4 ms·

The reasons to pirate shows used to be that "cable is all or nothing and cost so much, let me pay only for what i want to watch". So now you can signup to servi

The reasons to pirate shows used to be that "cable is all or nothing and cost so much, let me pay only for what i want to watch". So now you can signup to services for only 10$/piece instead of a $100 bundle, takes less than 5 minutes to unsubscribe and switch. And now the new reason to pirate is "there are too many services" This was never about availability, it was always about not paying.

judge2020 7y ago
A "plex" for shows/streaming services would be great; I know Apple TV and Fire TV try to do it seems adoption of this is low (such as Apple TV showing HBO GO shows, but YouTube TV not reporting to either Apple/Fire TV) and there's not a "you don't have access this show, but here's a list of services that you could subscribe to" (Google search results does show streaming services available for shows and movies, but it's not integrated anywhere).
- scarface74 7y ago
  AT&T Now and Hulu both integrate with the TV app and reportedly as will Disney+. For reference, here all of the apps that integrate with the TV app. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208083 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208083
brenden2 7y ago
Paying $10/month for the rest of my life is not worth it unless I'm actually getting $10/month worth of value out of the service. I don't spend that much time watching TV.
- cdubzzz 7y ago
  As GP states, these services largely have very easy cancellation processes. There is no need to pay for the “rest of your life” if you don’t feel the content is worth the price long term.
lkramer 7y ago
Not sure I agree. I have Netflix, but I even torrent their shows so I can watch if my internet craps out. There are also numerous annoyances, such as shows split across multiple services, lots of exclusive shows, and of course a lot of older films can be hard to find on streaming services. Gabe Newell was right, pirating is a service problem. I pay for content, but I find is desirable to supplement it with the occasional torrent.
- drawkbox 7y ago
  Spotify and Apple Music seem to have killed off lots of music piracy, no need to, everything is on there. Music piracy is much easier than movie piracy due to size and availability, yet most people who used to pirate music are now on these services. They have made it easy enough. TV and movies haven't figured that out yet and the rights warfare is very intense. People just want to see the content they want to see easily when they want it, they will pay for that gladly. There is almost a PTSD about what movies/shows are available, not, when they will go away, etc. I like to own movies and shows to always have them. Streaming catalogs are all incomplete except Netflix, a bunch of parts to a collector that is madness. Another annoyance is even if you buy streaming access you might not get the show you expect, for instance CBS All-Access doesn't have a CBS show Everybody Loves Raymond. Streaming movies/shows is a patchwork of minefields that requires research in times of leisure. Noone wants to go hunting down the show they want to watch right now and should be available across the 5 streaming services + live TV they use, but it half the time is not there. You have to search and find which platform it is on currently if at all. Side note, I buy tons on iTunes because I can still download the movies. Though the content protection is also problematic for customers that bought it, just an annoyance that they shouldn't put on content. Netflix is allowing this now as well, same DRM trap though. The quality of streaming still sucks especially on desktop/PC where browsers are limited to 720p. 1080p/4k is what people want and streaming is going to get extorted more and more by ISPs when they start pushing more 1080p/4k.
stonith 7y ago
This is a very US-centric view. In a lot of countries the content wasn't available, or was delayed significantly making torrent the only real option for seeing a show as it comes out. When social media is covered in spoilers waiting more than a day or two isn't particularly appealing.
bitlax 7y ago
You don't pay for a percentage of the month when you cancel. When you switch to three different services in one month you're paying for three different services. And oftentimes --especially in the case of Disney-- the consumer has paid for the movie several times in several different formats. Meanwhile if a pirate downloads a digital copy he has it for life, with the ability to transfer it between devices and watch it after cancelling a service. Piracy is still a distribution problem.
rurounijones 7y ago
Piracy is not about availability; it is about convenience. Signing up to different services that are based around monthly fees and then having to deal with those services when you might only want to binge one show is inconvenient. Having to deal with personal data loss / fraud when those services get hacked is onconvenoent Having to use multiple different apps (or even devices) for different shows is inconvenient. Having to be online to watch the show is inconvenient. Pirating can be more convenient than the above (see other posters fully automated setup) and when it is, the path of least resistance wins.
- friedman23 7y ago
  > then having to deal with those services when you might only want to binge one show is inconvenient It's really less convenient than setting up a plex server buying multiple TBs of storage and presumably dealing with all of the hassle involved in joining a private tracker?
  - bikeshed 7y ago
    Absolutely, like no question. Once the show's been automatically downloaded you can do whatever you want with it, and setting up Plex is a one-time-only thing. What happens when the content you're after gets sold to someone else or subsumed into another provider and you've got to jump to a new streaming service with different terms and conditions and content restrictions? Piracy is simple.
    - kaybe 7y ago
      It's simple to the point that I often see people around spontaneously pirate content they do have legal access to because of convenience.
    - friedman23 7y ago
      I've dealt with a private tracker before and I know you are lying. Spending money on netflix and amazon is simple and costs less and requires less effort than buying everything involved in setting up a plex server. Piracy is only simple if you are content with watching cheap rips that you download from the pirate bay on your laptop.
echelon 7y ago
> takes less than 5 minutes to unsubscribe and switch Not if you have ADHD. Subscriptions are one of the worst prisons imaginable. The new streaming reality is quickly turning into hell.
meroes 7y ago
It's convenience, always has been.
matheusmoreira 7y ago
Nothing the copyright industry does will ever be able to compete with "piracy". What matters is if the paid service is good enough for most people to not bother with copyright infringement. Netflix did occupy that comfortable spot but now the market is being needlessly fragmented because every copyright holder wants to make their own streaming service. Not having to manage one's subscriptions is obviously better than having to do it, regardless of how fast it is to switch.
2rsf 7y ago
> always about not paying with the exception of regional blocked content you are right, but now we are back to a point where it becomes (relatively) expensive to have a big enough variety available to watch

judge2020 7y ago

A "plex" for shows/streaming services would be great; I know Apple TV and Fire TV try to do it seems adoption of this is low (such as Apple TV showing HBO GO shows, but YouTube TV not reporting to either Apple/Fire TV) and there's not a "you don't have access this show, but here's a list of services that you could subscribe to" (Google search results does show streaming services available for shows and movies, but it's not integrated anywhere).

