6 ms·

I switched to that model a while ago. I refuse to pay for Netflix/Disney+/Hulu/Crunchyroll simultaneously. So I queue up shows I want to watch on a given platfo

by umvi 6y ago

I switched to that model a while ago. I refuse to pay for Netflix/Disney+/Hulu/Crunchyroll simultaneously. So I queue up shows I want to watch on a given platform, buy a month of that platform, and then switch to the next platform in the queue the next month. It requires more overhead (i.e. manually cancelling and re-enabling services), but it saves probably $200-300+ per year vs. having 4 simultaneous subscriptions.

kgwxd 6y ago
I'm sure the next step will be to require annual subscriptions. Amazon Prime has already normalized it.
- gruez 6y ago
  >Amazon Prime has already normalized it. many people might have prime on an annual basis but amazon seems content with offering prime on a monthly basis as well. In fact the only way to get prime video (without prime) is monthly. https://www.amazon.com/amazonprime https://www.amazon.com/amazonprime
  - ocdtrekkie 6y ago
    Indeed. I historically have gotten Prime for a month around Christmas shopping season each year, and that's been more than enough Prime for me.
- ojbyrne 6y ago
  In my opinion the next step is going to be what network TV did. Single episodes available for a week, then available in reruns a year later. You can see the beginnings of this in shows like “The Boys” that have a weekly release cycle.
  - tracker1 6y ago
    Services have been doing that for a while though... it's to prevent you from joining on a mass drop, binging the season then only staying for a month... with a 10 week run, you're subscribed for 3 months... and you can watch the back catalog any time. Even Netflix has shifted their drops this way.
  - evandijk70 6y ago
    To be honest, for some shows, I prefer a weekly release schedule over release of everything at once. It gives you a chance to discuss an episode with friends and speculate about what will happen next.
mandeepj 6y ago
> I refuse to pay for Netflix/Disney+/Hulu/Crunchyroll simultaneously. It could be a great startup idea - buy proxy access to all these content services for you, and in turn, you have to maintain only one account
- clintonb 6y ago
  That sounds...illegal.
  - edgyquant 6y ago
    They said buy the proxy access
    - mwcremer 6y ago
      Not sure that will fly. The Supreme Court was not convinced last time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aereo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aereo
      - inyorgroove 6y ago
        And yet Locast is a thing: https://www.locast.org/ https://www.locast.org/
        bdowling 6y ago
        Locast limits access to users within the geographic broadcast range of the relevant TV stations. Apparently that falls within the same legal framework that allows cable TV operators to rebroadcast TV signals over their cable networks, which are similarly geographically limited.
      - ballenf 6y ago
        That was very different. This could be done as a power of attorney to avoid almost any TOS issue they could draft.
      - 6y ago
tpmx 6y ago
After a bunch of churning I just realized I'm not currently subscribing to any of the services, and I'm okay! There's not really any/much new content now anyway, due to the covid shutdown in Hollywood.
tsjq 6y ago
This is nice. r/frugal would certainly love this LPT
phatfish 6y ago
I pay for one (so i don't feel too guilty), torrent what is exclusive to the others and buy Blu-Ray for the content that is genuinely good. Currently Netfix gets some cash out of me because i have no interest in giving Amazon or Disney any more money than i have to.
arsome 6y ago
Yeah, I switched back to just plain old piracy last year. One button on Sonarr and it's on my NAS and playable on Plex on all my devices a few minutes later. I'm done. They had the right model, but it's gone now. Oh well.
- toxik 6y ago
  Curiously it seems to be a problem of rent seeking. “I’ll start my own streaming service, with blackjack and hookers” said every rights holder. And why is it so expensive to “rent” a movie from for example Apple? Rent two movies and you’ve paid for a month of Netflix. How did that compute?
  - tendersej 6y ago
    Maybe someone with experience in the field and more up to date info will correct me, but I did some research on the subject 10 years ago while entertaining the idea to launch a VOD service in France, and the right holders expected that such a service would: - pay them a percentage of the price of the rental, which could not go below a certain amount, - pay a yearly license (~3500€/year just for my country for a popular movie) per language audio track, - handle on their own sending technicians to rip the masters to then host them on the platform. I don’t exactly remember the minimum price per rental, but the economics didn’t make sense in terms of what we wanted to attempt, so we gave up. One would have to pay an enormous amount in upfront license costs without being able to generate a big volume of views by undercutting the competition in the case where technical excellence could allow us to cut prices.
    - interestica 6y ago
      > per language audio track I guess this explains why Netflix will have different audio options for the same movie dependent on region.
      - AnssiH 6y ago
        Partially. The other reason is simply to remove clutter in UI. You can get more tracks to appear if you change Netflix UI language in settings, as described here in 2015 by Netflix CPO: https://www.quora.com/Why-arent-all-subtitles-available-in-all-countries-on-Netflix/answer/Neil-Hunt?srid=slw https://www.quora.com/Why-arent-all-subtitles-available-in-a... This is also mentioned in various Netflix help pages, like here, which says 5-7 subtitle languages are shown by default, and you need to change UI language to see the rest: https://help.netflix.com/en/node/13245 https://help.netflix.com/en/node/13245
chinolex1 6y ago
hi, try joinkeyring.com. We're launching a bundle with a 7 services for $35/mo: Disney +, Showtime, CBS, Philo, Starz, HBOMAX, and Peacock on computer only. Venmo me @chinolex today and I'll give you a months free (I'm the Founder).

