Having a middleman cut out and being able to watch on whatever device you want, whenever you want, is not things staying the same.
My experience of being able to search the TV app on iOS or tvOS or macOS and then being given the option to play, buy, or rent the media is pretty seamless. And subscriptions are simple to cancel, so starting them is not a concern.
Complete opposite of dealing with cable/satellite TV contracts and advertising breaks when watching stuff.
You miss the point. First, no middle man had been eliminated anywhere, the platforms have simply replaced them with better offers for the consumer right now. Secondly, Doctorow's law of enshittification more or less dictates that once users and content creators are locked in, the tech company will start to deliver poorer quality service and squeeze as much revenue as possible out of you.
So currently, sure I can move around and it is better than the cable companies, but the trajectory of where the platforms are headed is not a good one and trending towards behavior more aligned with what the cable companies do.
Ironically a one year contract isn’t even an option for Netflix right now (in the US, can’t speak for other countries). Honestly not sure why, since it seems like it’d be more profitable for them, even with a slight discount.
My experience of being able to search the TV app on iOS or tvOS or macOS and then being given the option to play, buy, or rent the media is pretty seamless. And subscriptions are simple to cancel, so starting them is not a concern.
Complete opposite of dealing with cable/satellite TV contracts and advertising breaks when watching stuff.