It all started so promisingly. When Netflix launched in the Netherlands in 2013, you suddenly had access to loads of films and TV shows for EUR7.99 a month. A bargain!
A few years later, Netflix had become huge and streaming services started popping up everywhere. The Netherlands was the first test country for Disney+, and for EUR6.99 you could browse through that wonderful Disney catalogue. For TV lovers, the streaming age felt like paradise: for just a few euros you could watch an enormous amount of films, shows and documentaries within seconds.
No waiting for downloads. No messing around with torrents or sketchy websites. Just pick something and press play.
But in 2025, that promised land mostly feels like endlessly jumping between streaming services, ever-rising subscription costs and choice overload.
Prices Are Getting Ridiculous
In the Netherlands we now have a lot of streaming services. Every big media company seems to have its own app. Here, the big ones are Netflix, Disney+, Videoland, Apple TV+, SkyShowtime and HBO Max. Between them you can watch things like The Last of Us, Ted Lasso, MobLand, The Mandalorian and Stranger Things. Something for everyone.
But if you subscribe to all of them, preferably with the best plan because obviously you want 4K, you are now paying EUR99.94 a month. That is roughly EUR1,200 a year. You can go on a pretty decent holiday for that.
It has become absurd, and you know it will not stop here.
Prices have been rising for years. Last week, Disney+ and HBO raised their prices again. The usual explanation is that producing films and shows keeps getting more expensive. Sure. Everything is getting more expensive. Groceries, energy, breathing. At this point you can sell a kidney for just about anything.
But when prices rise by an average of 33%, we are not talking about inflation anymore. That is just squeezing your customers because you know they need your service to watch their favourite show.
The Power Of Originals
Back in the day, you just watched whatever was on TV. Or you went to the video store and picked a few films. These days, the choice is endless. Not everything is on one service anymore. Content is scattered across all these different platforms.
Streaming services make deals with distributors to offer certain films and shows, but those deals expire all the time. One day you are happily watching Parks and Recreation on Prime Video, the next day you are cursing Jeff Bezos because it vanished before you could finish it.
And that is not even the biggest problem. The real problem is originals.
Of course it is great that so many good shows are being made. But originals give streaming services even more power. If you want to watch the final season of Stranger Things, you are simply going to pay that EUR18.99 to Netflix. Or more, once they raise it again.
And they can do that, because everyone and their mother wants to finally see how that story ends.
Just Call Me Jack Sparrow
I am done. I am not doing it anymore. I am not paying that much money every month for all those services.
So we cancelled everything except Netflix and Videoland. Netflix still has the biggest library, and Videoland has all the reality TV chaos I do not want to miss. Everything else? Well, just call me Jack Sparrow from now on.
Streaming used to be the promised land. It offered convenience. You could watch a film or a show without much fuss. It made piracy almost unnecessary, because streaming was easier and the library was big.
But apparently convenience has a price.
So I guess we will just have to put in a little more effort again.