Everyone loses when Friends and other big shows and movies leave Netflix

Friends and other big shows and movies are leaving Netflix in the next year or so, and that’s a real bummer for those who want to stream shows and movies at an affordable price.

Over the last few years, Netflix has been losing a lot of licensed content as movies and shows jump to other streaming services like Hulu and Amazon. Unfortunately, it looks like Friends and other shows are in jeopardy of leaving the streaming service soon.

Often, when Netflix loses a big show or movie, the Netflix “fan” response is to shame the streaming network. While that might make sense, it’s not really Netflix’s fault. That anger should be pointed at the distributors deciding to pull their shows and movies off Netflix.

When a show or movie leaves Netflix, subscribers face two bad choices: We can follow that show or movie to a different streaming service like Hulu and Amazon, or we can choose to stay with Netflix and hope something changes in the future.

In the near future, it’s all going to be more complicated, and it’s going to cost subscribers a lot more to continue current streaming habits.

And, it’s going to happen because Netflix doesn’t own a lot of the best shows and movies on the streaming service. They pay the distributor or studio to license them. For instance, Friends is a big show on Netflix, but Netflix is basically paying $100 million to rent Friends for 2019 from Warner Bros. TV, which is owned by WarnerMedia of AT&T.

Netflix, along with help from Hulu, proved how successful streaming services could be. They provided tons of hours of entertainment for a fraction of the price of cable and satellite, and now everyone and their dad want a piece of that pie. There are some big streaming services coming in the near future, and that means we’ll have to pay a lot more to see all, or even some, of our favorite shows and movies.

WarnerMedia is launching their new streaming service later this year. At the unnamed streaming service, they’ll bring together HBO, DC Universe, Turner and all the other Warner properties together under the AT&T umbrella. As mentioned, that means Friends is leaving Netflix soon, along with – probably – all The CW shows, including Riverdale, Arrow, The Flash, Supernatural and more.

Disney+, Disney’s new streaming service, is also launching later this year. There, Disney will stockpile all their shows and movies, including Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, and more, along with all their new shows and movies created solely for the streaming service. Disney, after buying most of FOX, will also control Hulu, and they’ll probably find a way to pair Disney+ and Hulu together. We don’t know a lot about that yet, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t.

In addition, Disney also owns ABC and all their shows could be added to Disney+ in the future. We don’t know how that will shake out, but exclusivity will be key moving forward.

Comcast is starting their NBCUniversal streaming service soon, but we know less about that.

This is the future of TV, and we all lose when the studios start hoarding their shows and movies and bring them to their corners. Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and HBO were decent options, and they all had a good mix of content for a decent-ish price. It’s not as cheap as some may want it, but they are cheaper per month than your cable subscription for the most part. Moving forward, with these major corporations dictating terms, I don’t see the prices going down.

Cord-cutting was a good way to save money, and it still is, for the most part. Unfortunately, that will probably change soon as you’ll have to choose between paying more money to watch all your shows and movies on a variety or streaming services. Or, you’ll have to pick which streaming services you want and miss out on shows and movies available on the streaming services you don’t have.

As Todd VanDerWerff predicted a few years ago, and it’s circulating again today, the future of TV looks like it will have subscription tiers for streaming, much like it does today for regular cable and satellite. You choose your package of channels, or batches of shows and movies, from your local affiliate because the country has already been parceled up by the corporations controlling your access to the internet and TV, and that’s what you get.

While I’m not an expert, I think this is where Net Neutrality comes into play. As the providers increase their investments in streaming, they need ways to make sure they make money. Now, they can legally control your speeds and make you pay more to stream more shows and movies. It might not happen in the next few years, but I don’t know what will stop it from happening in the future.

This is all very boring, but saving money via steaming is about to get more complicated, and that’s bad for all the normal people who just want to watch TV and movies for an affordable price.