11 ms·

I wonder if it is possible to make a "meta" service where you can rotate Netflix, HBO, Prime Video etc. every 3 months

tehwebguy 6y ago
This is how I do it now, sign up and then insta cancel. That way I know the timeline and plan to watch accordingly, and then when it comes up expired on login I decide to resubscribe or try another one. Can only watch a few things concurrently anyway!
- hugocbp 6y ago
  Basically the same that I'm doing. If I am in the middle of something in one, I'll just renew it. Works really well. Usually by the time you go back to the first service, there are some pretty interesting new things that might slip by if you just kept that one.
- suyash 6y ago
  So do you use new email every time you re-subscribe or use the same email? This trick can also be used for free-trial services but that definitely needs new email address.
  - tehwebguy 6y ago
    If there is a free trial offer at the time I’ll take it but I don’t game the offers or anything, it saves so much money already.
- dvfjsdhgfv 6y ago
  Can you repeat it using the same credit card?
  - tehwebguy 6y ago
    I’m not getting anything for free, just stopping the subscription right after I start it so it’s only a month at a time.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
fastball 6y ago
Maybe AT&T or someone could make a service where they take a bunch of different entertainment providers and bundle them all together.
- airstrike 6y ago
  Because they bring it all together in one package, maybe call it something like "Direct Video"
vmception 6y ago
Good strategy, why would you pay separately for Prime Video when it comes with Prime in general?
bonestamp2 6y ago
Ya, we currently subscribe to pretty much all of them and that's already excessive, but it becomes more so as the prices keep going up. So, we'll definitely cancel some of them soon, just out of principal and a service to help would be useful. I don't even need it to activate/deactivate my accounts. The real benefit to me would be tracking and notifying me when the shows I follow have a new season available. Then when I exhaust whichever platform I'm currently subscribed to, I'll know which one to subscribe to next. Also, tracking the Series and Movies that I want to watch would be helpful, especially the ones that can potentially appear/disappear from different streaming services.
- jshen 6y ago
  Apple does a lot of these things if you sub through them. But next you all will complain that Apple takes a cut. This thread can be summarized as, “we want to pay very little money, and spend very little time, to get lots of great content”. On the flip side, the VC model of gaining market share by charging less than is required to sustain the business is an unsustainable model that sets unrealistic expectations.
  - bonestamp2 6y ago
    Maybe you misunderstood me. I currently subscribe to: Youtube TV, Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Prime and HBO MAX. I spend more on streaming services than I did on cable. I'm not asking for them to lower their prices; I'm not even asking that they don't raise their prices. I'm simply saying that when they raise the price it makes me think about the value proposition and I am reminded that I'm paying for far more content than I can possibly consume. That's my fault and nobody else's. I don't need a service that rotates my subscriptions as suggested above. Rather, if someone wants to create a service for cable cutters, I'd like a central place to curate what I like, what I've seen, what I'd like to see and know when that content becomes available. I agree that Apple does some of that, so does netflix, and HBO and some of the others... and I do use those features, but there is still an opportunity for someone to create a service that is centralized and provides more depth. For example, I'd like to go a little deeper than a thumbs up/down when rating Netflix content. I'd like to have more than one playlist on Apple, Prime, etc. I'd like to know when a hard to find movie/show gets licensed and will be available on a streaming service, etc. So, no... I don't want to pay very little money for lots of content. I just want to rebalance what I do pay for to match what I have time to watch. No, I don't want to spend very little time... I actually want to spend more time curating.
sschueller 6y ago
A service that combines all these together... You mean cable tv... we have come full circle...
- uofo 6y ago
  It was a joke
SilasX 6y ago
I'd say the endgame for content is for everyone to just pay some fee (tax?), regardless of how much you watch, and it gets apportioned over the providers of whatever content you end up viewing. That gets the incentives right all around.
- SomewhatLikely 6y ago
  I suppose this is how Youtube premium works. I think they have trouble attracting higher cost content though. I'd prefer if they had a higher tier where you can pay more and get a quality of content that matches what major networks can do.
- ojbyrne 6y ago
  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_...
  - SilasX 6y ago
    No, that's not the same model, because the different TV shows aren't paid by ratings.
- listenallyall 6y ago
  so, like, cable tv?
  - SilasX 6y ago
    No, that's not the same model, your payments have no relation to what you watch, and, to the extent that you do, it's largely ad funded.
    - listenallyall 6y ago
      No relation? Fees to content providers are indeed allocated by their popularity, in aggregate. It's why ESPN gets paid (by the cable company) much more than other channels. The only difference in your proposal is the extremely inefficient calculation of millions of individual persons' viewing hours and moving pennies around for each.

