“Hey, what’s the name of that website?”
That was the question my brother asked me. I didn't need any clarification, I knew exactly what he meant. When people come home eager to watch a tv show, they sit in front of the TV scrolling through search results. Then, their phone comes out of their pocket. They search again. They check their subscriptions. Is it on Prime? Ok, maybe available as a rental?
Then you see it. That defeated look on their face as they turn to you and ask:
“Hey, what’s the name of that website?”
I’ve written before about the degraded state of streaming. We went from the convenience of DVDs to the hyper-convenience of early streaming. Now, we’re right back where we started, trapped in a fractured ecosystem of dozens of services. Oh, and a higher monthly fee. The circle is complete.
Piracy is back.