7 ms·

One upside to streaming services is how easy they are to cancel and resume. I regularly suspend and resume Netflix, HBO Now, etc. based on what I'm currently w

One upside to streaming services is how easy they are to cancel and resume. I regularly suspend and resume Netflix, HBO Now, etc. based on what I'm currently watching. It's very easy to do this, especially if the service is paid for using Google Store / Apple Store subscriptions. Compare to the hell you go through trying to contact Comcast and cancel service.

CobrastanJorji 7y ago
I picture a meta-service that manages this. When you click to play a show, it quickly and automatically signs you up for whichever service, and if you haven't watched a show on that service for more than 2 weeks, it cancels your subscription. Presumably the problem would be that streaming sites might not like customers canceling their service 4 or 5 times per year.
- adjkant 7y ago
  > Presumably the problem would be that streaming sites might not like customers canceling their service 4 or 5 times per year. Maybe they "bundle" to avoid the constant cancelling.
  - ineedasername 7y ago
    Sure, bundle, but it would probably be done by a 3rd party aggregator. Hard to imaging competing content providers joining forces, and anyway it could be seen as monopolistic market manipulation. This 3rd part would probably want some clever branding for this. All streaming generally enters the home through a wire, so maybe they call is Wire? Though big wires are often called a cable, so maybe they just call it Cable? :)
- ALittleLight 7y ago
  Provided cancelling ends your service at the next billing period you should always cancel immediately rather than wait 2 weeks.
  - NikkiA 7y ago
    And if people start doing that they'll implement 'eary cancellation fees' just like the cell companies.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- godelski 7y ago
  It's a better alternative than consumers turning to piracy. Let's be real, it's making a comeback because of this. The market is getting too saturated for everyone to charge $15/mo. Prices have to drop or another option is needed, or else we'll again see the piracy that Netflix "destroyed".
  - Klathmon 7y ago
    Not to mention that there are still gaps in various TV shows on any online service. I can't remember the show, but a year or so ago I saw like seasons 1 to 3 on Netflix, season 4 was available on Amazon for $1.99 an episode, and the current season episodes 8 through current were available via a cable subscription's on demand service. So even if you paid for it all using multiple different services, you still couldn't legally watch the first 7 or so episodes of the show. I'm normally very against pirating, but I had absolutely no qualms about doing it there.
  - colechristensen 7y ago
    I would much prefer a blanket ban on production and distribution in the same company. We would have none of these problems if Netflix couldn't produce its own shows and Disney couldn't make its own streaming service https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Paramount_Pictures%2C_Inc https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Paramount_P....
    - scarface74 7y ago
      Would you also be okay if software developers couldn’t distribute their own software?
      - cannonedhamster 7y ago
        You mean software companies owning their own aggregator storefronts? Yes. I'd for banning Steam or Epic from both making games and owning the storefront if it meant Apple and Google had to give them up too. No one says music companies or even movie companies can't sell their own stuff on their own site. What they are saying is that just like the antitrust laws made it illegal for movie companies to also own the theaters, no one in thIe digital age should be able to vertically or horizontally monopolize either. I.E. The law that already exists should apply today too.
- numakerg 7y ago
  I thought about something similar in a previous post [0]. What if you ran a service that floated a large number of accounts and circulated logins for a larger number of users? At the moment it looks like sharing accounts is legal [1] but I'm sure the services would clamp down on it they thought it costs them money. 0. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20732231 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20732231 1. https://www.androidauthority.com/netflix-account-sharing-1006693/ https://www.androidauthority.com/netflix-account-sharing-100...