This is how I do it now, sign up and then insta cancel. That way I know the timeline and plan to watch accordingly, and then when it comes up expired on login I decide to resubscribe or try another one. Can only watch a few things concurrently anyway!

hugocbp 6y ago
Basically the same that I'm doing. If I am in the middle of something in one, I'll just renew it. Works really well. Usually by the time you go back to the first service, there are some pretty interesting new things that might slip by if you just kept that one.
suyash 6y ago
So do you use new email every time you re-subscribe or use the same email? This trick can also be used for free-trial services but that definitely needs new email address.
- tehwebguy 6y ago
  If there is a free trial offer at the time I’ll take it but I don’t game the offers or anything, it saves so much money already.
dvfjsdhgfv 6y ago
Can you repeat it using the same credit card?
- tehwebguy 6y ago
  I’m not getting anything for free, just stopping the subscription right after I start it so it’s only a month at a time.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

fastball 6y ago

Maybe AT&T or someone could make a service where they take a bunch of different entertainment providers and bundle them all together.

airstrike 6y ago
Because they bring it all together in one package, maybe call it something like "Direct Video"

vmception 6y ago

Good strategy, why would you pay separately for Prime Video when it comes with Prime in general?

bonestamp2 6y ago

Ya, we currently subscribe to pretty much all of them and that's already excessive, but it becomes more so as the prices keep going up. So, we'll definitely cancel some of them soon, just out of principal and a service to help would be useful. I don't even need it to activate/deactivate my accounts. The real benefit to me would be tracking and notifying me when the shows I follow have a new season available. Then when I exhaust whichever platform I'm currently subscribed to, I'll know which one to subscribe to next. Also, tracking the Series and Movies that I want to watch would be helpful, especially the ones that can potentially appear/disappear from different streaming services.

jshen 6y ago
Apple does a lot of these things if you sub through them. But next you all will complain that Apple takes a cut. This thread can be summarized as, “we want to pay very little money, and spend very little time, to get lots of great content”. On the flip side, the VC model of gaining market share by charging less than is required to sustain the business is an unsustainable model that sets unrealistic expectations.
- bonestamp2 6y ago
  Maybe you misunderstood me. I currently subscribe to: Youtube TV, Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Prime and HBO MAX. I spend more on streaming services than I did on cable. I'm not asking for them to lower their prices; I'm not even asking that they don't raise their prices. I'm simply saying that when they raise the price it makes me think about the value proposition and I am reminded that I'm paying for far more content than I can possibly consume. That's my fault and nobody else's. I don't need a service that rotates my subscriptions as suggested above. Rather, if someone wants to create a service for cable cutters, I'd like a central place to curate what I like, what I've seen, what I'd like to see and know when that content becomes available. I agree that Apple does some of that, so does netflix, and HBO and some of the others... and I do use those features, but there is still an opportunity for someone to create a service that is centralized and provides more depth. For example, I'd like to go a little deeper than a thumbs up/down when rating Netflix content. I'd like to have more than one playlist on Apple, Prime, etc. I'd like to know when a hard to find movie/show gets licensed and will be available on a streaming service, etc. So, no... I don't want to pay very little money for lots of content. I just want to rebalance what I do pay for to match what I have time to watch. No, I don't want to spend very little time... I actually want to spend more time curating.

sschueller 6y ago

A service that combines all these together... You mean cable tv... we have come full circle...

uofo 6y ago
It was a joke

SilasX 6y ago

I'd say the endgame for content is for everyone to just pay some fee (tax?), regardless of how much you watch, and it gets apportioned over the providers of whatever content you end up viewing. That gets the incentives right all around.

SomewhatLikely 6y ago
I suppose this is how Youtube premium works. I think they have trouble attracting higher cost content though. I'd prefer if they had a higher tier where you can pay more and get a quality of content that matches what major networks can do.
ojbyrne 6y ago
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licensing_in_the_...
- SilasX 6y ago
  No, that's not the same model, because the different TV shows aren't paid by ratings.
listenallyall 6y ago
so, like, cable tv?
- SilasX 6y ago
  No, that's not the same model, your payments have no relation to what you watch, and, to the extent that you do, it's largely ad funded.
  - listenallyall 6y ago
    No relation? Fees to content providers are indeed allocated by their popularity, in aggregate. It's why ESPN gets paid (by the cable company) much more than other channels. The only difference in your proposal is the extremely inefficient calculation of millions of individual persons' viewing hours and moving pennies around for each.