Posted on December 17,
Before we begin, a shout out to employee Julia Devlin. Julia asked about the rising costs of streaming and if we should expect that we will eventually be paying as much for streaming as we do for cable tv.
Great question! Thanks again Julia – we have some cool HTC swag heading your way!
Now back to our regularly scheduled blog
Streaming platforms have also been raising prices more often than we’d like to see, and YouTube TV has just announced a $10 increase as of January.
Let’s revisit the 3 C’s: Control, cost and convenience.
- Control? Watch what you want, when you want.
- Cost? Effectively cut the cost of your programming by buying direct.
- Convenience? Add a platform and cancel any time you’d like. No long-term commitment.
Don’t want to put your credit/debit card out there? Stop in your local supermarket or chain drug store, and on the gift card display you’ll see gift cards for many of the major streaming platforms. Pick one up with the dollar amount of your choice and you’ll be streaming in no time. When the funds run out, it will be your decision as to whether you want to continue. This is an effective way to try out the services without risk.
A FAST return to traditional TV
Of all the changes that streaming has brought to the viewing experience, few have been as surprising as the FAST platforms. FAST, or Free Ad Supported Television is TV like it used to be, FREE. Free with one catch, there are commercials that you cannot fast forward through.
Platforms such as Pluto TV (Stream now, pay never), Tubi TV (Find your rabbit hole) and more have staked their place in the video landscape.
Let’s start with Tubi. Owned by FOX Corp, it has grown to boast more than 250,000 movies and TV episodes. Not sure what to watch? Tubi offers, a personalization experience that leverages machine learning and AI models to find your own rabbit holes to explore. Tubi, the most watched free movie and TV ad supported streamer in the US, articulates that the platform is truly free for everyone, and as of September 2024, Tubi has surpassed 81 million monthly active users.
There is the other big man on campus, Pluto. Pluto TV, a division of Paramount Streaming/Paramount Global is also among the largest FAST platforms. They too have an active monthly viewership in the 80 million range, live TV and a vast on-demand library. Pluto specializes in genre specific movie channels. Want to watch a James Bond 007 movie at any time? There’s the 007 channel. Hungry for movies from the 00’s, 90’s or 80’s? Channels dedicated to those as well.
There are other FAST platforms such as The Roku Channel, Xumo Play and more. All of them have millions of viewers. These platforms are not fringe anymore; these are mainstream platforms with content people want to watch. Give them a try, guaranteed or your money back!
Next up. ‘YouTubeTV vs. Hulu with Live TV vs. DIRECTV via internet. Who’s the winner?’
