This November our Disney streaming service expires.
We originally got the service as part of the opening "good rates" that were offered in 2020. It seemed like a reasonable deal: our children had good memories of the programs that they had watched growing up and there seemed to be some content that we wanted to watch. We watched what we wanted to watch over the years - most of the Disney shows they grew up with were actually the innocent entertaining sort, not the modern sorts of things that air now- but at some point you reach a limit of re-watching re-runs. We made the decision after my job loss in December 2024 - unfortunately for us they only bill annually and so we had to wait for the cycle to complete.
Other than that, we currently only have Netflix (although I am led to understand we may or may not have access to other channels). Even finding something on Netflix worth watching has been difficult of late; I find myself (if I am there at all) returning to Japanese or Korean films, Anime, or reliable movies I have seen before. More recently, I have struggled to find anything at all.
It struck me, as I was settling into another historical Japanese drama on The Tube of You, how little I interact with any commonly available media form now.
At this point most things I watch or listen to are to be found on The Tube of You. There is a huge amount of movies to be seen (just recently I found a channel that specializes in Japanese historical dramas and older movies) and plenty of programs that I listen to (Are they podcasts if they have a video feed? I am never sure.) when I am working out, driving my short distances, or occasionally at work. And virtually all of the music I now listen to is found there, either older songs from the 1970's and 1980's or a plethora of specialty music (right now I am very much loving a channel who uses traditional instruments for recreations of historical periods using regional instruments).
Reading materials? Beyond blogs (of which I scarcely manage to keep up with all those fine writers over to the right), I seldom buy any newer books - but, for example, I am now in my second crowdfunding for a comic book based on Kull the Conqueror (originally written by Robert E. Howard). Most of reading is of used books (thereby older) or simply old books (I am also trying to read some books electronically; it is not a great medium for me but I suspect these sorts of books would never make it to publishing at a price I could afford).
All of this to say: Within a relatively short period of time, I have somehow managed to fall completely out of the commercial media stream.
I have not watched commercial television at home for years or at all since we had to move my parents in 2021. I have not read any newspaper in at least that same period of time; magazines far longer. And I do not even find myself listening to the radio anymore, something I picked up as a habit during my years of long commutes.
The bottom line - to me - is that the age of commercial media as the main provider of content in all its forms is rapidly drawing to end. The age of the content creator is upon us.
I have seen content made by individuals that surpasses anything provided by a major publisher or major studio. Part of that is likely that such projects are infused with passion (why else would make videos or write or produce things that seem of little interest beyond a certain group). Part of that is also due to the fact that content creators live or die by the content they create, unlike major players who can afford to do whatever they want or feel and assume the consumer will follow along.
More and more, the consumer will not. People want excellent information and entertainment. Turns out, they are willing to support such content as well, not just with praise but with dollars.
Am I quite ready to have Netflix disappear? Probably, but that becomes a discussion like everything else (I will note that there is at least one streaming station, jme, that only streams Japanese language programs). But I do highly suspect that as we continue to move into this era of content creation, studios and publishing houses will continue to decline and merge, hoping that somehow people will still want their content which definitely seems to be less and less desirable as we go on.
I suspect at this point the bird has flown the nest: the older content people may want is out there and the newer content is of high quality. We are reaching, if we have not reached, the era where the consumer no longer need consume things simply because it is labeled "entertainment".
It is indeed a Brave New World. Long live the Content Creators.
I suspect that there is an element of 'go woke, go broke' in the rejection of a lot of mainstream 'entertainment', people want to be entertained, not lectured to on the latest '-ism'.
ReplyDeleteWill, you are not wrong. Again, the area I follow most closely is the gaming and movie arena, and there companies have been flat out telling and demonstrating to consumers they do not want their money. In several cases they have specifically said things like "This was not made for you" or "If you do not like it, do not see or play it". Consumers responded. The industry, or at least the U.S./European industry at least, is getting crushed as a result.
DeleteTo your point - people want quality experiences without lectures.
The internet has truly opened the door for everyone to try their hand at traditional entertainment media, especially books and movies. It's amazing how many creative people are out there, who probably never would have made inroads into traditional production and publishing.
ReplyDeleteOf movies (and series), most of the commercially produced stuff has become too formulaic and too predictable. There's been a severe decline in writing, as well. Indie produced content tends to be much more interesting and entertaining. And of course now, with services like the 'Tube, everyone has the opportunity to try their hand.
It's been years since we had any sort of pay-for television service, whether piped in or streamed. There just doesn't seem to be enough offered that's actually worth paying for. Mostly, I rely on the public library for DVDs to borrow.
