $15.50 per month. For Disney Plus, it's $14, Hulu $15, Max $16 and the list just goes on. And these are just the prices for watching a show or movie without ads; no other services are provided. Hulu's prices for their premium services are ridiculously high, with their least expensive plan for live TV with ads at $70 a month, not counting other add-ons.

The prices for these services are too high for what the consumer is given in return, especially in the case of Netflix, with their limited library and lack of shows in public demand. Many shows are also only on these streaming services, with little to no other way to legally watch them. Other times, shows are canceled or taken off the air early, either due to the show not generating enough revenue, the people not enjoying the show or movie or for some other unknown reason. There are several examples of shows that people do watch being taken off of streaming services such as "Inside Job," "Infinity Train," "Daredevil," "The Punisher" and other well-liked shows.

Some other big reasons that streaming services aren't as good as people think they are include shady business practices and generally not caring what the consumer wants. For example, Netflix removed password sharing for people who don't live in the same household – a longstanding practice that had put them ahead of other streaming services. Technically, password sharing does still exist in some capacity, but it costs the account owner more to share their password than it would for someone to just create an account themselves.

While I do believe that streaming services have become an integral part of modern entertainment, I think that there are better alternatives to using them. For starters, a lot of the movies that are on streaming services already have physical releases, such as DVDs or VHS tapes, which existed long before any digital way to watch them. There are also cheaper or even free places where one can find these shows and movies, like libraries, rental stores and thrift stores. With these physical options,one never has to worry about a show or movie they like coming off of a streaming service because they will own it forever. And with the shows or movies that don't have physical releases, there are places online that have them for free – if one is willing to look for them.

Overall, I think that streaming services are a complete scam and we should stop using them due to their glaring issues and total disregard of what the consumer wants.

Opinion by Connor Burress