The digital age has brought many advancements, most of them improving people’s quality of life worldwide. One of the most popular of these advancements is streaming. Streaming services allow people worldwide to access a wide variety of media at any time, including music, movies, books and much more. The concept of having a library’s worth of media at your fingertips is amazing, but the greed that comes with it is less so.
Companies exist to make money. So the concept of paying for a product is not an absurd one. What is absurd is that companies continue to raise prices while removing features. For example, in 2023, Netflix prevented its users from sharing accounts. This change angered many users, making it nearly impossible to use the same account in multiple locations. On top of this change, they raised the price of their basic plan from $9.99 a month to $11.99, making it more expensive for users who were burned by password sharing to buy a new plan.
Even with the unfavorable changes made to their platform, Netflix saw a substantial revenue spike. According to Forbes, “Netflix reported revenue of $8.5 billion for the third quarter of 2023—up 8% compared with 2022 and beating expectations due to the sheer number of new members.”
Netflix is not the only streaming service raising prices. Disney Plus, Hulu, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Peacock and Max have raised their prices or introduced ads to keep costs down. On top of that, Max has removed multiple shows, including originals, from their library. These shows were not removed due to contracts expiring or losing the ability to stream them, but rather to save money on licenses. One of Max’s parent companies, Warner Bros., shelved the completed “Coyote vs. Acme” film to opt for a tax write-off. Only after large fan backlash did Warner Bros. take back the cancellation of the movie, announcing that they would sell the film to another streaming service.
Despite all of the price increases and unfavorable changes, streaming services remain giant money makers for their respective parent companies. People refuse to draw the line and stop their subscriptions, even when a much cheaper option is available. Local and school libraries often have DVD sections filled to the brim with films and TV shows from multiple generations. For example, the University of Texas at San Antonio’s (UTSA) John Peace Library has a vast DVD collection, spanning multiple genres and age ratings, and are free for UTSA students to check out and watch on their own time.
There is one issue. DVDs require a specific piece of technology to watch that is not commonly found anymore, a DVD player. Fortunately, the John Peace Library has DVD players available for students to rent, and both PlayStation and Xbox consoles are compatible with both DVD and Blu-ray. Despite DVDs being less accessible than modern streaming services, they provide a free way to watch a wide variety of media, all without fear of them being removed next month.