Leigh, the idea of the "Gatekeeper" has completely been swept away by the advances in technology, both in terms of accessibility and cost. If there is a gatekeeper, it is at the distribution level - and even there, there are now multiple methods to get one's work out there.
DeleteTraditional media is now bound by the system they created: they cannot reduce costs (willingly, at least) and as a business, they have to make back about two times the amount of money they put into a project to make a profit (including marketing). Because of the cost, there seems to be a very low tolerance of risk by this companies: everything "has" to be a potentially sure win, which (in theory) a fan base will provide. But the fan base has shown that they want quality, not just "sludge".
I do not know that I am good judge of the current state of writing: I seldom read modern works. The modern era has infected so much; I doubt much of it will be salvageable for future generations.
I do think, like records, there will be some kind of renaissance for hard copy media, simply because one always has access to it.
I may be the only one in my family that does not even use Netflix at this point; I may see if I can push the issue next year. I am not sure what the cost is now, but I suspect we could use at least $300 annually more profitably.
As my beloved commented yesterday.
ReplyDelete100's of channels and aside from an hour of weather channel in the morning and some cooking shows or a sports game nothing worth watching.
Our fav channel is the "Black Channel" as in OFF. Easier to read a book without the background noise.
Rest of the "new stuff" is often offensively "Woke "propaganda.
See old pre-Disney Star Wars vs current stuff as an example.
Michael, I had example the same reaction for the period of time when I was staying at The Ranch but the satellite had not been turned off yet. Literally hundreds of channels but absolutely nothing to watch - and what was there was interrupted by commercials (how spoiled I have become by streaming).
DeleteLike you, I am finding any background noise makes it difficult to concentrate.
Current Disney Star Wars in unwatchable - to be fair, most current Disney offerings are unwatchable. The consumers are rejecting it - perhaps more interestingly, consumers are starting to walk away from such franchises altogether. Someday, a fine business study will be made of how Disney took at Billions dollars franchise and destroyed it consciously.
Echoing Will, woke entertainment attracts me not at all, the Mouse has killed Star Wars for me. Realty TV?!? Not watching that #$%@.
ReplyDeleteNylon12, the Mouse has killed everything the Mouse made for me. I have zero desire to watch anything Disney related (I give myself an out for Tron and the old animated classics). Even some of the shows my children watched have had episodes removed because it no longer comports with modern sensibilities.
DeleteBut it is not just Disney. It is everywhere. The burst of content creation and its availability means that people no longer have to consume what they are given. They have choices - and they are making them.
I do wonder if at some point crowd funding becomes a very real alternative for media outlets. It would be the complete rejection of the current market model of "We tell you want you want" and "The consumer informs the market what they want".
I guess I'm still partway plugged in. I read my local newspaper, online, every morning, listen to NPR several hours a day as I'm puttering around the garage, yard or house and watch the evening news and some news related shows, all of which I "record" and watch after the fact to skip through the commercials.
ReplyDeleteOn an aside, I technically am not recording them since I have Tube of You as my channel source but just watching them at a time of my choosing. My how times have changed!
Beyond that, I have a dozen or so channels I watch on the Tube of You of content creators, mostly in the field of woodworking. I like watching the artistry and gain inspiration from it. I still buy and read books, all non-fiction and fairly current to learn more about the world I'm progressing into. I recently read a fascinating book on quantum computers which blew my mind in many ways of what might be in store for us.
Don't give up hope of being an influencer yourself. Like me, you are a journal writer and perhaps someday someone might be reading those, or listening to a podcast of someone else reading them. I write mine mostly as some historical context for my children or grandchildren but so did some others whose journals are still widely available and read like two men named Lewis and Clarke.
Ed - It is odd; I scarcely look at local news anymore (other than the weather, of course). In terms of listening to anything, I cannot take more than 30 to 40 minutes at a go (about the length of workout).
DeleteI will say The Tube of You is my go to entertainment (and occasionally inspiration) source as well. Not just for "podcasts": music and even movies now as well. Yes, I get a few minutes of advertising up front (Liberty Mutual sells car insurance; you may not know that), but after that it is nothing but entertainment. And I can find very focused content creators who are authentic - something else that strikes me as important (not an original thought to me; I heard it from someone else). Someone speaking on a subject or showing a task really lets their interest and passion show through; commercial television just has actors.
I am trying to pick more articles on the current world, seeing as I am stuck in it.
Heh heh - if I ever turn out to be an influencer, no-one will be more surprised than I. To be fair, I have over 30 years of journals. Not sure the content will inspire anyone or be the sort of thing that might even of interest; as honest as I try to be here, it is far more pronounced there.