How Many Streaming Services Do We Really Need?
A few years ago you simply watched TV and the 'streaming' landscape was nowhere near what it was today. And it certainly wasn't always legal. How many services come into your head? I've researched that there are over 200 streaming service Gods in the US alone at the time of writing, but that might have multiplied by this article's finish! The market is bloating quicker than your tummy after a big spicy Katsu.
I'm going to start this article by saying something a bit controversial – I'm indecisive and haven't finished watching (the BAFTA-nominated series) Sex Education. I know, I know and yes it's definitely worth the wait. I don't even pay for Netflix and yes I'm under 25 – so that is a thing (so those to those phishing scammers who may be reading – jokes on you).
However, as someone who finishes work late in the evening, there are maybe what three-ish hours left remaining of the evening before bedtime. Minus time for a bath/shower, cooking, cleaning, travelling and caring for my pet and plants – the time remaining is slim. This was why years ago I made the choice to not own a TV, because frankly: exercising, meditating, working on my side hustles and other things – were more important for the majority of the evenings. This is providing that I don't have a last minute audition tape to do, due 10am the next morning.
This probably may sound similar or different to some readers, but add in childcare and other commitments, I can't see how people physically have enough time and brain concentration to watch so much content each week. Unless they've faked a sick day to watch The Crown (some of my friends have!). I could be wrong here, but sometimes I just want to watch TV, without thinking about choosing what to pick and working out what I fancy watching. Me and decisions? Haha, fat chance of that happening! My fellow Libras reading will 100% get me on this.
Subsequently, the explosion of streaming company Gods could be seen as a saviour to some. It's like an 'a la carte' menu of paying for what you want rather than subscribing to a TV package with everything in it and thus paying for things you then leave on your plate. But then this goes back to the question of how many services do we need? How hungry are you?
Each streaming company God is really selling us the same thing – content. Same service, same way of accessing the content but the niche is slightly different, in an attempt to create some form of a shiny USP to promote. But do our watching habits fall into one niche? I think we humans need some spice. After all, if we ordered pizza every week we'd be pretty bored of it (sorry pizza but it is possible!). We might fancy Thai food one week and Chinese food the next. So the need for cost-efficiency is there and can be achieved, but if we have to spend on multiple streaming services to satisfy varied watching habits – are our needs actually being met?
It's a bit like going to the gym. We're signing up for abundant exercise classes, the service here being hundreds of TV show titles that we're very excited to watch but are we really ever going to get our money's worth? Gym-goers can refute me on this.
The future ahead looks for similar to the situation we're in now, potentially more services will explode and fulfil another niche, in order to share their own exclusive content direct with their consumers and cut out external third-party costs. Then who knows? Maybe normal TV will become cheaper and we'll go back to the indecisive TV watcher's dream. Or maybe all of the streaming companies will merge. Stay tuned. Literally.
Written by Kheira Bey
Kheira is an actress, living and working in London and loves anything fresh in the world of theatre, film and art. She works across theatre and film, and is trying to get better at watering her plant collection. She has previously contributed to: Voice Magazine, The Sun and Good Morning Britain; and is passionate about championing female narratives.