  - dmckeon 7y ago
    I would settle for a meta-recommendation service by subscription. Subscriber and housemates list 40 to 100 things they want to watch over the next few months to a year, and set a monthly video budget in money and time, and the service suggests: subscribe to streaming service A for N months & watch <list of shows>, and in some future month subscribe to service B and watch <list>, C, D, etc. with suggestion updates every month, and additions to the “want to watch” list whenever. Service subscription can overlap, of course. Viewers/subscribers get to watch what they want (and perhaps a bunch of other stuff from service A, B, etc.) As time passes, want-to-watch lists get longer, or pruned, and recommendations of other shows to explore, like TiVo or Netflix, can improve.
- wmf 7y ago
  Prime Video and maybe Apple TV are already close to this.
- ptd 7y ago
  Or maybe an arbitrage/all you can eat buffet where you pay x per month to watch y shows from z services?
- jbigelow76 7y ago
  I now think of HBO (for GoT/The Deuce/Silicon Valley) and Showtime (for Billions) now as billed toggle switches that get flipped every few months and not really as continuously available channels.
- dwild 7y ago
  It could even try to optimize the cost by buying/renting movies on others platforms like Google Play. I can get GoT season 8 for 23.99$ CAD on Google Play while it would cost me (and it did) 2 months of 19.98$ CAD service over Crave + HBO.
ggg3 7y ago
well, tv was free at first. I expect netflix to have a free tier with lots of ads, and a subscription base with tiered shows and multiyear contracts just like cable.
technotony 7y ago
Netflix has slightly reduced the value of this because it now resets your viewing history each time you do this. This means losing recommendations, which personally I find valuable.
- Zenst 7y ago
  Interesting, I wonder if that is driven from a business aspect or as I suspect - some data regulatory aspect. Can easily see why they would not want to keep data on somebody who had in effect canceled there subscription. May I ask, with netflix - do you cancel your account or just suspend subscription and just re-enable with your account later? Not used the service but trying to ascertain if it's a case of paused subscription or canceled account to achieve that. As if the later case, then I'd say it is due to your GDPR, data protection acts throughout the World and they are working with best interests, albeit against the grain in this instance. Solution would be the ability to export and import history - pushing the data retention aspect for the customer firmly into the customers hands. Again I see no business case for them doing this other than outlined and be more in there interest to retain said data in case you did resub. EDIT ADD - had a look and you can export your viewing history, though no ability to import later that I can see, did raise it on feedback with them, maybe it will change. https://help.netflix.com/en/node/101917 https://help.netflix.com/en/node/101917
  - ra7 7y ago
    When I click on Cancel Membership, I see this message: > If you restart within 10 months, your profiles, favorites, viewing preferences and account details will be waiting for you.
    - Zenst 7y ago
      Aha, thank you. Seems a reasonable way of them handling it.
- asavadatti 7y ago
  That just means I'd be less likely to restart my subscription
bluetwo 7y ago
I was thinking the other day that it would make sense to rotate services so I have a different one every three months.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
LanceH 7y ago
Another nice thing is you can find out the actual price on their website. No "introductory price" with an unmentioned actual price. No potential installation fees, etc...
rolltiide 7y ago
I currently subscribe to HBO Now I currently have Amazon Video, Hulu and Funimation Amazon Video comes with my Amazon Prime Hulu comes with my Spotify Funimation comes with Hulu I currently have access to Netflix via sharing so for movie only consumption I only pay for HBO Now for all media consumption I pay for HBO Now and Spotify

