After years of inflation, Americans are used to sticker shock. But nothing compares to the surging price of streaming video.

Last week, Apple TV+ became the latest streaming service to raise its price—up from $6.99 to $9.99 per month—following the example of Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, and Netflix, which all hiked their prices in October.

Half of the major streaming platforms in the U.S. now charge a monthly fee that’s double the price they charged when they initially came to market. And many of these streaming services haven’t even been around for 10 years.

  • stella@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    18
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    I’ve been making fun of them for years and they just keep doubling down on their stupidity.

    I’ve lost hope for this generation.

    You can stream pretty much anything for free here: https://fmoviesz.to/

    Just make sure you have uBlock Origin installed.

    Use your brains, not your wallets. (unless you’re a useful idiot)

    • kofe@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      1 year ago

      Ok, question. I’m totally tech illiterate, but have heard these kinds sites are used to farm for crypto? Like I’d rather just not watch new shows or movies at this point until I can take the time to learn to pirate again safely.

      • stella@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        these kinds sites

        Well, when you’re that ambiguous, sure you can find streaming sites that mine crypto.

        Does that mean this one does? Well, I’d wait until there is evidence before clutching my pearls.

        • kofe@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          … I’m asking if there is evidence of it, and if so, what that means in terms of effecting PC performance. Or just in general for these kinds of sites if it’s a concern worth having.

          • stella@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            1 year ago

            I have not seen any evidence that the site I linked mines crypto on user’s machines.

      • SheeEttin@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        1 year ago

        Adblockers should block those scripts too.

        Even if it didn’t, don’t worry about it. All it does is run a script on the webpage. It used a little of your CPU time, but otherwise doesn’t affect your PC.

      • 🦄🦄🦄@feddit.de
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        Even if that was true, why would it be bad? As long as they aren’t overdoing it, why would you care?

        • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          1 year ago

          I think the concern is that the torrent files include trojan crypto farming software that will bog down your computer. I don’t know how realistic that concern is, but it would at least directly affect you.

          • kofe@lemmy.ml
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            1 year ago

            Yeah, thank you for articulating it for me better than I could. I don’t know if it’s similar to malware that can effect PC performance or corrupt files over time.

    • SkepticalButOpenMinded@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      1 year ago

      Which “generation” are you referring to? I’m willing to bet the older generations, ya know the ones who paid hundreds on cable a month for decades, are the least price sensitive and tech savvy.

      • stella@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        I’m referring to just about everyone under 35.

        ya know the ones who paid hundreds on cable a month for decades, are the least price sensitive and tech savvy.

        You mean the ones who didn’t have any alternative?

        What about the ones who do? It’s just a quick internet search away, but they’d rather use their wallets to fit in with everyone else.

        • SkepticalButOpenMinded@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          1 year ago

          You mean the same young people who aren’t even the ones to make the household decision to cancel streaming because they were borrowing passwords from their parents until just this year? Why would most have their own accounts when the policy just changed?

          Young people watch on their laptops or tablets. Middle aged people watch on their big screen smart TV in their suburban home. You think Boomers and older Gen X, the wealthiest generation in history with the most disposable income, most of whom are tech illiterate, are abandoning the convenience of streaming to set up Plex servers?

          • stella@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            edit-2
            1 year ago

            No, I mean the same young people who pay for the streaming services themselves and constantly say things like “it is/isn’t available on x service” when it’s all available here for free: https://fmoviesz.to/

            most of whom are tech illiterate, are abandoning the convenience of streaming to set up Plex servers?

            So glad you mentioned Plex. That’s just another meme for the 🧩’s of this generation who think they’re smarter than the rest. Not only are they a gross minority, the vast majority of them don’t even pirate the content they download. They still buy it like rubes, lol.

            You don’t even recommend the free alternative to plex, Jellyfin. You’d rather use the one owned by a for-profit corporation that has ads.

            If this generation cared more about saving money than fitting in, we’d see people sharing free streaming services before paid ones and ‘plex’ bullshit.

            Gonna block you now, though. It’s painfully obvious you’re just going to move goalposts and twist your brain in knots to avoid admitting you may be wrong.

            Have a nice day.

            • SkepticalButOpenMinded@lemmy.ca
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              3
              ·
              1 year ago

              It makes absolutely no sense to say that young people make most of the streaming subscription decisions. Why would they when they were sharing passwords just this year? You have no response, which is why you didn’t address that point.

              I don’t use Plex, but I’m not your average user. We’re talking about the average middle aged person. You have WAY more faith in the average consumer if you think they’re going to set up an open source solution to play their torrents!