scarface74 7y ago
AT&T Now and Hulu both integrate with the TV app and reportedly as will Disney+. For reference, here all of the apps that integrate with the TV app. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208083 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208083

brenden2 7y ago

Paying $10/month for the rest of my life is not worth it unless I'm actually getting $10/month worth of value out of the service. I don't spend that much time watching TV.

cdubzzz 7y ago
As GP states, these services largely have very easy cancellation processes. There is no need to pay for the “rest of your life” if you don’t feel the content is worth the price long term.

lkramer 7y ago

Not sure I agree. I have Netflix, but I even torrent their shows so I can watch if my internet craps out. There are also numerous annoyances, such as shows split across multiple services, lots of exclusive shows, and of course a lot of older films can be hard to find on streaming services. Gabe Newell was right, pirating is a service problem. I pay for content, but I find is desirable to supplement it with the occasional torrent.

drawkbox 7y ago
Spotify and Apple Music seem to have killed off lots of music piracy, no need to, everything is on there. Music piracy is much easier than movie piracy due to size and availability, yet most people who used to pirate music are now on these services. They have made it easy enough. TV and movies haven't figured that out yet and the rights warfare is very intense. People just want to see the content they want to see easily when they want it, they will pay for that gladly. There is almost a PTSD about what movies/shows are available, not, when they will go away, etc. I like to own movies and shows to always have them. Streaming catalogs are all incomplete except Netflix, a bunch of parts to a collector that is madness. Another annoyance is even if you buy streaming access you might not get the show you expect, for instance CBS All-Access doesn't have a CBS show Everybody Loves Raymond. Streaming movies/shows is a patchwork of minefields that requires research in times of leisure. Noone wants to go hunting down the show they want to watch right now and should be available across the 5 streaming services + live TV they use, but it half the time is not there. You have to search and find which platform it is on currently if at all. Side note, I buy tons on iTunes because I can still download the movies. Though the content protection is also problematic for customers that bought it, just an annoyance that they shouldn't put on content. Netflix is allowing this now as well, same DRM trap though. The quality of streaming still sucks especially on desktop/PC where browsers are limited to 720p. 1080p/4k is what people want and streaming is going to get extorted more and more by ISPs when they start pushing more 1080p/4k.

stonith 7y ago

This is a very US-centric view. In a lot of countries the content wasn't available, or was delayed significantly making torrent the only real option for seeing a show as it comes out. When social media is covered in spoilers waiting more than a day or two isn't particularly appealing.

bitlax 7y ago

You don't pay for a percentage of the month when you cancel. When you switch to three different services in one month you're paying for three different services. And oftentimes --especially in the case of Disney-- the consumer has paid for the movie several times in several different formats. Meanwhile if a pirate downloads a digital copy he has it for life, with the ability to transfer it between devices and watch it after cancelling a service. Piracy is still a distribution problem.

rurounijones 7y ago

Piracy is not about availability; it is about convenience. Signing up to different services that are based around monthly fees and then having to deal with those services when you might only want to binge one show is inconvenient. Having to deal with personal data loss / fraud when those services get hacked is onconvenoent Having to use multiple different apps (or even devices) for different shows is inconvenient. Having to be online to watch the show is inconvenient. Pirating can be more convenient than the above (see other posters fully automated setup) and when it is, the path of least resistance wins.

friedman23 7y ago
> then having to deal with those services when you might only want to binge one show is inconvenient It's really less convenient than setting up a plex server buying multiple TBs of storage and presumably dealing with all of the hassle involved in joining a private tracker?
- bikeshed 7y ago
  Absolutely, like no question. Once the show's been automatically downloaded you can do whatever you want with it, and setting up Plex is a one-time-only thing. What happens when the content you're after gets sold to someone else or subsumed into another provider and you've got to jump to a new streaming service with different terms and conditions and content restrictions? Piracy is simple.
  - kaybe 7y ago
    It's simple to the point that I often see people around spontaneously pirate content they do have legal access to because of convenience.
  - friedman23 7y ago
    I've dealt with a private tracker before and I know you are lying. Spending money on netflix and amazon is simple and costs less and requires less effort than buying everything involved in setting up a plex server. Piracy is only simple if you are content with watching cheap rips that you download from the pirate bay on your laptop.

echelon 7y ago

> takes less than 5 minutes to unsubscribe and switch Not if you have ADHD. Subscriptions are one of the worst prisons imaginable. The new streaming reality is quickly turning into hell.

meroes 7y ago

It's convenience, always has been.

matheusmoreira 7y ago

Nothing the copyright industry does will ever be able to compete with "piracy". What matters is if the paid service is good enough for most people to not bother with copyright infringement. Netflix did occupy that comfortable spot but now the market is being needlessly fragmented because every copyright holder wants to make their own streaming service. Not having to manage one's subscriptions is obviously better than having to do it, regardless of how fast it is to switch.

2rsf 7y ago

> always about not paying with the exception of regional blocked content you are right, but now we are back to a point where it becomes (relatively) expensive to have a big enough variety available to watch