16 ms·

I got a notification a few days ago telling me that my Apple TV+ trial was expiring, and that it was time to pay $4.99 a month. I can't justify it. Yet I love

I got a notification a few days ago telling me that my Apple TV+ trial was expiring, and that it was time to pay $4.99 a month. I can't justify it. Yet I love Ted Lasso. It irritates me that I can't just buy individual episodes of shows any more, I have to buy into a whole ecosystem.

sgt 5y ago
That's two cups of coffees a month to watch your favorite show.
- eptcyka 5y ago
  Don't care. I don't want the media I enjoy be held at ransom.
  - ChickeNES 5y ago
    So you don't want the creators to make money off of their work?
    - eptcyka 5y ago
      I want to purchase the media I like to own it, not rent it.
- sumtechguy 5y ago
  or 60 dollars a year. I find that sort of comparison is typically a form of persuasion to help you buy things you normal would not buy. It is an old marketing trick. Make the initial cost look small and lock you into a larger long term commitment. The real cost is usually better looked at per year. In the case of streaming services they give you a small cost but make you feel like you have lost something in your world 'for only a small coffee'. Renting usually makes sense if you are going to use something once and then never again. Buying is usually better if you want to use it a few times. There are other benefits to streaming but maybe you could use the money more? That is something you have to decide. If you can say if someone handed you 60 bucks you would put it all into a year long rental go for it. But most of the time for me I find I would rather own something a bit more tangible.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
Andrew_nenakhov 5y ago
Just torrent it then. It is their fault that you can't buy individual show without buying the whole ecosystem!
- Crash0v3rid3 5y ago
  This is the type of behavior I just can’t support. They paid for the show, it’s their right to distribute it how they like. I can agree that the distribution method isn’t ideal, but it doesn’t make it okay to steal it.
  - baq 5y ago
    why can i go rent a book in a library but i can't rent a show from a library? i'm not trying to justify piracy, but it is a cognitive dissonance i have for years now. 'streaming' looks like a law loophole for not having to give shows away for free at public libraries.
    - fshbbdssbbgdd 5y ago
      You can rent a show on DVD from the library. You can also rent ebooks from the library electronically. I’m not sure if they can rent videos electronically.
  - Andrew_nenakhov 5y ago
    Adding /s is not fun at all, but some people don't catch even when it should be obvious. On a serious note, for example, first seasons of GameOfThrones were absolutely unavailable for legal purchase in my country. Is it ok to torrent it if they don't want to sell it to me anyway? Another example: when last seasons of GoT became available for legal streaming, they were available only in Russian dub. Is it ok to torrent the original English version if they don't want to sell it to me anyway?
tnorthcutt 5y ago
Considering individual episodes of shows go for ~$3 USD (I just checked in the Apple TV app for an episode of LOST), $4.99/month is far cheaper than buying individual episodes for a show with weekly releases. Obviously you don't own the episodes, then, so there is that, I suppose.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
fshbbdssbbgdd 5y ago
Since Apple owns the rights to this content and there is nearly zero marginal cost to distribute it, it’s efficient for them to give you all of the content at a flat rate instead of charging for individual episodes. This argument does rely on the assumption that consumers, on average, get utility from watching more episodes.
ksec 5y ago
Sigh. Reminded me to check if I have canceled my subscription which was free and extended but never used. Turns out they charged me a month already. I wonder how many people will have set and forget on their Apple TV+ subscription charged on their iTunes Credit or Credit Card without ever checking.
r00fus 5y ago
I'm not. Kids loved Avatar: the Last Airbender on Netflix, and really really wanted to watch the sequel series (which at the time wasn't yet on Netflix). It was, however on CBS, so we signed up for a month, watched all the episodes then cancelled the same month. Cost? $7. Definitely worth it.

sgt 5y ago

That's two cups of coffees a month to watch your favorite show.

eptcyka 5y ago
Don't care. I don't want the media I enjoy be held at ransom.
- ChickeNES 5y ago
  So you don't want the creators to make money off of their work?
  - eptcyka 5y ago
    I want to purchase the media I like to own it, not rent it.
sumtechguy 5y ago
or 60 dollars a year. I find that sort of comparison is typically a form of persuasion to help you buy things you normal would not buy. It is an old marketing trick. Make the initial cost look small and lock you into a larger long term commitment. The real cost is usually better looked at per year. In the case of streaming services they give you a small cost but make you feel like you have lost something in your world 'for only a small coffee'. Renting usually makes sense if you are going to use something once and then never again. Buying is usually better if you want to use it a few times. There are other benefits to streaming but maybe you could use the money more? That is something you have to decide. If you can say if someone handed you 60 bucks you would put it all into a year long rental go for it. But most of the time for me I find I would rather own something a bit more tangible.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

Andrew_nenakhov 5y ago

Just torrent it then. It is their fault that you can't buy individual show without buying the whole ecosystem!

Crash0v3rid3 5y ago
This is the type of behavior I just can’t support. They paid for the show, it’s their right to distribute it how they like. I can agree that the distribution method isn’t ideal, but it doesn’t make it okay to steal it.
- baq 5y ago
  why can i go rent a book in a library but i can't rent a show from a library? i'm not trying to justify piracy, but it is a cognitive dissonance i have for years now. 'streaming' looks like a law loophole for not having to give shows away for free at public libraries.
  - fshbbdssbbgdd 5y ago
    You can rent a show on DVD from the library. You can also rent ebooks from the library electronically. I’m not sure if they can rent videos electronically.
- Andrew_nenakhov 5y ago
  Adding /s is not fun at all, but some people don't catch even when it should be obvious. On a serious note, for example, first seasons of GameOfThrones were absolutely unavailable for legal purchase in my country. Is it ok to torrent it if they don't want to sell it to me anyway? Another example: when last seasons of GoT became available for legal streaming, they were available only in Russian dub. Is it ok to torrent the original English version if they don't want to sell it to me anyway?

tnorthcutt 5y ago

Considering individual episodes of shows go for ~$3 USD (I just checked in the Apple TV app for an episode of LOST), $4.99/month is far cheaper than buying individual episodes for a show with weekly releases. Obviously you don't own the episodes, then, so there is that, I suppose.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

fshbbdssbbgdd 5y ago

Since Apple owns the rights to this content and there is nearly zero marginal cost to distribute it, it’s efficient for them to give you all of the content at a flat rate instead of charging for individual episodes. This argument does rely on the assumption that consumers, on average, get utility from watching more episodes.

ksec 5y ago

Sigh. Reminded me to check if I have canceled my subscription which was free and extended but never used. Turns out they charged me a month already. I wonder how many people will have set and forget on their Apple TV+ subscription charged on their iTunes Credit or Credit Card without ever checking.

r00fus 5y ago

I'm not. Kids loved Avatar: the Last Airbender on Netflix, and really really wanted to watch the sequel series (which at the time wasn't yet on Netflix). It was, however on CBS, so we signed up for a month, watched all the episodes then cancelled the same month. Cost? $7. Definitely worth it.