Back in the early days of streaming services, people only had to pay for one or two to unlock the never-ending possibilities of stream-able entertainment. Currently, there seem to be hundreds of streaming services, with each one having less content. Companies are splitting off from Netflix and Hulu to make their own services just to siphon out as much money as they can from consumers. 

When Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video were considered the Holy Trifecta of streaming services, companies had little problem licensing their content to them because of the huge amount of profit they made. However, when companies started to notice that the original content that came from the Trifecta gained them profit not only financially, but also by merit, major companies pulled out. 

People are living a time of “too much great content,” so much so that people feel social pressure to watch all the new shows.  However, if all the great content is separated into multiple different services, the cost adds up for consumers. People who want to see a new program have no choice but to subscribe. Hulu’s original The Handmaid’s Tale coincided with a spike in new subscribers. Game of Thrones appears to have given HBO’s streaming service a boost.

But after consumers watch the hit new show that is exclusive on a particular streaming service, they get sucked in. With all the other content offered on most of these services, there seems to be a never-ending loop of content to watch. 

For the first time in many years, there’s growth in online piracy of film and TV. Some experts say it may be because fans are getting sick of paying for yet another streaming service, according to NPR. 

There are too many video streaming services. It’s too confusing to compare each service, and the cost of subscribing to multiple services is becoming too expensive. Obviously, companies are trying to make money but to do that, they should be faithful to consumers, giving them quality content and not sucking the money from them.