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Originally Posted by MadManofBethesda
Yeah, but you pay (or used to pay) for Netflix. Wouldn't that be analogous?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MadManofBethesda
I'm familiar with Netflix; in fact, we watched a documentary last night that was streamed directly to our SmartTV from Netflix. But don't undersell, HBO & Showtime; they are much more than pay-for-movie channels (which is why we pay for them in addition to paying for a Netflix subscription).
But the point is, we're talking about what services one would pay for. Subscribing to Netflix is paying for the same service that one pays for when one subscribes to a premium tv channel. The difference is in the cost for that service, not in the service itself.
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Relative expense is germane to the discussion. There is a HUGE difference between paying $8 a month for Netflix and having to pay for cable TV plus the premium fee for HBO or Showtime. The average cost of basic cable plus one premium channel is $60 per month. I have lived places where basic cable plus one premium channel would have cost me $100 per month.
From the point of view of both flexibility and of relative expense, Netflix is nowhere near "analogous" to pay channels on cable.
Now for me, I WILL have internet access no matter what. So, the $8 additional fee to get Netflix is NBD. It's chickenfeed.
However, I have no use for basic cable. So the extra $40 to $80 for basic cable plus another $20 for a premium channel is a complete waste of money.
Its all relative. If you are going to have cable anyway, the extra $20 for a premium channel may be chickenfeed to you, especially if you don't want internet access (which I doubt will be the case for anyone on this forum, but who knows).