Remember when online streaming seemed like it was simple and cheap? Unfortunately, those days are long gone, and all signs point to a future where managing your online viewing arsenal will require money, patience, and possibly a whole lot of bookmarks.
Last year, 22% of U.S. households responding to a J.D. Power survey said they subscribe to seven or more streaming services, which comes out to almost double the amount who said so the year previously. Unsurprisingly, overall spending on streaming has gone up in kind. In that same survey, an average household reportedly spent $55 per month on all of their streaming services combined. That’s an increase of 45% in spending from April 2020. To put that into some context, streaming overload has gotten so real there’s even a budding industry of paid apps that help users manage their growing list of subscriptions. The sick irony here is that despite this cornucopia of choice, for many users it’s never been harder to find something worthwhile to watch on TV.
If forking over half a grand a year on monotonous “content” just doesn’t sit right then it might be time to start considering diving into the dozens of alternative streaming sites currently filling in the holes left by major streamers. Whether its live TV online or curated niche catalogs, there’s’ truly something for everyone if you know where to look.
