At this point does anyone remember what it was like when it was special just to have HBO or Showtime? TV has changed so much in the past few decades that younger people and kids are actually amazed to hear about such things as rabbit ears with tinfoil, not having a remote control, and of course, not being able to stream since the service wasn’t available yet. Despite this, a lot of the streaming networks we see now are bringing back a lot of the old content that used to be popular on cable, and movies that used to clutter our shelves as VHS tapes used to be all the rage. Those eventually gave way to DVDs, which in turn gave way to the internet and streaming. But with the streaming wars came another problem, one that cable kind of solved back in its day since paying for one service and getting the channels and shows a person wanted wasn’t that bad. Now though, we have multiple streaming channels, some that many people don’t know about, and some that really haven’t taken off in a big way yet. Then there are the giants that have been around for a little while to those that have been around for years, the titans that have the backing and the ability to sit at the top of the pile since they’ve been finding ways to up their content and keep the people entertained.
Seriously, it’s almost as though someone with the right amount of clout said ‘Let’s take cable and split it into different factions and see what happens.’. At this point, that’s about how it works since one streaming network will have part of the content that people want, while another streaming provider will have another bit of content that people enjoy, and so on and so forth. At one point a person might be paying out the same amount that cable once cost them but spread across multiple networks, all of which need a password and email to access. So if a person uses a different password with each one then they’ll need a good memory or a physical list just to remember which sign-in is which. Of course, there’s always the option of having a password saved, but in this ultra-paranoid era when people worry so much about their accounts being hacked, it’s easy to think that automatic entry with saved passwords isn’t going to be that appealing. Plus, the fact that some streaming networks still run with ads is kind of a turn-off for many people, who switched to streaming largely because they didn’t want to sit through one advertisement after another. But hey, there are options that one can purchase to watch their favorite content without ads or premium services that allow them to…wait, where was I going with this? That’s the general feeling, unfortunately, that things are becoming so mucked up and confusing that navigating the streaming channels requires a map and a user’s manual in order to know what’s going on and why.
On the upside, there is a lot of content out there that people can access and due to this there isn’t any lack of popular programming for people to enjoy. There are plenty of downsides to be certain since a good deal of it is confusing, it starts to cost a bit, and there’s often so much content that unless a person is willing to sit on the couch and veg out continuously for days on end, there’s no way to watch it all. But the point is that there’s a little something for everyone, which is what a lot of people enjoy since many folks want something new to look, a different experience on TV, and something that they can comment over if they don’t happen to like or understand what it is they’re seeing. Plus, the chance to watch old TV shows and movies that they enjoyed back in the day but haven’t seen in a while is nice, but again, with many of them being spread across different networks it’s a bit difficult to get one network that has everything that a person might want. At the end of the day, the streaming wars are a bit confusing for some folks, but many don’t pay as much attention to them and simply seek out the content they want, meaning that they might pick between one or two networks and call it good. Then again, there are those that will bite the bullet so to speak, and sign up with several different networks to ensure that they get the content they want.
The funny thing about all of this is that people used to complain about different cable packages and how much they would cost, and how they paid for channels they never used. Now people pay for subscriptions and still have hours and hours of content they don’t ever watch. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
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