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Re:Five arrests in 'fully loaded' Kodi streaming box raids by rconti on Wednesday February 08, 2017 @12:14PM (#13599982)
Your example of Netflix having only half a season and then having to add a second subscription service to watch the rest is a straw man.

It feels more like "I already pay for Netflix, so why do I have to pay anyone else for content Netflix doesn't have?" That's a bit like asking why you should pay for CNN and HBO. Basic cable should come with ALL the content, right?

Re:Five arrests in 'fully loaded' Kodi streaming box raids by IgorPartola on Wednesday February 08, 2017 @12:23PM (#13600073)
There is a large number of TV shows and movies that is not available on any streaming service. There is also a large number that's available, but only from a very specific content provider. For example last I checked, Seinfeld was only available on I think TBS's website, with an awful Flash-based player and really intrusive commercials. Oh, and what was available was something like a set of 5 rotating episodes, not the whole thing. Another example is Conan the Destroyer (been on an Arnold kick lately) which as far as I saw could only be purchased on BluRay or DVD.

I am not saying the content providers owe anyone a streaming option. But grandparent is right about path of least resistance.

Re:Five arrests in 'fully loaded' Kodi streaming box raids by parennoob on Wednesday February 08, 2017 @12:21PM (#13600052)
Your example actually highlights the problem with cable. There is no way to get – say, only HBO, ESPN, and no CNN.

Cable would force OP to buy 37 useless channels whose content is being subsidized by people paying for the 5 channels they actually watch.

Re:Five arrests in 'fully loaded' Kodi streaming box raids by tomjen3 on Wednesday February 08, 2017 @01:27PM (#13600654)
Danish cable companies have very recently begun to offer mix your own channel packages (I assume some channels costs more) that was great for me because I called up my provider and finally got them to give me just an internet connection.
Re:Five arrests in 'fully loaded' Kodi streaming box raids by orclev on Wednesday February 08, 2017 @02:21PM (#13601158)
It's not actually. Just as one example there was a series I started watching on Netflix, got through the first season, started watching the second, and then it disappeared off Netflix. For various reasons a lot of series aren't being carried by Netflix anymore (it's about a 50/50 split as to whether Netflix or the content producers are to blame). In order to finish off the second season I had to either skip a bunch of episodes and come in on the tail end of the second season on Hulu (because they don't have anything but the most recent episodes of the current season), wait until the next season started airing and watch the full second season then, or else pay Amazon to purchase the streaming for the entire season (this was in addition to the cost of the prime membership already being paid for).

OP was right, streaming services are fractured and disjointed right now and nobody offers everything. Netflix has shifted primarily to their own content and increasingly only carries independent and foreign films and shows. Hulu is an ad packed disaster area on top of having a horrible streaming experience on current content designed to try to prop up the failing cable subscription model. Amazon is the best bet for most other content but is of course the most expensive of all the options since it isn't a proper subscription service like Netflix or Hulu but instead more closely emulates the Blockbuster Video model of old. None of the options is a really fully satisfying replacement for a cable TV subscription, but each is just good enough that it's still better than cable TV. In aggregate, the experience is definitely the best option, but it's still really frustrating (not to mention expensive) to constantly need to juggle between the three major services (and the dozens of smaller ones) in order to access the content you want when you want it.

Re:Five arrests in 'fully loaded' Kodi streaming box raids by ansible on Wednesday February 08, 2017 @04:30PM (#13602315)
Netflix has shifted primarily to their own content and increasingly only carries independent and foreign films and shows.

Yeah. They don't have everything I want to watch, but they have enough decent stuff that I find something interesting easily enough.

I am slightly cheesed when something I was watching was taken off before I finished it... I understand why they don't advertise when they'll loose the rights to a particular show, but I'd sure like some way to know how long some shows will be available.