#streaminganxiety

[cobblecord]

Does Netflix Still Deserve a Place in Your Online Streaming Mix?

Netflix announced its newest price hike from $9.99 per month to $10.99 per month for its standard service, and the entertainment press has been aflutter ever since.

From a business perspective, it makes sense. With its U.S. subscriber growth slowing and its stock price taking a hit, a rate increase is not such a surprising move to help the streaming behemoth meet its financial goals. However, this may be the worst time for them to do it. With the launch of many new entrants, the streaming space has become much more competitive.

While this is not such good news for Netflix, I’d argue that it’s a boon for consumers and provides the perfect chance for you to think about streamlining or expanding your online streaming mix.  Here are some elements to consider.

Value

Price is arguably the biggest issue for online streamers, however, value is really at the heart of price. But determining the value of a streaming service is not necessarily black and white. It’s a unique and personalized calculus for each individual based on things like: amount of titles, quality and uniqueness of content, device availability, genre/category selection, UI, free trial options and play-back quality. Often, these are moving targets.

Content rights are a particularly thorny area. Just ask Netflix. Although they’ve shifted their content strategy to rely more heavily on originals, they have also lost some important network libraries, most recently Disney and Fox. Parents who were thankful to park their young children in front of well-known Disney titles via Netflix were positively freaking out when they heard that it was going away. This certainly warrants taking a look at other child-friendly streaming options available (and by the way, there are quite a few).

Choice

Netflix launched its online streaming business over 10 years ago. A LOT has happened in those 10 years, including the launch of literally hundreds of other viable streaming services, and thousands of less than viable ones.  

Netflix has over 50 million U.S. subscribers, many of whom are long term customers who don’t even notice the low-profile monthly charge buried somewhere on their credit card statement. However, it’s now become a higher-profile charge, and chances are several other similar charges have now been added to that statement.

As the CEO/Founder of CobbleCord, a free website and app that helps users cobble together their own personalized online streaming combination, people are often tell me how surprised they are when they go through CobbleCord's recommendation process and Netflix isn't in their recommendation set (although they've been a long-time Netflix subscriber).  I say, "There have been a lot of changes in the streaming space since Netflix launched and you subscribed. It may not be the best choice for your streaming mix anymore. There are so many more options out there now, it's definitely time to reexamine your choices."  

There are now online streaming services (both free and paid) for just about every possible interest you could have. Sports, documentaries, family, teens, cars, art-house films, etc. The list goes on and on. Plus a slew of general interest aggregators have launched in the last year.  Is Netflix still as necessary to your streaming portfolio as it once was? Isn’t it time to take another look and perhaps broaden your horizons?

Time

Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings, himself said that Netflix isn’t competing with other services, but with sleep. It’s certainly true that there has been proliferation of great, high quality programming available to stream and the firehose of high-quality content just keeps on gushing. Yet there are only 24 hours in the day.  

This can cause a degree of ‘streaming anxiety’ -- when compelling new content becomes available but you fear that you don’t have enough time to watch it because your streaming list is already too long. Culling or rejiggering your streaming subscriptions helps you reduce ‘content clutter’. This allows you to better surface and discover the most current and appropriate choices out there for your particular likes.

The ABCs of Streaming

With all the options now available, you do yourself a disservice if you don’t periodically revisit your streaming needs and choices. The best part of cutting the cord is getting and paying for exactly what YOU want to watch. You can now create your own Meta-Bundle™ -- the perfect combination of streaming services for YOU – without being bound by the seemingly arbitrary packages of the cable era.  

The rapid-fire changes happening all around you in the streaming space can be confusing, but they also create an invitation to play a more active role in the ongoing management of your entertainment. New startups like CobbleCord help you navigate the chaos by keeping an eye on the many dynamics of the streaming ecosystem, so you don’t have to. We translate those dynamics into a proprietary algorithm that generates a free, personalized entertainment recommendation.  

When it comes to getting the most out of your entertainment dollar, it doesn’t have to be that difficult. Just remember to follow the ABCs of streaming – Always Be Cobbling – so that you continue to keep your streaming mix as vibrant and relevant as possible.

--Virginia Juliano is the Founder & CEO of CobbleCord, a free website and App that helps users cobble together a personalized combination of paid and free streaming services based on their content, device, internet and price preferences. Visit www.CobbleCord.com to get the most out of your streaming choices.