Since (as others have noted) there are already a couple services like this, what about something like:

The user sets up a profile with a list of shows they like, and the website tells which streaming service is the best one to subscribe to. Extra credit if it has an option for "I prefer shows which are in the process of being released weekly/I count shows I can binge all at once."

And -- it is a bit of a stretch, but maybe "binge-o" is a good name.

ShowRSS + uTorrent has worked for me. I know, I know, "but illegal/the moneys". I watch like... 1 show on Netflix (2 now with Sandman), 1 show on the CW (soon to be 0, as it's the Flash), 1 show on HBO Max (Harley Quinn), etc. Paying for an entire service (or cable) just because I like one show they offer is ridiculous. The closest I'd come to doing it is Disney+ because of all the Marvel content, but even then I'm paying for access to a shit-ton of Disney content I couldn't care any less about. (I currently do pay for Netflix, mostly because I subbed to support their pickup of Lucifer and then decided to stay subbed until Umbrella Academy dies.)

Basically, what I'm saying is, as long as every company wants to withhold the content I like behind a paywall the size of tons of content I don't want, ShowRSS + uTorrent = the pirate's life for me. Yo-ho.

(Legitimately, if I was able to pay for just the individual shows I watch, I would pay for 100% of them. But no one offers that option, so... shrug )

I never got into the whole piracy thing (despite growing up in it's heyday), but I haven't thought much about the ethics of it and certainly wouldn't judge people who do it.

Mostly the "cost" of staying up to date with best piracy practices doesn't seem worth it, to me.

I happen to know the price of hulu+disney+ is around $20 currently (because I just canceled my subscription, haha). I vaguely recall that is pretty close to the retail cost of a season of a show, around a decade ago, I think. So it seems like an OK deal in that context -- I watched way more than one season of a single show on the two services, per month (but like, I want to cut down on my passive content consumption anyway).

To access all the shows I watch, I would need: a cable package for the CW ($40) + a Disney+ subscription ($11 with this hike) + Netflix ($15) + HBO Max ($15) = $81/month for a handful of shows. That's the average cost of my entire power bill -- a necessary cost -- for entertainment. If they can charge $15 for access to everything on Netflix, surely they can charge much less for one or two shows that I actually want to watch (and of course, same with the other services).

If you look at it that way, it does seem like a bit of a ripoff.

Personally I don't get super into particular shows -- so, on Netflix I suppose they have The Office (I'm not sure actually it is just an example), but on Hulu they have Mr Mayor... if focusing down to a couple streaming service means that I have to chance the specific "lighthearted, vaguely sarcastic but still comforting workplace comedy" in my lineup, I don't think this is a huge cost.

I dunno. Lots of companies seem to treat their streaming offerings as undifferentiated commodities, so why shouldn't we, right?

> I dunno. Lots of companies seem to treat their streaming offerings as undifferentiated commodities, so why shouldn't we, right?

Because the things I enjoy watching are highly differentiated? Shrug

I have used the same magnet link searcher, same software (transmission / transmission-remote) for the past 10 years.

I already do this organically. When friends tell me a season of X or Y is coming I pay for Netflix.

I imagine if enough people do this, companies will counter-act by making certain shows only available to loyal users. "This is a Platinum Plus show; you need at least platinum level 3 to watch this; watch 100 hours to level up!"

I think the counter would be to spread it out more. One a week on a 10 week show gets 3 months. Throw a couple 2 week breaks in the middle of a season and you squeeze an extra month out.

This might work for the biggest shows on HBO etc. but even some of Netflix’s biggest hits only get announced a month or so before. Not all. But some.

Sounds fantastic but is that information even publicly available? Sometimes new seasons of shows drop with little notice, if any.

https://reelgood.com/ works well for this.

They exist, such as https://www.justwatch.com

linke this? https://www.canistream.it

I thought Netflix sends you an email if a new season of a show you enjoy comes out.

Wow, even for Hulu and Disney+ and Paramount and HBO Max? That is quite kind and unexpected.

Ouch.

Sorry - sarcasm isn't the best spirit of Hacker News curiosity. I should've found a kinder way to indicate that the grandparent comment was about all services, not specific to Netflix.