As soon as Hulu started packing ads into their service, I knew that we were slowly reinventing cable TV, perhaps worse. That was roughly 15-ish years ago. Honestly, it’s been slower than expected.
The real funny thing, if anyone remembers the original HBO/cable from the early 80s, their whole thing was “no commercials”, and that’s the first thing that happened to cable.
Remember when Hulu was free? You only had to pay if you wanted access to mobile streaming. Mobile phones weren’t nearly as capable as they are today, so watching on my laptop or pc was actually preferable.
Boy do I ever. I got to watch Stargate:Universe in all its disappointing glory. Good times.
Mobile phones weren’t nearly as capable as they are today, so watching on my laptop or pc was actually preferable.
Real talk though: under what circumstances would a phone be in any way preferable to using a laptop, desktop, or media PC on a big screen? Personally, I find everything about my phone clumsy, clunky, tedious, and head/kneck/arm/hand/eye strain inducing. It’s an RSI nightmare.
I watched most of Vinland saga on my phone while taking a train from LA to Seattle. It was fine, would’ve preferred to use my laptop but mobile hotspot is apparently counted separately fromy unlimited mobile data so fuck me I guess.
The dam broke the instant Netflix insisted they would only accept worldwide exclusivity for original commissions. This completely upended the extant funding model and led the studios to develop their own platforms out of necessity.
Consumers: “I’m tired of all these commercials and strict viewing schedule, I’m switching to streaming and getting rid of cable.”
Capitalism: “Panic!”
Consumers: “Wow, this is so much better. I get to watch what I want when I want and don’t have to sit through annoying ads.”
Capitalism: “Let’s release 100 different streaming services, add commercials, and follow a viewing schedule.”
Consumers: “Wait what, this just seems like cable with extra steps, fuck this I’m just going to start sailing the seas.”
Capitalism: Surprised Pikachu
As soon as Hulu started packing ads into their service, I knew that we were slowly reinventing cable TV, perhaps worse. That was roughly 15-ish years ago. Honestly, it’s been slower than expected.
The real funny thing, if anyone remembers the original HBO/cable from the early 80s, their whole thing was “no commercials”, and that’s the first thing that happened to cable.
Remember when Hulu was free? You only had to pay if you wanted access to mobile streaming. Mobile phones weren’t nearly as capable as they are today, so watching on my laptop or pc was actually preferable.
Boy do I ever. I got to watch Stargate:Universe in all its disappointing glory. Good times.
Real talk though: under what circumstances would a phone be in any way preferable to using a laptop, desktop, or media PC on a big screen? Personally, I find everything about my phone clumsy, clunky, tedious, and head/kneck/arm/hand/eye strain inducing. It’s an RSI nightmare.
I watched most of Vinland saga on my phone while taking a train from LA to Seattle. It was fine, would’ve preferred to use my laptop but mobile hotspot is apparently counted separately fromy unlimited mobile data so fuck me I guess.
That was the exact moment I gave up on streaming services, as well.
I blame Disney. They are the ones that broke the dam after they saw the popularity of their Marvel ip.
The dam broke the instant Netflix insisted they would only accept worldwide exclusivity for original commissions. This completely upended the extant funding model and led the studios to develop their own platforms out of necessity.