• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, October 13, 2023

Streaming price hikes seem to be sending the wrong signals to consumers -- a message that will be incorporated into an increasingly scrutinized value equation.

All this seems to result in a deepening bifurcated marketplace -- while at the same time generating more cash to streamers to minimize net losses.  

At the same time, they are keeping their ad-supported pricing options the same -- no doubt pushed, in part, by some of the completely free FAST services, which have seen growth.

But the overall bottom line seems to be suggesting something of a mixed message, along these lines: “Hey, we made a mistake. We messed up. Our streaming programming -- uninterrupted by ad messaging -- is actually worth much more than we realized. We need you to pay up.”

“Oh -- and by the way -- if you really don’t want to spend that much, here’s the same content with advertising. You know, like what you always had in the old days.” 

TV studios and networks' messaging about price hikes have never approached potential TV viewers with this kind of brutal honesty. Under the old system, TV programming just appeared free (over the air, with advertising) or after paying a third-party distributor (a pay TV service) to get what appears like more free programming.

Now, consumers can judge TV networks themselves not just on programming quality, but the financial equation attached to their hard-earned entertainment cash. This is one queasy, definition downside of what "direct-to-consumer" means. 

From all of this, you may wonder why subscriber “churn” numbers -- those streaming subscribers who month to month stop and start subscriptions to streaming platforms -- could be seeing even more entropy. 

Sure, consumers just want to pay for that one show they watch on Netflix, Paramount+, AMC+  that comes around every 6-8 months with new episodes.

But throw in the likelihood that moderating or declining streaming TV production will put a deeper crimp on business in the coming years.

Will everyone just go to lots of FAST networks -- or watch more fringe sports on TV like pickleball until something really good comes around?