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A la carte TV/Movies have existed for longer than Netflix has been streaming. Google Play, Apple TV, Sony PlayStation store and Microsoft Xbox store all sell s

A la carte TV/Movies have existed for longer than Netflix has been streaming. Google Play, Apple TV, Sony PlayStation store and Microsoft Xbox store all sell seasons and/or episodes and/or full movies. And you can often rent movies for cheaper. Overall, consumers preferred the subscriptions. They’re a better deal if you watch more than 5-10 hours a month. Though there are some things you can only purchase a la carte.

Dylan16807 7y ago
It costs more to buy four episodes of a single show than an entire month of a typical streaming service. That is not the "let me pick my channels" service that people often ask for.
- Mindwipe 7y ago
  It is, because a la carte is always significantly more expensive. It results in higher transaction cost overhead, more risk, more cash flow volatility etc. A la carte is significantly more expensive in literally every industry, globally, for a reason.
  - ulucs 7y ago
    Human behavior does not (and should not) care about the cost structure. As binge watching is popular, having digital content priced over 15$ (or whatever the monthly price of the streaming service that also hosts the content) limits the sales to an incredibly niche audience.
    - parasubvert 7y ago
      Incredibly niche is an exaggeration. People will spend the dough to watch what they want to watch. The vast majority of movies aren’t on Netflix!
  - Goladus 7y ago
    > a la carte is always significantly more expensive True, but clearly not the case with most TV shows. It's not an a la carte premium. It's either targeting a niche market like collectors, or there's just no attempt to set a market price whatsoever as the example here demonstrates: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21682892 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21682892
  - Dylan16807 7y ago
    An a la carte premium doesn't explain why it's more expensive to buy a single show than the bundle it comes in.
altacc 7y ago
There's also a big psychological difference between deciding just the once to start a subscription, and having to constantly decide if you want to pay to watch a particular series. Even if the prices worked out similar, I think people would be less likely to watch if they had to decide to spend 50c (or whatever) each time they watched an episode.

Dylan16807 7y ago

It costs more to buy four episodes of a single show than an entire month of a typical streaming service. That is not the "let me pick my channels" service that people often ask for.

Mindwipe 7y ago
It is, because a la carte is always significantly more expensive. It results in higher transaction cost overhead, more risk, more cash flow volatility etc. A la carte is significantly more expensive in literally every industry, globally, for a reason.
- ulucs 7y ago
  Human behavior does not (and should not) care about the cost structure. As binge watching is popular, having digital content priced over 15$ (or whatever the monthly price of the streaming service that also hosts the content) limits the sales to an incredibly niche audience.
  - parasubvert 7y ago
    Incredibly niche is an exaggeration. People will spend the dough to watch what they want to watch. The vast majority of movies aren’t on Netflix!
- Goladus 7y ago
  > a la carte is always significantly more expensive True, but clearly not the case with most TV shows. It's not an a la carte premium. It's either targeting a niche market like collectors, or there's just no attempt to set a market price whatsoever as the example here demonstrates: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21682892 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21682892
- Dylan16807 7y ago
  An a la carte premium doesn't explain why it's more expensive to buy a single show than the bundle it comes in.

altacc 7y ago

There's also a big psychological difference between deciding just the once to start a subscription, and having to constantly decide if you want to pay to watch a particular series. Even if the prices worked out similar, I think people would be less likely to watch if they had to decide to spend 50c (or whatever) each time they watched an episode.