About 40% of Americans have cut back on streaming services in the last three months because of financial concerns, according to a recent report
Americans are quitting subscription streaming services in droves as the cost of living continues to climb, a recent report has found.
Streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu have become increasingly popular in recent years, but Deloitte’s 2026 Digital Media Trends report, released late last month, shows how Americans are getting frustrated over the cost to have their favorite movies and TV shows at the click of a button.
“As the cost of everyday essentials like food and housing remain high, many consumers are reevaluating their budgets and cutting back on nonessential expenditures,” Deloitte said in its survey results. “At the same time, prices for media and entertainment services continue to climb.”
Easier. Cheaper. A better experience. There’s no reason to keep dealing with these particular devils at all.
for nearly a decade now I’ve had enough income that I could afford to pay for content I like. Hell I could even afford to pay for a subscription service on the chance that there was contact I liked on it
a few years back, the experience just became so shitty that I went back to sailing. sure the price gouging, lack of privacy, fucking over the users, and constant search for increased profits were a factor. but the simple fact is it’s easier to sail for me than it is to use streaming services
Yeah, I pretty much hung up my flag for a few years. It was good, you could find the thing you wanted at a reasonable price.
Now, on principle, the only streaming services I will pay for are independent ones. Dropout and nebula off the top of my head. Sorry, Netflix et al, not sorry in the slightest.
so I have access to this streaming service from a person I know, the quality is so shit, so I just sail the seas and actually get higher quality lol.
Ethically I feel like it’s a more defensible position too.
To me it’s like… Piracy is ethically neutral. Not really a good thing not really a bad thing. Streaming services are dealing with the devil, and my name’s not Faust, so I’m out. Pure evil.