7 ms·

I'm at the precipice of getting rid of most of my streaming services. I only keep Amazon video around is because it's free. The only show I watch on that is Th

I'm at the precipice of getting rid of most of my streaming services. I only keep Amazon video around is because it's free. The only show I watch on that is The Boys. I'm waiting for Netflix to ask me to purchase a second account for my sibling who I share my Netflix account with, and when that happens I'll immediately cancel it. There's nothing there I watch anymore. Disney+ has a slew of failed Marvel shows and I cancelled it early on. Hulu, Peacock and the rest of the services have nothing for me. The only quality content is HBO that I'm willing to pay $15/month for. I also pay for Youtube premium because no matter how much I try to force the issue, my kids watch Youtube the way I watch TV, so I'd rather get rid of all the ads. Everything else, I will pirate without guilt.

mikece 3y ago
> Everything else, I will pirate without guilt. I ask this without irony: is there even anything worth sourcing from the high seas these days? Entertainment has largely turned to crap in my opinion.
- bobthepanda 3y ago
  It depends on what you like, but there is stuff out there. And the pirating is easier because good content is spread so thinly across platforms. Personally, I enjoy comedies and cooking, and those have done right. I’m kind of over the dramatic HBO-style experience.
  - Tagbert 3y ago
    Comedies and Cooking are pretty cheap to produce so they are under less pressure. Hmmm.... I wonder if a comedy series about cooking would bring in viewers? :-)
    - bobthepanda 3y ago
      The anime Food Wars is basically this, satirizing Iron Chef style shows and anime.
- Apocryphon 3y ago
  For one thing, there is all of the material getting removed by streaming services either for controversial content or simply because it is no longer profitable for the services to host them.
- willcipriano 3y ago
  My plex server is probably 90% things that are over 10 years old. I relatively recently finished Columbo. I don't really have much of a problem pirating something where most of the people who were involved are dead or in a nursing home.
- monsieurgaufre 3y ago
  Hard to get documentaries, live bootlegs from the users' favorite bands, ... The "long tail" has moved to the high seas. At least, in my case.
lockhouse 3y ago
> Everything else, I will pirate without guilt. Are you unwilling or unable to pay for the remaining content you plan to consume? I’ve never understood how flippant HN is about piracy. The entire tech industry is built on intellectual property.
- afavour 3y ago
  I suspect your view is going to be unpopular but I agree with you. It's fine to find today's selection of streaming TV awful. Just don't watch it. "I'm going to watch this awful thing, I'm just not going to pay for it" isn't really all that defensible as a viewpoint. Declining streaming revenue means the expensive, good shows will get cancelled and replaced by shitty, cheap to make reality TV. And then people will moan about how all the good TV they used to pirate got cancelled.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - Apocryphon 3y ago
    Plenty of good shows get cancelled even without piracy, though. One wonders what’s the best way to signal to the suits that a show is in hot demand. Maybe by buying it directly or by being a Nielsen viewer.
    - whatshisface 3y ago
      The best way to support a show you like is by being a million people. :-)
    - lockhouse 3y ago
      When it comes to streaming content, the suits have all the data. It comes down to the simple formula of does this show keep and attract subscribers in sufficient numbers to make its production costs worthwhile.
      - Apocryphon 3y ago
oflannabhra 3y ago
We cut the sub on Netflix last year when they hiked the price. We've re-subbed a single month since then, during the holidays, and we didn't even fill up the month with enough to watch. I'm not sure if that's a discoverability problem, but my sense is that it is a quality problem. We've now moved to a carousel of rotating subscriptions between Hulu, Disney, HBO, Peacock, etc. It's much cheaper although annoying to manage. The only streaming services we haven't cancelled have been Prime and Apple TV+, mostly because they are free as part of bundles. Apple TV+ has had the highest number of favorite shows for us, and has easily been the best value. (Prehistoric Planet, Tiny World, Severance, Silo, Black Bird, For All Mankind, and many others).
- browningstreet 3y ago
  Services like https://www.justwatch.com https://www.justwatch.com make it easier to track shows as they move from service to service, as well...
bojan 3y ago
Recently I only get real value from Sky Showtime, because Star Trek Strange New Worlds is on it. And considering the way they canceled Prodigy, I do wonder how long SNW will last.
andsoitis 3y ago
> I'm waiting for Netflix to ask me to purchase a second account for my sibling who I share my Netflix account with, and when that happens I'll immediately cancel it. There's nothing there I watch anymore. If you don’t watch anymore, like you say, then why have a subscription at all?
- mwcremer 3y ago
  Sounds like their sibling still uses it.

