Media Giants Creating Their Own Streaming Platforms is Capitalism At Its Finest

Recently, Disney and NBCUniversal have both announced that they intend to launch their own streaming service. Disney states their platform, Disney+, will launch with a subscription of $6.99 per month, and NBCUniversal claims the video service will be free for pay-TV subscribers.

Unfortunately, what this means is that viewers will no longer be able to view films or television series created by these companies on services such as Netflix.

Why is this a concern? Well, for starters, Disney is a media giant that owns not only the obvious Disney movies but has also branched out to own Marvel Studios and the Star Wars franchise. NBCUniversal is another industry that owns television series such as "The Office", "The Good Place", "Brooklyn Nine-Nine", among multiple others.

An abundance of these movies and shows are currently available on Netflix. However, once each streaming service officially launches, they will no longer be available on any other service except the one the media is owned by.

What this then forces many people to do is to purchase a monthly subscription to each streaming services in order to access their favorite shows or movies. This can lead to people paying for multiple streaming services at the same time just to watch television.

You may catch yourself asking about cable. Why bother paying for an NBCUniversal streaming subscription to watch "The Office" when there's constantly re-runs on television? However, the sad truth is that in 2018 in the U.S., 33 million people made the decision to get rid of cable.

Consumers crave streaming platforms because the content costs can often run cheaper than paying for cable, and in a world where immediate gratification is the new norm, it is the only appropriate way to watch entertainment in the modern era.

So why is it a problem then? Wouldn't it still ultimately be cheaper to pay for these streaming services in the long run?

Perhaps, but ultimately the bigger concern is more than just that. Corporations are highly aware of consumer needs, and they are aware they can make even more money by ridding themselves of their contract with Netflix and can rake in some big bucks by launching their own service that forces people to pay monthly.

It seems like every company wants a streaming service and most of it stems from content distribution rights where no one wants to share. This creates platforms where, yes, there may be more to choose from (Netflix is limited on the Disney and Marvel films available, for example) but it is all focused on its own content.

There won't be any diversity in these platforms. Does this not seem just a little off?

The streaming world is becoming incredibly divided. How many films and television series can we expect to be removed from Netflix just within the next year? What can we expect to happen to these services and our wallets in just the next few months?