streaming media

Is the movie theater experience dead? As someone who grew up going to movies multiple times a week - I'm starting to worry that the end is nigh.  I'm aware many have said movies are dead at different times over the past 30 years - and they've all been wrong... but even though I pay a monthly fee for a movie pass that allows me to see multiple movies a week - I find myself unwilling to leave the house.

Part of this is the amount of ads before the film - part is the the number of people who think the movie theater is their living room and proceed to talk through the film - part is the amount of people who are on their phones while the film is going... 

As someone who loves movies, who has made movies and TV all of my adult life - I'm just wondering if the communal experience of sitting together and laughing, crying, screaming and enjoying a great film is something that is quickly becoming a thing of the past.

I wonder....

Do you still go to the movies?  Do you enjoy it?  

If not... 

Why not?

I didn't even know Ben Affleck HAD an AI company. Now Netflix is buying it for $600 million. Photo below - Pirates of the Caribbean, now a Disney+ franchise. Are we circling the drain when it comes to streaming and subscription costs? Where does it end?

Congrats to Netflix on buying an AI cinema effects company nobody ever heard of before, for nearly a billion dollars (see link below. But there's already too much CGI low quality film franchises where the screenwriters seem to have left the building ages ago.

This is a story which could go either way. I could rant about there being too many marginal AI players to eke out a living and survive the coming shakeout. Or I can point out that there is a limit to the number of streaming subscriptions anyone can afford, and the amount hours in a day to enjoy those shows. Let’s focus on how much my entertainment monthly charges are.

Netflix – yes I have this one. $24.99 a month. To get 4K film (when available) and watch on more than one screen. This is March 2026 pricing. Netflix has raised prices annually, amounting to 40% of the past few years. This is no doubt helping to fatten Ben Affleck’s wallet.

YouTube – too many plans to list, even if I had all day. If you go for the top plan, it could cost up to $82 a month. If I cancel Xfinity/comcast subscription then I’d still need comcast Wi-Fi ($50 a month), a price which will surely continue to inflate. If I want “good” comcast Wi-Fi, with better speeds and reliability, it’s gonna cost more.

Xfinity TV package – I’m paying over $100 a month for 2 sets. I have a bunch of things bundled into this, including HBO max, would are available as standalone. Or maybe they are already standalone for me? I can hardly tell. I get several emails/texts a week telling me the apologize for tiling and disruption, and inviting me to upgrade to a faster/more expensive modem. Consumer alert - HBO Max removed "Westworld" from it's on demand streaming. You have to pay per episode, even though it was an HBO show when originally broadcast.

Paramount + - $8.99 a month on my plan. $13.99 if I go ad free. I got this to watch “Star Trek - Strange New Worlds". I think . . . )

Apple TV - $12.99 a month. This is the only way to get Ted Lasso and any of the soccer matches in Europe. I've started watching "Severence". It's very good. But not $156 a year worth of "good".

I believe I also may have Disney +, but I haven’t stumbled into any House of Mouse content recently. Disney owns the entire Star Wars, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Indiana Jones franchises. Does this mean i can only watch re-runs at Disney+ now?

Here are subscriptions I’m pretty sure I have NOT been snared into yet: Hulu, Sling, Fubo, Philo, separate ESPN (I get at least 2 ESPN channels on Xfinity, so I assume it’s bundled); I don’t have a dedicated NFL streaming package. And I don’t have “new” Direct TV, where the dish is gone and they stream their content to my Xfinity modem.

So far I’m up to around $300 a month. Before I factor in my AT&T wireless plan. That’s costing me $50 a month, even with a paid off phone. And I can’t cut my cellular service, even though I NEVER watch TV on my phone, or my tablet.

So – I’m spending $350 a month to watch tv, receive zillions of spam emails, and occasionally make a phone call. And those dozen services get more complex all the time.

Maybe this is the reason many of us have no cash left at the end of the month. It’s all going to wireless entertainment. I don’t have enough free hours in the day to justify all this expense.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

Netflix to pay up to $600 million for Ben Affleck's AI company

Where are you streaming the debate? I usually watch things like this on Hulu, but lately, Hulu has been spotty.