Apple, Disney, WarnerMedia, and just about everyone who can configure a streaming server is getting into the direct-to-consumer (DTC) content business. There are many valid reasons for this, not the least of which is consumer demand.
Everyone Says They Want à La Carte
For years, people have been waxing poetic about the desire for à la carte video content. "Why do I have to endure the Paranormal Mansplaining Channel when all I want is Food Network and some news? If only I could pay for only what I want to watch."
In a couple of weeks, you'll have so many options to pay for content à la carte, you won't really know where to start. And yes, you'll be paying extra for the inconvenience.
Paying for Inconvenience
I never met anyone who had anything nice to say about cable television set-top box interfaces or user experiences (UX). But love them or hate them, all TV-based video content interfaces had one thing in common: convenience.
Every time you pressed the channel button, you got to see content from a different provider. And while each channel had its own business model (ad-supported, subscription, or a bit of both), none of that was your concern. You just had one (albeit large) cable bill to pay. Shows were on channels, and all you needed to do was press channel up/down to see them all.
Is that on Netflix or Apple TV+ or Disney+ or Hulu or Prime Video or - wait - is that a cable show? No. It's on TV. TV? You mean cable? No. It's on Newscenter4. Is that on Netflix? No. It's on TV. Huh?
If playing "Where's Waldo" with your programming isn't annoying enough, wait until you add up your combined broadband, basic cable, and DTC bills. In honor of the biggest shift in television distribution since the advent of cable, get out your calculator and let's see what your à la carte content is going to cost you.
Newcomers...continued at link
https://www.shellypalmer.com/2019/10/streaming-sticker-shock-sequel/