The VOD wars cometh

Strap yourself in young one. Once upon a time there was a thing called cable. You didn’t have so many portals each with a cost. You paid for a package- you got all the content. People said it cost too much. So they broke it into “packages” which were less than buying everything- but to watch it all still cost too much for many. Then came streaming. Now you could see content for free or near free! Pick only what YOU want to watch and pay for that. Then the people said:

“The problem is too many different portals - and each has only some shows.....” So I mean- perhaps they could go to a formula like the music industry? Where you buy one track at a time. Except- when music did that and said you could pay $1-2 or so per song instead of buying the whole album for $15... people got mad at the cost. They pirated or found “free” portals. Artists essentially stopped making money off their recordings and- I’m sure everyone would agree that the modern mass market music has never been of higher quality that Justin Beeber, Cardi B, and the wonders this has produced.

Artists are really happy too. Everyone won. Sound cloud and all that. Just imagine: hundreds of thousands of videos and shows, most made by your next door neighbors with non professional equipment and talent for $0- almost 0 budget. All free for you, to sift through and find hopefully a shining gem or two on the pile.

For $4 a month you and 4 friends can have everything in the Netflix catalog in 4K. Like... come on. Really? $4 is too much to pay for how many movies and shows and more? How much do you think is a fair price for a good chunk of Hollywood’s catalog at your fingertips? And then there’s the fact that the library also happens to have many shows and movies available free of charge and legally- so it isn’t a crime of necessity most of the time so much as it is not wanting to have to go to the library or pay for something.

Ok boomer

Oh no. You got me. Now I must surely shake my fists and spend my evening aggrieved that a random stranger dared to be short with me. It’s so especially cutting when I know this person has nothing better to say, no rebuttal other than: “ok boomer.” I like Greta. She says things. Even if you do not agree with what she says, she has passion. She thinks about what she wants to say. She engages in discourse.

The Japanese had a concept called “Takumi.” The closest sort of English translation might be perfection. The idea is: whatever one does with their time, no matter how small, that the fact they are using precious moments of their life on meant that one should do that thing to the utmost best they possibly could.

Wether one is getting dresses, tying a knot, folding paper, writing their name, training to go into battle, landscaping, serving another, making tea, bathing, even relaxing. No task to small or obscure. Every aspect of ones life, one should strive to live that moment to their best and to have each day bring them closer to a better them. It’s a neat idea I think. One can find sort of analogs which stray or perhaps are loose analogs, in many cultures in many times, from all over the world.

Personally finding it a commendable notion, I do not always uphold it perhaps as well as I should- but I certainly endeavor to at least bring aspects of that to my life. Of course, to each their own right? We can show people a path we think is better, we can expound upon it, we can listen to what they say and what they believe. We can play off each other’s logic and test the veracity of our beliefs, in the process either strengthening our confidence in them or perhaps weakening or even abolishing it. Either way such exchanges are beneficial in learning about and being exposed to new ways of thinking, coming to an understanding with other folks- or closer to anyway.

Of course, there are those who don’t like to learn or share. There are many who believe their way is the only way. Well- sometimes that thinking may be a necessity of practicality even if it is not ideal. Of course there are ideologies so conflicting that they just are not compatible. Things we cannot abide and so forth. Who knows where that point is for any one of us? Talking can help identify these points and perhaps even find the bridge between said points. There are a lot of words here. Lots. But basically they are all saying things that are being said.

What comes most centrally to mind in such situations, is how I wonder if anyone will figure this out? It seems that despite how long I’ve been here- no one has yet to have figured this out. That’s ok. People learn and grow at their own pace. Not everyone will be able to figure out what is going on. It’s a secret that isn’t so secret. Obvious, in plain sight. But going back to the other stuff to further obscure this text I am sure no one will read, takumi is something we can apply to conversation and communication as well. Something we can use to extend our understanding and develop civil discourse.

This is of course, only if we choose to do so. But as said- to each their own. Life is what it is and largely that is often what we make of it. What do I have to complain about? Not much really. Everyone dies of course and so will I, but I’ll die long before the effects of all the waste and excess I’ve benefited from has a chance to choke the generations that follow and will almost inevitably have to live with less. I suppose that’s reason enough to be upset isn’t it? Being forward with a diminished mental capacity as well as being doomed to either and die in what is essentially the waste left after someone else had a fine meal? Well- switching words again, it’s important to remember that even when we use such language as I did above, it’s likely that it will go unnoticed. Perhaps one might even think it’s some sort of game. Making a game of chores can often make them fun. Games can also help us develop skills and even to grow our communications.

