You're listening to life kit from NPR.
I don't know why I keep watching the morning show.
Like, I don't know why.
I don't know why you keep watching it either.
I'm Liliana Maria Percy Riz, and that's Eric Deggans, NPR's TV critic and media analyst.
I was complaining to Eric about feeling really overwhelmed by the number of tv shows currently streaming right now, and even more so about the number of streaming service platforms out there to choose from.
There are just so many, and their ever changing options and subscriptions cost make it feel hard for me to decide which to sign up for.
What's happened is that people just have always been very concerned about price, and we've reached a point in streaming where they're going to increase prices, and they're also, by the way, going to slim down the amount of content that they have on their services.
And people have to really ask some tough questions about which streaming services do I want, which do I want to get rid of, and which do I want to see only on an occasional basis.
In this episode of Life Kit, I talk with Eric about where the streaming service industry is at right now and how to choose the right service specifically for you.
Because these services add up, they can become a whole category in your budget.
So whether you're a sports fan, a news junkie, or a movie lover like me, Eric gives us the tips to get the most out of our entertainment.
Eric, so why has it gotten so complicated to choose which streaming services you want to watch?
Well, basically, the way I try to describe it for people is that when streaming services really kind of kicked into gear, it was this sort of blissful infancy where they debuted, and they had low prices.
They had pretty straightforward content.
Disney created Disney plus, and you knew everything.
There was going to be Disney and Marvel and Netgeo, and their main goal was to get as many subscribers as quickly as possible.
And Wall street was lined up behind that.
So these companies had money to burn.
Now we've reached this much more fitful adolescence where streaming services have to show Wall street that they're at least on the road to turning a profit, and they also have to make more money.