TV and streaming only for the rich? Things can’t go on like this with Netflix and Co
Television, streaming, driving, heating, shopping – prices are climbing everywhere at the moment and there is usually something to the feeling. Heating in winter is indispensable, for many people also the car, for example for the job, we all have to eat and drink anyway. So the waiver has to come from somewhere else and the streaming providers are currently not doing themselves any favors with their pricing policy – a comment by Felix Gräber.
Amazon raises prices for Prime customers! This headline has certainly caught the attention of one or the other German reader in the past few days. Luckily it’s all about the USA, got away with it – but only for now.
Amazon Prime wants to see money: Not a good sign for streaming customers
The last price adjustment for Amazon’s Prime offer – including Prime Video, Amazon Music, faster, free delivery – was years ago for German customers. the next price increase will not be much longer in coming.
And a look at the USA shows that it could get violent. They now charge $14.99 per month there, the equivalent of just over 13 euros. Meanwhile, German customers only pay 7.99 euros per month or 69 euros for a year. If you break that down to the monthly price, US customers pay more than twice as much.
Netflix isn’t too bad about regular price adjustments either, and it’s no different with Disney+ and Sky. However, the enfant terrible of the industry is DAZN. From now on, the streaming service has raised the price for the annual subscription to unprecedented heights: 275 euros are currently due, the monthly price is doubled from 14.99 euros to 29.99 euros. These are no longer simply salted prices, that is inedible.
Prices are rising – what’s left for Netflix, Amazon and Co.?
In addition, there is a look at the general situation: the costs for shopping, for electricity, gas and heating oil, petrol or diesel are exploding. The Ifo Institute has just raised its inflation forecast for the current year to 4 percent. This is assumed to be the highest price increase since 1993 (source: world). I don’t want to panic here, but the list doesn’t read particularly well.
Where were we? Oh yes, this is about the distraction that television and streaming services could offer, especially in troubled times. Netflix and Co. definitely have the potential for this, thanks to their diverse program. But as with so many things you have to be able to afford it.
Many tenants are forced to pay for the classic cable TV connection anyway, thanks to the ancillary cost privilege. If there are extra costs for HD reception, calculated over the year, it quickly slips into the three-digit range. Only then do the costs for one, and often even several, streaming services or pay TV providers come into play.
With a little trick, you can still save on Netflix:
Streaming services can result in an additional annual cost of up to several hundred euros. Not everyone can afford that. If the expenses that are really necessary increase, the number of potential customers is likely to continue to shrink – not a good prospect for Netflix and Co. And it is questionable whether new price increases are the right way to go.
Do you still have money? Then nothing stands in the way of another streaming subscription:
Second breakthrough: will streaming replace linear television?
But the situation also offers an opportunity: namely, when more and more consumers make a conscious decision against traditional television So decide to save elsewhere. This is where Netflix and Co. can be particularly convincing, in contrast to linear television, they offer the undeniable advantage of constant availability – also known as on-demand.
So whether we are facing new, cheap bait offers, not just constant price increases? Also possible! Because there is one thing neither consumers nor those responsible at Netflix, Disney+, Amazon and all the others want: That streaming will really soon only be for the rich.
