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Republished here, as AI content is in the Public Domain. References are available in the original article.
Frustrated by rising subscription costs and fragmented content availability, viewers worldwide are returning to piracy at unprecedented levels, reversing years of progress made by affordable streaming services. Recent data from London-based monitoring firm MUSO shows piracy visits skyrocketed from 130 billion in 2020 to 216 billion by 2024, with the industry facing projected losses exceeding $113 billion.
Subscription Fatigue Drives Digital Exodus
The streaming landscape has transformed from Netflix’s early promise of “everything in one place” into what critics call “Cable 2.0”—a fractured ecosystem requiring multiple subscriptions. According to The Guardian, the average European household now spends close to €700 annually on three or more video-on-demand subscriptions. With Netflix’s standard plan reaching $15.49 monthly and competitors following suit, consumers are increasingly viewing piracy as a rational alternative.
“Piracy is not a pricing issue, it’s a service issue,” Valve co-founder Gabe Newell observed in 2011—a prediction that appears prophetic as streaming platforms struggle with content fragmentation and rising prices. In Sweden, birthplace of both Spotify and The Pirate Bay, 25% of people surveyed admitted to pirating content in 2024, predominantly driven by those aged 15 to 24.
Content Wars Create Consumer Casualties
The fragmentation crisis has worsened as studios create exclusive content silos. Viewers face scenarios where favorite shows vanish from one platform only to appear on another, or require separate purchases despite existing subscriptions. Even purchased content can become unavailable due to licensing disputes, prompting consumer lawsuits against platforms like Amazon Prime Video.
MUSO data reveals that unlicensed streaming now accounts for 96% of all TV and film piracy, representing a fundamental shift in how content theft occurs. Modern pirates leverage sophisticated tools including AI-driven search engines and encrypted networks that adapt faster than anti-piracy measures can respond.
Industry Scrambles for Solutions
Streaming executives are experimenting with bundled offerings and cracking down on password sharing, but these measures often backfire by further alienating users. According to Antenna research, one-quarter of U.S. streamers are “chronic churners,” frequently canceling subscriptions due to cost and frustration.
The resurgence marks a stark reversal from the mid-2010s when convenient, affordable streaming services nearly eliminated piracy. As one industry analyst noted, studios have created “artificial scarcity in a digital world that promised abundance”, suggesting that without addressing core affordability and access issues, the piracy revival may continue reshaping entertainment consumption patterns.
If only there was a simple solution that makes 95% of people return to watch their shows for a reasonable price in one place… no that can’t be it, its the pirates fault…
Counter argument - one place means a monopoly which, when run in a capitalist society, does more harm than good. In addition, when you spread low subscription cost among multiple providers it makes it harder to recoup costs.
Counter-counter argument - we have a lot of trash being made. We can do without a lot of reality TV. Id opt for less choice with higher quality than a lot of choice where you have to dig for gems.
With that out of the way, as a customer I would love to have my content in one place as it makes it easier.
It wouldn’t necessarily result in a monopoly. There are several competing music streaming services which all have essentially the same catalog.
Alternatively, a public state-run monopoly would work.
Exclusive licenses for content is a large part of the problem.
Counter-Counter-B Have all seperate providers enlist in “OUR SHARED STREAMING SERVICE TM” , and have them be payed out per viewed minute. There’s more then one way to get all the media together, and if I can spit one out in 3 minutes, they could too.
Would be insane if all the music labels had their own service. Luckily, in the music industry exclusivity is not such a normal part of the commercial landscape. It can be done, it’s just that they somehow don’t want it (for video).
Wat. Try to make a streaming service and get any artist that has signed with a label already to go on your platform. You’re gonna find out very quickly how much exclusivity there is.
Yeah well there’s suddenly a whole lot of streaming services and yet prices are only going up. No one seems to fight the price war that would favour the customer as the theory dictates in open markets…
Because they’re not competing to get our business for the same product, they are monopolies of their own protected content that only they can sell us each. It needs legislation and regulation to prevent it from continuing
I agree, but also, this is capitalism, of course there will always be competitors trying to do it better. So should have Netflix been the only service allowed to stream videos? It was a simpler time when it was the only viable service.
Except we’re not getting competition, we’re getting a market sliced by exclusivity. There’s no incentive to do better, there’s only incentive to carve out a content monopoly so people who want to watch a show you control must use your platform.
simple solution is to have all content be on all platforms so consumers have a choice what to fund. Simple answer to “but capitalism”. Now the only winners are pirates and platforms are crying over “lost revenues” they never would have had anyway.
There won’t always be competitors. Monopolies exist in the open and in secret. Competition and making things better are from the past.