Streaming Services on Television Offer a Confusing Blizzard of Options
With more than 200 services, making a decision of which to choose is difficult. Most services have different tier levels with pricing and content. All new TVs come with an Internet card so they can access the Internet. The options are usually already installed on the TV: Android, Roku, Google.
Some streaming services offer an alternative to cable, which requires a scrambler box to access cable channels. Some streaming services also include the most popular cable channels. Sports services and channels are different.
The most popular services are Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, Max, Peacock, Disney+, AppleTV+, Paramount+, Discovery+, and YouTubeTV+. Amazon also offers 3rd-party access to multiple streaming services so that you can get them all on one bill. Some cable channels/services also offer streaming services.
Most people start with the content they think is essential, and then they look for what services offer that content. There is a wide range in pricing from the basic content to the premium content. Note that most services do not include local broadcast stations. You will need an external antenna for that unless you also have a cable service. On those cable services, local channels are an additional cost.
A lot of hype was published of how the streaming services would kill cable. Although a lot of channels are offered both on cable and on streaming services, a lot still are offered only on cable which is where they started. Some of the cable services started “unpackaging,” that is offering fewer standard channels at a cheaper price. On the other hand, start-up streaming services started offering more options of channels at higher price levels. Mergers and acquisitions with film studios, newspapers and magazines, and other media companies created a mix, so it is impossible to know who owns what.
I have Spectrum cable and three streaming services, and my package also includes Internet service and local telephone service. Their “promotional” pricing varies for various packages, and they don’t negotiate like they used to do. The streaming services are priced separately. My TV is old so I have an AppleTV box to access the streaming services, each of which has an “app” on the home screen. I can add or delete services as I try out other ones. I do not have the AppleTV+ service because I don’t like their selection of movies.
I remember the days when we had a table-top antenna and three local broadcast network stations. Then CNN came along, and the field spread into multiple cable channels. Unfortunately, most markets only had one cable service, so that limited competition.
Some of my friends refuse to have a television in the house, preferring to spend their money on entertainment venues outside the house. As I age, that is not an option for me. Plus, the prices for the symphony and touring productions have gotten to be astronomical. Just like my parents, I settle down in front of the TV every evening and just vege out.