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The TV streaming apps broke their promises, and now they’re jacking up prices (arstechnica.com)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/technology@beehaw.org
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For a moment, it seemed like the streaming apps were the things that could save us from the hegemony of cable TV—a system where you had to pay for a ton of stuff you didn't want to watch so you could see the handful of things you were actually interested in.

Archived version: https://archive.ph/K4EIh

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[–] 14 points 3 years ago (7 children)

I just... will never understand paying money to pirate things. Like if I'm paying money, I'll just pay it to the people creating the content so they create more content I like. If I'm pirating, it'd better damn well be free otherwise, what's the point?

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  • [–] 15 points 3 years ago*

    Because piracy is often a service problem and not always a price one. If a pirate can offer you a better service, people will pay for it.

    If you only see piracy as a price issue, then it would make sense why you dont understand why people do it.

    Take for example, pretty shitty android boxes preloaded with various kodi streams. Say if you speak a niche language in the U.S for example, and want media in that language, some people would be willing to pay for a (pretty shitty) android tv box that has warez steams of saidncontent because thr legal methods isnt easy to obtain nor have the technological knowlege to properly pirate.

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  • [–] 7 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    what’s the point?

    Simplicity and overall cost. Pirating is cheaper and allows you to get everything in one place versus 5 different streaming platforms. I see the draw.

    And it's hard to make the case that paying streamers equates to paying the content creators with the strikes highlighting how little the actual creators get out of the deal. I'm in favor of paying for content, but you can't say paying Netflix their continually increasing, and more restrictive, subscription fees is actually contributing to supporting creators who make good content.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago (2 children)

    So your argument is that it makes sense to pay pirates because content creators aren't getting paid enough? If we all switch to paying pirates, there will be no more content to steal. Hell, even if a large percentage of us switch.

    Look, I get pirating content when you're poor and can't afford it. But if you're actually paying, WTF dude?

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  • [–] 4 points 3 years ago (1 child)

    My argument is that it's not surprising that someone would choose to pay $20/mo for 1 service with all the things they want versus paying $100/mo to deal with 4 services.

    The fact that Netflix et al pay their creators squat is a separate component. I was just pointing out that saying you want to pay content creators for their work doesn't really equate to paying for a Netflix subscription. If someone wants to ensure they're paying creators for their content, there are much better ways to do so. You can pay the $20/mo to pirate stuff, then donate to the Entertainment Community Fund, or buy something directly from a writer's website with the $80/mo you've saved.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago

    WTF are you talking about? Giving money directly to a couple creators or donating to some charity won't get more content made. Whether I like the prices or not (I don't), some of the money I pay to Netflix (for example) gets reinvested into making more shows. Paying money to a fucking thief does not get more shows made and never will. Nor will donating that money directly anywhere. Shows get made when the companies that make shows are making money. Not thieves.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 years ago

    You are definitely not paying the creators even if you pay the official service, look at the protests literally going on right now. The middle man is actually stealing and we are just consuming what we like how we like it. If there were a perfect streaming service, everything on it, in all the languages I need and the resolution/audio I want then i will not be pirating. Going the "good way" is WAAAAY more inconvenient for me.

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