One of the newsletters I subscribe to via Substack comes from Tim Goodman, who’s been writing about television for a long time. In his latest, Goodman effectively rebuts the nonsensical idea that it’s a good idea for streaming companies to bundle their services together…
You may have heard that Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery — Rival Gangs! — are going to join in a so-far-kinda-murky bundling offer that allegedly gives you Disney+, Hulu and Max (read the fine print I am saying out loud) for a price that will also allegedly be lower, though it hasn’t been announced (and if it has been announced, that’s proof that I don’t care because I don’t believe in magic).
This was followed in short order by Rival Gang and clunky behemoth Comcast, owner of NBCUniversal, announcing something called StreamSaver (which was clearly titled to be super literal but still makes me think about aging male urination issues, regardless), whereby it will “bundle”Netflix, AppleTV+ and Peacock at an allegedly deep discounted price — as yet unannounced, of course (read the fine print I am saying out loud).
We — you, other people, lazy scriveners — are being told that there’s a Big Issue in TV Land, because signing up for multiple streaming services is hard, though not as hard as, say, living in a war torn country. No, it’s hard because, we’re told — by people who wish it was the 1990s and also that they were making a lot more money in the TV business — that it’s just an enormous hassle.
For starters, no, it’s not. Click, subscribe. Click, unsubscribe.
Do I want some outside company (who I would pay or allow to bombard me with promotions) to “manage” my subscriptions? No. Because I’m an adult, not a baby.
Do I want to fall on the ground, weary, and ask Comcast (of all corporate entities!) to rid me of this complicated burden and just “bundle everything so I don’t have to think about it, like I did in the Days of Cable”?
Um, no.
I don’t want Disney to do it either, no matter if I get free Mouse Gear.
Read Goodman’s full piece here (note that his commentary on this subject starts about halfway down).