by umvi 6y ago

kgwxd 6y ago

I'm sure the next step will be to require annual subscriptions. Amazon Prime has already normalized it.

gruez 6y ago
>Amazon Prime has already normalized it. many people might have prime on an annual basis but amazon seems content with offering prime on a monthly basis as well. In fact the only way to get prime video (without prime) is monthly. https://www.amazon.com/amazonprime https://www.amazon.com/amazonprime
- ocdtrekkie 6y ago
  Indeed. I historically have gotten Prime for a month around Christmas shopping season each year, and that's been more than enough Prime for me.
ojbyrne 6y ago
In my opinion the next step is going to be what network TV did. Single episodes available for a week, then available in reruns a year later. You can see the beginnings of this in shows like “The Boys” that have a weekly release cycle.
- tracker1 6y ago
  Services have been doing that for a while though... it's to prevent you from joining on a mass drop, binging the season then only staying for a month... with a 10 week run, you're subscribed for 3 months... and you can watch the back catalog any time. Even Netflix has shifted their drops this way.
- evandijk70 6y ago
  To be honest, for some shows, I prefer a weekly release schedule over release of everything at once. It gives you a chance to discuss an episode with friends and speculate about what will happen next.

mandeepj 6y ago

> I refuse to pay for Netflix/Disney+/Hulu/Crunchyroll simultaneously. It could be a great startup idea - buy proxy access to all these content services for you, and in turn, you have to maintain only one account

clintonb 6y ago
That sounds...illegal.
- edgyquant 6y ago
  They said buy the proxy access
  - mwcremer 6y ago
    Not sure that will fly. The Supreme Court was not convinced last time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aereo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aereo
    - inyorgroove 6y ago
      And yet Locast is a thing: https://www.locast.org/ https://www.locast.org/
      - bdowling 6y ago
        Locast limits access to users within the geographic broadcast range of the relevant TV stations. Apparently that falls within the same legal framework that allows cable TV operators to rebroadcast TV signals over their cable networks, which are similarly geographically limited.
    - ballenf 6y ago
      That was very different. This could be done as a power of attorney to avoid almost any TOS issue they could draft.
    - 6y ago

tpmx 6y ago

After a bunch of churning I just realized I'm not currently subscribing to any of the services, and I'm okay! There's not really any/much new content now anyway, due to the covid shutdown in Hollywood.

tsjq 6y ago

This is nice. r/frugal would certainly love this LPT

phatfish 6y ago

I pay for one (so i don't feel too guilty), torrent what is exclusive to the others and buy Blu-Ray for the content that is genuinely good. Currently Netfix gets some cash out of me because i have no interest in giving Amazon or Disney any more money than i have to.

arsome 6y ago

Yeah, I switched back to just plain old piracy last year. One button on Sonarr and it's on my NAS and playable on Plex on all my devices a few minutes later. I'm done. They had the right model, but it's gone now. Oh well.

toxik 6y ago
Curiously it seems to be a problem of rent seeking. “I’ll start my own streaming service, with blackjack and hookers” said every rights holder. And why is it so expensive to “rent” a movie from for example Apple? Rent two movies and you’ve paid for a month of Netflix. How did that compute?
- tendersej 6y ago
  Maybe someone with experience in the field and more up to date info will correct me, but I did some research on the subject 10 years ago while entertaining the idea to launch a VOD service in France, and the right holders expected that such a service would: - pay them a percentage of the price of the rental, which could not go below a certain amount, - pay a yearly license (~3500€/year just for my country for a popular movie) per language audio track, - handle on their own sending technicians to rip the masters to then host them on the platform. I don’t exactly remember the minimum price per rental, but the economics didn’t make sense in terms of what we wanted to attempt, so we gave up. One would have to pay an enormous amount in upfront license costs without being able to generate a big volume of views by undercutting the competition in the case where technical excellence could allow us to cut prices.
  - interestica 6y ago
    > per language audio track I guess this explains why Netflix will have different audio options for the same movie dependent on region.
    - AnssiH 6y ago
      Partially. The other reason is simply to remove clutter in UI. You can get more tracks to appear if you change Netflix UI language in settings, as described here in 2015 by Netflix CPO: https://www.quora.com/Why-arent-all-subtitles-available-in-all-countries-on-Netflix/answer/Neil-Hunt?srid=slw https://www.quora.com/Why-arent-all-subtitles-available-in-a... This is also mentioned in various Netflix help pages, like here, which says 5-7 subtitle languages are shown by default, and you need to change UI language to see the rest: https://help.netflix.com/en/node/13245 https://help.netflix.com/en/node/13245

chinolex1 6y ago

hi, try joinkeyring.com. We're launching a bundle with a 7 services for $35/mo: Disney +, Showtime, CBS, Philo, Starz, HBOMAX, and Peacock on computer only. Venmo me @chinolex today and I'll give you a months free (I'm the Founder).