The additional context needed is how fragmented the content library has become. Netflix has so much less popular content compared to 10 years ago.

Still just complaining about price. It is trivial to search the content you want to watch, and pay for it.

A couple extra taps is not sufficient friction to claim that “service” is the problem.

It's significantly more than "a couple extra taps".

There's mental overhead from having multiple services, as well as the price.

At some point you just decide it's not worth the hassle.

Sure, but 20 years ago, you had to go to a physical store, rent or buy physical media, put it into a physical device, and then play it.

Or call up a cable or satellite TV company and had to have equipment installed and pay equipment rental fees, and watch whatever was on without any control.

It is, objectively, pretty easy and convenient to watch what you want, when you want (assuming you are in the right jurisdiction). The only question remains is, are you willing to pay the amount the seller asks?

>It is, objectively, pretty easy and convenient to watch what you want, when you want

Sure, between Netflix, HBO, Disney, Paramount, etc, etc, etc... all with their own "exclusives".

So to watch what you want, when you want, you would need to pay multiple monthly fees and deal with the aforementioned mental overhead of multiple subscriptions to manage.

At least in the old video store days, one only had to go to a single video store.

Now they're even differentiating by the quality of the stream. That's more consumer-hostile arbitrary garbage that the video store never had. Who in their right mind would pay for blurry SD streaming nowadays, when even phones are 4k? But of course there's no single HD stream plan available.

Piracy is unfortunately relatively easier and more convenient, and that's a failure of the entertainment industry. Not to mention the terrible quality of the average show... and the fact that shows that you've "purchased" go missing from streaming sites randomly... and now they're putting ads in there. The downward spiral is now.

Yes but I think you have it backwards. My seedbox is (significantly) more expensive than a Netflix subscription. But it works splendidly: nothing disappears from its catalogue; there no missing episodes; I can use it from any IP, household, or continent I want; requires no DRM; serves exactly the format I pick.

People who chose Netflix decided to opt for an inferior service that was cheaper and required less effort. Now Netflix is reneging on the deal. Their customers will have to pay more and manage multiple accounts.

Of course people are complaining when you're trying to charge gourmet prices for McDonald's.

Not really, although they've been raising their prices like crazy while offering less and less while increasing the number of ads (even for ad free plans). They are degrading their service. I'm paying for access to netflix on a certain number of screens. It makes zero difference where those screens are located. I'm not located in the same place myself, but now I'm expected to be constantly inconvenienced with "verification" nags.

The price of the service isn't the problem, which is why everyone I know has a netflix account (we'll see how long that stays true) it's the cost of what they're turning the service into while charging more and more that's the problem.

I wouldn't mind the price if the billions they pour into producing and buying content led to something I actually want to watch. Anything. If it's there, their algorithm failed to surface it in favor of showing the same 20 things I wasn't interested in the last 100 times I opened the app.