CobrastanJorji 7y ago

I picture a meta-service that manages this. When you click to play a show, it quickly and automatically signs you up for whichever service, and if you haven't watched a show on that service for more than 2 weeks, it cancels your subscription. Presumably the problem would be that streaming sites might not like customers canceling their service 4 or 5 times per year.

adjkant 7y ago
> Presumably the problem would be that streaming sites might not like customers canceling their service 4 or 5 times per year. Maybe they "bundle" to avoid the constant cancelling.
- ineedasername 7y ago
  Sure, bundle, but it would probably be done by a 3rd party aggregator. Hard to imaging competing content providers joining forces, and anyway it could be seen as monopolistic market manipulation. This 3rd part would probably want some clever branding for this. All streaming generally enters the home through a wire, so maybe they call is Wire? Though big wires are often called a cable, so maybe they just call it Cable? :)
ALittleLight 7y ago
Provided cancelling ends your service at the next billing period you should always cancel immediately rather than wait 2 weeks.
- NikkiA 7y ago
  And if people start doing that they'll implement 'eary cancellation fees' just like the cell companies.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
godelski 7y ago
It's a better alternative than consumers turning to piracy. Let's be real, it's making a comeback because of this. The market is getting too saturated for everyone to charge $15/mo. Prices have to drop or another option is needed, or else we'll again see the piracy that Netflix "destroyed".
- Klathmon 7y ago
  Not to mention that there are still gaps in various TV shows on any online service. I can't remember the show, but a year or so ago I saw like seasons 1 to 3 on Netflix, season 4 was available on Amazon for $1.99 an episode, and the current season episodes 8 through current were available via a cable subscription's on demand service. So even if you paid for it all using multiple different services, you still couldn't legally watch the first 7 or so episodes of the show. I'm normally very against pirating, but I had absolutely no qualms about doing it there.
- colechristensen 7y ago
  I would much prefer a blanket ban on production and distribution in the same company. We would have none of these problems if Netflix couldn't produce its own shows and Disney couldn't make its own streaming service https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Paramount_Pictures%2C_Inc https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Paramount_P....
  - scarface74 7y ago
    Would you also be okay if software developers couldn’t distribute their own software?
    - cannonedhamster 7y ago
      You mean software companies owning their own aggregator storefronts? Yes. I'd for banning Steam or Epic from both making games and owning the storefront if it meant Apple and Google had to give them up too. No one says music companies or even movie companies can't sell their own stuff on their own site. What they are saying is that just like the antitrust laws made it illegal for movie companies to also own the theaters, no one in thIe digital age should be able to vertically or horizontally monopolize either. I.E. The law that already exists should apply today too.
numakerg 7y ago
I thought about something similar in a previous post [0]. What if you ran a service that floated a large number of accounts and circulated logins for a larger number of users? At the moment it looks like sharing accounts is legal [1] but I'm sure the services would clamp down on it they thought it costs them money. 0. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20732231 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20732231 1. https://www.androidauthority.com/netflix-account-sharing-1006693/ https://www.androidauthority.com/netflix-account-sharing-100...
- dmckeon 7y ago
  I would settle for a meta-recommendation service by subscription. Subscriber and housemates list 40 to 100 things they want to watch over the next few months to a year, and set a monthly video budget in money and time, and the service suggests: subscribe to streaming service A for N months & watch <list of shows>, and in some future month subscribe to service B and watch <list>, C, D, etc. with suggestion updates every month, and additions to the “want to watch” list whenever. Service subscription can overlap, of course. Viewers/subscribers get to watch what they want (and perhaps a bunch of other stuff from service A, B, etc.) As time passes, want-to-watch lists get longer, or pruned, and recommendations of other shows to explore, like TiVo or Netflix, can improve.
wmf 7y ago
Prime Video and maybe Apple TV are already close to this.
ptd 7y ago
Or maybe an arbitrage/all you can eat buffet where you pay x per month to watch y shows from z services?
jbigelow76 7y ago
I now think of HBO (for GoT/The Deuce/Silicon Valley) and Showtime (for Billions) now as billed toggle switches that get flipped every few months and not really as continuously available channels.
dwild 7y ago
It could even try to optimize the cost by buying/renting movies on others platforms like Google Play. I can get GoT season 8 for 23.99$ CAD on Google Play while it would cost me (and it did) 2 months of 19.98$ CAD service over Crave + HBO.

ggg3 7y ago

well, tv was free at first. I expect netflix to have a free tier with lots of ads, and a subscription base with tiered shows and multiyear contracts just like cable.

technotony 7y ago

Netflix has slightly reduced the value of this because it now resets your viewing history each time you do this. This means losing recommendations, which personally I find valuable.

Zenst 7y ago
Interesting, I wonder if that is driven from a business aspect or as I suspect - some data regulatory aspect. Can easily see why they would not want to keep data on somebody who had in effect canceled there subscription. May I ask, with netflix - do you cancel your account or just suspend subscription and just re-enable with your account later? Not used the service but trying to ascertain if it's a case of paused subscription or canceled account to achieve that. As if the later case, then I'd say it is due to your GDPR, data protection acts throughout the World and they are working with best interests, albeit against the grain in this instance. Solution would be the ability to export and import history - pushing the data retention aspect for the customer firmly into the customers hands. Again I see no business case for them doing this other than outlined and be more in there interest to retain said data in case you did resub. EDIT ADD - had a look and you can export your viewing history, though no ability to import later that I can see, did raise it on feedback with them, maybe it will change. https://help.netflix.com/en/node/101917 https://help.netflix.com/en/node/101917
- ra7 7y ago
  When I click on Cancel Membership, I see this message: > If you restart within 10 months, your profiles, favorites, viewing preferences and account details will be waiting for you.
  - Zenst 7y ago
    Aha, thank you. Seems a reasonable way of them handling it.
asavadatti 7y ago
That just means I'd be less likely to restart my subscription

bluetwo 7y ago

I was thinking the other day that it would make sense to rotate services so I have a different one every three months.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

LanceH 7y ago

Another nice thing is you can find out the actual price on their website. No "introductory price" with an unmentioned actual price. No potential installation fees, etc...

rolltiide 7y ago

I currently subscribe to HBO Now I currently have Amazon Video, Hulu and Funimation Amazon Video comes with my Amazon Prime Hulu comes with my Spotify Funimation comes with Hulu I currently have access to Netflix via sharing so for movie only consumption I only pay for HBO Now for all media consumption I pay for HBO Now and Spotify