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> we're back to Cable Television This will never happen, for the simple reason that you have choice and as a result, competition. You can choose Netflix, Hulu,

by maratd 13y ago

> we're back to Cable Television This will never happen, for the simple reason that you have choice and as a result, competition. You can choose Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, or any of the smaller ones. Netflix gets commercials? It will literally take a few clicks to switch to Amazon. All 3 get commercials? Watch competition sprout. That's the beauty of the Internet. Barriers to entry are significantly less than in the real world, which allows for competition to flourish. There is literally nothing stopping you from starting your own streaming service. Most of the technology is proven and widely available. And, of course, anybody can license content. This is universal and required by law.

Thrymr 13y ago
> This will never happen, for the simple reason that you have choice and as a result, competition. You can choose Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, or any of the smaller ones. You will not have choice with regards to exclusive content. If you want to watch Arrested Development (season 4) you will need to be on Netflix, if you want to watch Zombieland you will need Amazon Prime. Just like the networks where HBO, ESPN, etc. have exclusive rights to their content.
mbreese 13y ago
What are you talking about? Of course it will happen. The only way you can have true competition in the way you suggest is if all providers have the same content. When we start getting Netflix producing shows A, B, and C, and Amazon Prime producing X, Y, and Z, if you want to watch only A and Z, you are stuck paying for both services. It might not be as bad as paying for 200 channels when you only watch 3, but it's still the same model - just at a different scale.
- maratd 13y ago
  > you are stuck paying for both services. No, I'm stuck using thepiratebay.org and when they get tired of losing revenue, they'll start sharing the content. Piracy is most certainly a force to be considered here and it can actually nudge the players toward a more competitive position where they're not hoarding content.

by maratd 13y ago

Thrymr 13y ago

> This will never happen, for the simple reason that you have choice and as a result, competition. You can choose Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, or any of the smaller ones. You will not have choice with regards to exclusive content. If you want to watch Arrested Development (season 4) you will need to be on Netflix, if you want to watch Zombieland you will need Amazon Prime. Just like the networks where HBO, ESPN, etc. have exclusive rights to their content.

mbreese 13y ago

What are you talking about? Of course it will happen. The only way you can have true competition in the way you suggest is if all providers have the same content. When we start getting Netflix producing shows A, B, and C, and Amazon Prime producing X, Y, and Z, if you want to watch only A and Z, you are stuck paying for both services. It might not be as bad as paying for 200 channels when you only watch 3, but it's still the same model - just at a different scale.

maratd 13y ago
> you are stuck paying for both services. No, I'm stuck using thepiratebay.org and when they get tired of losing revenue, they'll start sharing the content. Piracy is most certainly a force to be considered here and it can actually nudge the players toward a more competitive position where they're not hoarding content.