The ‘golden age of streaming' is coming at a cost. Having subscriptions to multiple platforms could cost up to £2,500 per year, leaving consumers wondering how essential these streaming services are.
Discover our latest podcast
The global streaming revolution has led to the launch of an unprecedented number of services, from Netflix to Amazone Prime Video, Apple TV+ and Disney +. These services, which are largely paid for, compete against pay-TV providers.
'Golden age of streaming'
As Mark Sweney from TheGuardian writes:
Viewers are living in a golden age of TV, spoilt by more must-watch shows, films and live sport than at any time in broadcasting history.
The booming market has resulted in a rise in the cost–which includes the average monthly price of a broadband and phone package–by nearly a quarter in the last three years, from £2,040 in 2019, according to Ampere Analysis.
And this rise is largely due to the proliferation of new services. However, as subscription costs rise and the cost of living crisis begins to be felt, consumers are questioning whether they can afford to keep paying for these services.
A call for television to be rebundled
Scott Nover from Quartz has called for television to be rebundled, and questioned whether consumers might even return to the traditional cable and satellite bundle.
When asked whether rebundling is inevitable, Tim Mulligan from MIDiA Research said:
Yes, rebundling is inevitable. We describe the current landscape as the balkanization of video. Consumers who have recently migrated from traditional pay-TV find multiple services, user experiences, and billing relationships problematic and more demanding than the previous unified relationship. Early moves in the Great Re-aggregation are the direct-to-consumer services like HBO Max, Peacock, and Paramount+
Read more:
⋙ Netflix to show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s comedy series
⋙ Tinder Swindler: Netflix is being sued by the conman's bodyguard
⋙ Prince Harry urged to boycott £100 million deal with Netflix
When asked whether the traditional cable and satellite bundle will ever disappear, Geetha Ranganathan from Bloomberg Intelligence said:
No we don’t think so. While we will continue to see cord-cutting and some people abandon traditional TV packages for streaming, we think there is still tremendous value in the TV bundle anchored by live sports and news. We think there will eventually be a floor of around 50 million to 55 million users who will still subscribe to a bundle, versus 105 million users seven or eight years ago.
While Mike Proulx from Forrester said:
There will come a time where all TV is streaming ‘TV’ and along with that will be various packages, deals, and configurations to try to mitigate cost pressures. And it’s already been happening, i.e. Disney’s ESPN, Hulu, and Disney+ bundle, which costs less per month now, given Netflix’s price hike. As the streaming wars intensify, ‘value’ becomes a critical play in providers’ strategy.
