Streaming services overview – if you have the speed
By David Josselyn
In 1948 cable television was born to service remote areas of Arkansas, Oregon, and Pennsylvania bringing network television to homes too far from broadcast antennas to get reception. Forty years later, the cable television conglomerates were set to dominate television viewing for a price consumers were willing to pay. Fast forward another forty years to today and cable television may be on death’s doorstep thanks to internet streaming because of the price they demand. The introductory deals of $60 per month to access hundreds of channels quickly increases to the point where households are paying an average of $156 per month (per Consumer Reports in 2018). Many folks are realizing that they are paying for hundreds of channels they never use and are finding ways to “cut the cord” of cable television adapting an internet-streaming-only strategy for their entertainment. The individual media companies are quickly catching on and now we have a plethora of services to choose from; each offering something a little different, and it would easy to start paying more than average cable costs if we sign up for everything available. The following is a high-level summary of the more popular choices and their current costs (as of the summer of 2020). Most services offer a basic entry plan (some are free) at minimal cost, and then offer other plans with more content, no ads, more features, or better quality at an additional cost. A handful will offer other streaming services at either a very slight discount or the same cost as subscribing directly to that service. The streaming services fall into three categories: mimicry of cable; specific interests; and general access to multiple forms of media.
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