mikece 3y ago

> Everything else, I will pirate without guilt. I ask this without irony: is there even anything worth sourcing from the high seas these days? Entertainment has largely turned to crap in my opinion.

bobthepanda 3y ago
It depends on what you like, but there is stuff out there. And the pirating is easier because good content is spread so thinly across platforms. Personally, I enjoy comedies and cooking, and those have done right. I’m kind of over the dramatic HBO-style experience.
- Tagbert 3y ago
  Comedies and Cooking are pretty cheap to produce so they are under less pressure. Hmmm.... I wonder if a comedy series about cooking would bring in viewers? :-)
  - bobthepanda 3y ago
    The anime Food Wars is basically this, satirizing Iron Chef style shows and anime.
Apocryphon 3y ago
For one thing, there is all of the material getting removed by streaming services either for controversial content or simply because it is no longer profitable for the services to host them.
willcipriano 3y ago
My plex server is probably 90% things that are over 10 years old. I relatively recently finished Columbo. I don't really have much of a problem pirating something where most of the people who were involved are dead or in a nursing home.
monsieurgaufre 3y ago
Hard to get documentaries, live bootlegs from the users' favorite bands, ... The "long tail" has moved to the high seas. At least, in my case.

lockhouse 3y ago

> Everything else, I will pirate without guilt. Are you unwilling or unable to pay for the remaining content you plan to consume? I’ve never understood how flippant HN is about piracy. The entire tech industry is built on intellectual property.

afavour 3y ago
I suspect your view is going to be unpopular but I agree with you. It's fine to find today's selection of streaming TV awful. Just don't watch it. "I'm going to watch this awful thing, I'm just not going to pay for it" isn't really all that defensible as a viewpoint. Declining streaming revenue means the expensive, good shows will get cancelled and replaced by shitty, cheap to make reality TV. And then people will moan about how all the good TV they used to pirate got cancelled.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- Apocryphon 3y ago
  Plenty of good shows get cancelled even without piracy, though. One wonders what’s the best way to signal to the suits that a show is in hot demand. Maybe by buying it directly or by being a Nielsen viewer.
  - whatshisface 3y ago
    The best way to support a show you like is by being a million people. :-)
  - lockhouse 3y ago
    When it comes to streaming content, the suits have all the data. It comes down to the simple formula of does this show keep and attract subscribers in sufficient numbers to make its production costs worthwhile.
    - Apocryphon 3y ago

oflannabhra 3y ago

We cut the sub on Netflix last year when they hiked the price. We've re-subbed a single month since then, during the holidays, and we didn't even fill up the month with enough to watch. I'm not sure if that's a discoverability problem, but my sense is that it is a quality problem. We've now moved to a carousel of rotating subscriptions between Hulu, Disney, HBO, Peacock, etc. It's much cheaper although annoying to manage. The only streaming services we haven't cancelled have been Prime and Apple TV+, mostly because they are free as part of bundles. Apple TV+ has had the highest number of favorite shows for us, and has easily been the best value. (Prehistoric Planet, Tiny World, Severance, Silo, Black Bird, For All Mankind, and many others).

browningstreet 3y ago
Services like https://www.justwatch.com https://www.justwatch.com make it easier to track shows as they move from service to service, as well...

bojan 3y ago

Recently I only get real value from Sky Showtime, because Star Trek Strange New Worlds is on it. And considering the way they canceled Prodigy, I do wonder how long SNW will last.

andsoitis 3y ago

> I'm waiting for Netflix to ask me to purchase a second account for my sibling who I share my Netflix account with, and when that happens I'll immediately cancel it. There's nothing there I watch anymore. If you don’t watch anymore, like you say, then why have a subscription at all?

mwcremer 3y ago
Sounds like their sibling still uses it.