I ditched cable because it cost too much and came with channels I never watched.
So I replaced it with streaming services.
Several of them.
Each has its own bill, password, menu, and increasingly creative reason I need the more expensive plan.
Excellent. I’ve rebuilt cable, except now I’m the billing department.
Want to watch that show? Wrong app.
The sequel? Different app.
Tonight’s game? Separate subscription—and a working knowledge of broadcast negotiations.
By the time I find it, I’ve forgotten why I sat down.
And what happened to paying extra to avoid commercials?
Now there’s a plan with ads, a plan with fewer ads, and a plan priced like someone will come over and act out the fucking movie in my living room.
“Upgrade your experience.”
I’m watching television. How much experience does this require?
Then there’s the free trial: seven days to decide, followed by eleven months of forgetting you have it.
Until you check your statement.
“What the hell is this charge?”
That’s the app you needed for six episodes last winter. You finished the show. They’ve continued enjoying the relationship.
I don’t expect entertainment to be free. Good shows cost money.
But I’d like to spend more time watching them than figuring out who has them, which plan includes them, and whether “included” means I still have to rent them.
We were promised convenience.
Some nights, I open three apps, scroll through hundreds of titles, and watch something I already own.
At least the DVD player hasn’t asked me to upgrade.
Yet.