by Erica Kuhlman

TV channel and media company has its own streaming service, and they affect what we watch and how we watch it more than ever before. The stated goal of most streaming services is probably along the lines of, “good content, to your tastes, available from the convenience of your couch (or perhaps phone).” But are streaming services actually convenient? It seems like they’re getting less and less so.

With newer streaming services owned by major movie companies like Disney and Paramount taking over, content is constantly switching platforms. It’s possible that as the streaming industry settles down this will stop being so common, but with new services being created all the time, that seems doubtful. It’s often difficult to tell what movies and shows will be where, meaning it’s a common experience for people with multiple services to have to check three or four places before finding what they’re looking for.

Additionally, with shifting contracts and services’ mysterious habits of pulling shows and movies with little warning (something that’s especially characteristic of Netflix), it’s easy to make plans to watch a movie only to discover a few weeks or months later that it’s no longer available on a service you own, or sometimes not available anywhere.

Larger services fragmenting off into smaller and more specific platforms also affects the type of content out there. Streaming services want to have large libraries so users don’t feel like they’re running out of content or getting ripped off, which means newer services might rush to get content out there to get established, and also means companies that have never previously been responsible for actually making shows or movies are trying to create “originals” that they can license themselves and market as platform-exclusive. All of this leads to a massive amount of content being released constantly, much of which is rushed or low quality. The sheer quantity of media available can be overwhelming, and it’s difficult to sort through all the junk to find what is genuinely good.

With many streaming services containing a relatively small amount of content or a very specific type of content (for example sports or cartoons), most simply aren’t worth the amount of money they cost. It’s not uncommon for people to subscribe to a streaming service just to watch a particular show, and then cancel their subscription once they finish watching, which calls the effectiveness of the streaming-exclusive model into question. Why not just make these shows available for rent or purchase? Why not release shows on multiple platforms? Why not try to streamline the process as much as possible?

Every platform is trying to become the new Netflix and replicate the success that a few streaming services had when they could hold a virtual monopoly, with no consideration for how it affects the viewer experience. Watching movies and TV is intended to be an escape for many people; a relaxing activity that doesn’t require much effort. The way streaming services currently operate is inconvenient, stressful, confusing, overly expensive, and results in worse quality content across the board, and all these problems only get worse as more companies try to cash in on the industry.