So overall, I think the critical thrust of all this, for those still with me here- is that it’s ok to feel as you wish to feel. There are many ways for us to express ourselves and we choose the ones which best suit who we are as people. It has been an interesting journey here, I look forward to continuing this discourse but I must be off for the evening as my pillow awaits.

Ok boomer

I love you most of the time guest_ but how in the hell do you not reach the max comment level in under an hour ?

Lol. One must be strategic.

The max comment level isn't even my biggest concern. How the fuck does he still have a star when there is somebody following them and downvoting damn near every comment?! XD
MAGIC!

Yeah, I’m a little unclear. If all the services host all the shows- how would they be competitive? All they could really do is try to have better video quality or cheaper prices since all the content is the same. Why spend all this time and money for Netflix or Disney or whoever to make shows that will attract viewers- when the other networks would all have it too? If I can watch Stranger Things in Amazon OR Netflix OR YouTube.. what guarantee does Netflix have that you’ll watch it on their service?

With a subscription content service you don’t pay for each thing you watch. You pay for the entire service. How does the network make money off its service?

There's a great video called "The Netflix Problem" by uniquenameosaurus on YouTube that outlines what I'm trying to say better than I've tried to explain it; I don't think we can post links still.
In a nutshell, each streaming service is a mini-monopoly that has no incentive to innovate or improve delivery of service. Netflix/Prime/HBO/etc. aren't actually competitors.

Thanks, I'll check it out. I still don't think a single platform is the solution, but it's true that the way things are now is far from ideal. Especially if you're from a country that isn't the US, like in my country Netflix's selection is crap (I guess because of licencing and stuff) but the prices are the same which is bs.

With Disney+ around, raising the bar, that's all about to change though. Netflix got by for so long off quantity, HBO off quality, Prime of free shipping (this was fucking genius). Disney+ throws a whole wrench into that, especially with the ESPN+/Hulu package, as sports networks were what made cable so expensive in the first place. With a slow stream of high quality content with titles nobody else can touch, Disney can build both quality content, and do it over time so the quantity of content also wins out... unless everyone else ups their game. It's not so much that people might have 2, 3, 4, 5 streaming services; more-so, which is going to be the no. 1 pick. Right now that's not Disney+, as their library is thin, but wait 2 years; with the shows they are coming out with, and utilizing the weekly release schedule, Disney+ is going to taking that no. 1 pick.

It’s cyclical. Always is. Disney owns a huge media empire that- short of some new laws, is probably going to grow and grow into the future. Disney + will add content as Disney expands its library, acquires new content, and gets back the streaming rights to its other properties. Disney has ABC and others to feed in sports as well. Monopoly’s are rarely good for competition or innovation, but there are things that you need that kind of scale to do. Some recent films and series have production budgets and license costs that mean you’d likely never see them if we didn’t have massive conglomerates who could find such affairs.

Without Amazon we wouldn’t have gotten another season of the Expanse, Madalorian isn’t something that an independent network could do either. As technology and other things advance- it becomes harder and harder to make films that look professional on a budget. The best practical effects of the past were quite expensive- but skill and love and hard work could make something for less that could still be considered close enough.

Not so in the age of super computer CGI. The style of dimpling has changed and you can still use shots and writing to get around not being able to just show some massive army or set piece- but it’s hard and people are used to spectacle now, we notice even subconsciously when you shoot a whole film in one location. It limits what you can write and film and after a time of seeing such films back to back to back- a sweeping and spectacular epic affair is like a Twinkie after a year in the desert.

So good films can be made cheap, but some stories and especially some genres don’t work as well in these fields, and what makes a film loved and “innovative” as a well shot low budget piece isn’t as well loved or innovative when every other movie is similar.

All in all it is complex. But it takes money to make media properties. If it is “free” there is still a price. Ads or whatever else. People use and block, ignore the ads as white noise. Sponsors aren’t stupid. If they feel their ads aren’t getting actual customers they won’t pay as much for them. Then you run double ads or whatever to make up. People don’t want ads. They don’t want to pay per view, they don’t want to pay for subscriptions, really- who wants to pay at all? I think we’d all like it more of all we wanted was truly completely free. But then... where does the money to make it come from- and who is rich they can make millions of dollars in costs worth of art week after week for free?

Ok boomer