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We say here, frequently, that the streaming covenant is broken. The deal was simple. You paid a reasonable one-off fee, they brought you content free of ads. You could walk at any time. You could come back at any time. You watched what you wanted when you wanted. In return for this, you stayed off the high seas. It was win-win and everyone was happy.
But the entertainment industry is not sensible and rational. First, it broke its own business model by everyone deciding they needed a streamer (or more than one) of their own. It saturated its own market while locking itself in a content arms race with competitors. Meanwhile, customers found themselves paying out for several services each month and became choosy and flighty.
With yawning gaps opening on their balance sheets and reality dawning, so the scramble began for extra revenue.
First, it was the ads. After getting rid of them as part of the covenant, they came screaming back with a vengeance and gave birth to free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST).
Now, between ads, content licensed across different providers, and a monthly bill of over $100 for broad coverage, it has all started to feel a bit like having cable back again. We have gone back to the early 2000s and nobody at the streaming providers seemed to notice where their business models were taking us.
Well, now the circle really is complete. We are back exactly where we started as streamers begin to launch “Always On” channels. What are they? Basically, ad supported rolling content, broadcast / streamed constantly. You know… like television!
Jesus tapdancing Christ. These people.
Amazon already has an always-on channel within its FAST service Freevee. Disney+ is now following suit, with an ad-supported streaming channel dedicated to things like Star Wars, Marvel shows, Pixar content, and classic Disney movies.
As usual, the reality of this situation will be dawning on Outposters quite some time before it dawns on the suits coming up with this comedy.
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