So, if you happened to be on the Twitters yesterday, you might have noticed #StarTrekDiscovery trending...
...not for good reasons.
Paramount decided to take it exclusive to its own platforms, both in the US and Canada... and Europe, where those platforms don't yet exist. P+ will also be exclusive to a very high-priced tier of the evil Murdoch/Sky empire in the UK, and then it's an add-on cost on top of that.
So Burnham and co got snapped off Netflix at one day's notice. There was much wailing and gnashing of targs. And much as I will miss her royal highness Grudge, First Of Her Mane, Queen Of The Space Lanes, Empress Of Hearts, And Supreme Lady Of Oh Lawd She Comin', I'm not changing ISP and shelling out for one show - or three if you count Lower Decks and the upcoming Strange New Worlds.
But it got me thinking. How many platforms do you sub to - and what shows do you consider "essential"? Would you consider cutting the cord entirely and ditching regular TV in favour of just streaming?
Me:
Netflix. Not been watching as much as before, considering cancelling, but they do come up with some stuff that's good.
(There's also Red Notice, which... isn't.) I might keep it for when I start travelling again, though, since a whole bunch of new stuff unlocks outside the UK (again, thanks to Sky).
Amazon Prime. I get this free with my parcel deliveries, so I consider it a freebie. My partner likes it more than I do, but have been enjoying The Boys and the return of Leverage.
Disney+: given this is the House of Mouse, I would have never expected to love it as much as I do. But the killer part of their app isn't Disney, Pixar, or even Marvel. It's Star, which has the best selection of movies and shows out of all of them bar none: including a whole bunch of FX and HBO shows (AHS, Walking Dead) and a pretty wild selection of flicks from The Favourite to Grosse Pointe Blank, plus quite a few classics. The Disney docs are Definitely value for money.
Regular British TV: given the BBC is still commercial free, has reams of great content, and has built killer streaming apps on top of it (BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds for radio), I still watch it - though usually timeshifted. Channel 4 - who, along with the BBC, can claim responsibility for most of the great British films of the last three decades, also have good content and a decent streaming app, though infested with interactive commercials.