One of my favorite traditions around the holidays is watching the Peanuts specials with my family, especially “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The music is fun, the animation is nostalgic, and of course, the story is heartwarming. It’s a feel-good cartoon that has been played every year since its release in 1965. Now, however, if I want to watch it, I have to pay for Apple TV+ which now exclusively owns the rights to the Christmas special, and may soon own all other specials as well. Despite my family paying for Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, I would have to pay for another streaming service to find a specific half-hour cartoon. There are just too many streaming services, and instead of improving the quality of entertainment experiences, these services are exploiting viewers in ridiculous ways for the sake of their stock.
“Overchoice” wouldn’t be so terrible if these services didn’t add up so quickly. But when Disney+ decided to charge its own subscribers for the Mulan movie, people start to make definitive choices about their viewership. Amazon Prime generally has decent prices for renting movies, but why do you have to pay extra for what you already essentially own? Hulu charges extra for HBO packages and ESPN+ add-ons as well. These companies don’t need the extra money, either, especially Amazon and Disney!
The worst part is: 2020 has given these companies an opportunity to exploit people from the comfort of their own homes…and it works. Trolls World Tour shattered the box office without ever really making it to the box office, so other movies are following suit. So, if I want to watch a Marvel movie, do I have to pay for Disney+ and the movie? The answer shouldn’t be yes, but unfortunately, it is.
There are just too many subscription services, and subscription fatigue is getting worse. Music subscriptions, video game subscriptions, and many more are following the television trend. Consumers shouldn’t have to pay more for less, and they may not continue to do so as subscription services become such an inconvenience.
I really do love watching The Peanuts specials around the holidays, but I’m not going to pay extra for them this year. My family switched to Netflix because it was cheaper than cable, but now, entertainment is just as, or even more, expensive than it used to be. Apple TV+ is only about $5 right now, but if they decide to start having add-ons, commercials, or live sports, they are going to raise prices to attempt to keep the quality of their service comparable to their competitors. It’s a frustrating reality, but until something changes, we have to service hop to watch what we want to. So long, Charlie Brown.