Subscription Service TV - A Super Dumb Move
This week there was an announcement by the main television provider in South Africa that their rules were changing. In the past one could have purchase a monthly package and the rest of the household could use the password to login on their devices.
I used to have the premium package as it was basically used only for the sport. The new rules coming this March will only allow I streaming service so a household would now basically have to buy a package for every person under your roof. Pure madness as who would try and come up with such a genius idea that has now pushed everyone away.
The problem is the Tv provider is losing customers as a steady stream are not seeing the value for money. We used to pay in the region of $75 per month for our top of the range package and I love sports and couldn't see the value so I canned it. They phoned me back 2 months later trying to get me back offering a 50% discount and thought it was too little too late.
With the economy like it is many others are seeing what I saw 4 years ago and is the first thing to be cut back. Last month the subscription service lost over 100 000 subscribers and this is a panic move to try and stop the bleeding.
Actually I think it will make things worse as some knuckle head thinks families will buy more subscriptions which wont happen. They are chasing away who is left with this move as it is that dumb. It doesn't take much effort if you have high speed internet and a smart television to find a better solution for free or very little.
The programs they were offering besides live sport were various international series and all reruns that were rarely up to date and were played over and over until you were brain dead. Streaming services like Cinema and Cyberflix I choose the latest films and various series that I want to watch which are all current from around the world. I checked tonight to see one series they are streaming and DSTV were 3 months behind the US release this week. Others are not months behind but years as that is how they buy the packages when doing deals.
The reduced fee of $45 is still not worth it in my opinion for what they offer and with services that are legal like IPTV offering every sports channel in the world for $20 per month plus series and movies it is a no brainer and they are going to lose everyone by this move. I can watch every single English premiership match that is broadcast live for 1/3rd of what they are billing plus all the latest and greatest that is available. Not only that I can stream every movie that has been produced along with any TV show.
Internet up until 2 years ago was not fantastic and was over priced for the services and band width on offer, but with the introduction of cable things changed. Most house have decent internet and that has changed how we entertain ourselves in our homes. Lockdowns forced everyone to find entertainment at home and having reruns is not going to excite anyone as they need to be entertained. DSTV has made billions over the years and expect them to be bought out by a SKY or someone soon as they are on their last legs. Losing 100K plus per month in subscribers is not something you can stop by wanting to charge them more for what they are currently getting.
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These services have always been quite the joke. Especially when you factor in they are going to charge you for equipment too. Even now with people cutting the cord there are just too many different services out there. By the time you add the three or four together to get all the shows you want, you are paying more than you were before. It is all a horrible horrible racket.
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I agree and why IPTV is worth the price as it covers it all plus so much is free out there anyway. Considering they make their money from adverts why are they ripping everyone off so much. I can see our one vanishing in time as they cannot keep this up much longer.
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Where I live, they have always charged extra for watching on more than 1 TV because it needs a 2nd cable box, not sure how it works there. But at this point, cable is not worth it, as you can just subscribe to your favorite 1 or 2 services for much less, around $10-30 or so total, and many of them dont have commercials, can be watched anytime, and even have higher screen resolutions and better sound. Also, over the air TV actually has a TON of free channels now (40+ channels with just an antenna where I live, for FREE), and some streaming services are also free with only very limited commercials, such as Vudu. So even going the 100% free route you can get pretty good selections of programming.
The choice is clear, and cable is not it!
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I think a lot of it depends on what you like to watch. By the time you add up Disney plus, Netflix, Amazon prime, YouTube TV, cbs and whatever else, you are almost at cable prices. They still have a long way to go towards giving us what we really want.
You do make a good point that if you have a few of the higher priced services, it can actually cost as much or a but more than cable, so it does depend on the situation. Or I suppose if there is a certain channel someone loves that is only on cable TV, that could be a situation where it is worthwhile. But overall even though I am not a huge fan of streaming services, the value you get for $5-$20 a month is INCREDIBLE! We live in a very fortunate time.
Personally, I do not have cable or any streaming service subscription. I buy 1 month of Netflix per year to catch up on the new episodes of a handful of shows, and the rest of the time I just buy exactly what I want to watch on Blu-Ray, as especially 4K Ultra HD Blu ray discs have the best possible picture quality and sound that is superior to all streaming services, and best of all...I actually own it instead of renting content with a monthly payment, I prefer to own personally. I do watch over the air TV a few days a week too, there is a free channel that has all the old comedy and sci-fi shows that I love. Its crazy to think the amount of enjoyment I get for such a small price! DVDs and Blu rays being less popular these days means that they are extremely cheap, plus you often get THREE copies of the film or TV series: 4K Blu ray + Blu Ray/DVD + digital copy, so you can just give away, lend, or sell the other copies. Amazing! :)
The lockdown no doubt forced people into making their entertainment lively for them by viewing so many events happening around the world and there's no choice than to subscribe to access such
But you are wrong there are more choices than ever and some are free. The days of ripping people off is coming to an end.
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A passe induatry.
It is dying before our eyes.
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