Television has completely taken over our lives. Everyone is always talking about their new favorite movie or series they just binged watched for 12 hours. People have always watched television, but as technology advances so does consumer preference. TV programs started as something that allowed the family to come together around dinner time, and now they’re more of a solo thing we do in the comfort of our couch or bed.
There are three main reasons why streaming services have become so popular in recent years. The three reasons are cost, convenience and variety. Streaming services are cheaper than cable/satellite and are more convenient to operate while providing more variety in programming options. The only thing that could make streaming services better is if it was free.
According to BuzzFeed’s article by news reporter Katie Notopoulos, “This Site Lets You Stream Free Netflix, HBO, And Hulu, But They Choose What You Watch,” there is a new site that lets you watch these streams for free but there is a catch. The catch is that it gets to control what you’re watching, taking away the perks of variety and convenience. For some that are indecisive on what to watch, this may be a beneficial service for them.
All of the streams were made by MSCHF, a confusing company that makes viral internet stunts like Newer Times Roman, a font that’s just slightly larger than regular New Times Roman to help students meet their length requirements on term papers. Employees at MSCHF choose what to play on each channel and will also take requests over a text line. “How is this all legal?” is the question that kept ringing in my mind.
Whaley said that MSCHF is paying for a subscription to each service and if the company gets a notice to take down the streaming, from any of these companies, it will comply. Now with that being said, I took this information and interviewed three people as to their familiarity with this service and how they feel about it.
I wanted to diversify the audience to who I interviewed. I wanted diversity in age, gender and lifestyle. I interviewed my female little cousin who is 13 and hip to all the new trends. My second interview was with a young gay man who is 20 and works a lot but also enjoys good TV. My final interview was a 38-year-old mother, who still watches cable television. Here is the dialogue of each interview below:
Interview #1 (13 year old)
Me: Do you like watching TV?
Taylor: Yes duh.
Me: Do you watch cable or other streaming services?
Taylor: What are streaming services?
Me: It’s like Netflix and Hulu.
Taylor: Oh yes I love Netflix and Disney plus
Me: Which streaming services do you enjoy watching the most?
Taylor: That hard but Netflix has more shows
Me: Did you know there is a new free service where you can stream Hulu, Netflix, HBO, and Amazon Prime for free?
Taylor: No
Me: The only catch is they control what shows you watch from each stream. Would you still use this service?
Taylor: Yes
Interview #2 (20-year- old college student)
Me: Do you like watching TV?
Amir: Noooo…… of course, I do!
Me: Do you watch cable or other streaming services?
Amir: Streaming services. I haven’t watched cable since living with my parents
Me: Which streaming services do you enjoy watching the most?
Amir: Hulu and Netflix
Me: Did you know there is a new free service where you can stream Hulu, Netflix, HBO, and Amazon Prime for free?
Amir: Is it legit?
Me: The only catch is they control what shows you watch from each stream. Would you still use this service?
Amir: If it’s free for me, so yes!
Interview #3 (A Traditional Mother)
Me: Do you like watching TV?
Mara: Sometimes (she watches TV all the time)
Me: Do you watch cable or other streaming services?
Mara: Cable but I would like to watch this one show on Netflix I heard about.
Me: Which channels on cable do you enjoy watching the most?
Mara: The local news channels, HGTV, and Food Network
Me: Did you know there is a new free service where you can stream Hulu, Netflix, HBO, and Amazon Prime for free?
Mara: No how do I get it?
Me: The only catch is they control what shows you watch from each stream. Would you still use this service?
Mara: Yes, can you set it up for me?
After conducting three separate interviews asking the same questions, the responses were all the same. None of them knew about the services. However, each interviewee was interested in the free streaming services this company provided. This service provided by MSCHF, takes the traditional route of playing whatever show at a set schedule time while playing shows on platforms not available on typical cable services.
However, I don’t think this will last long. People are going to get bored with not having more variety. People who use platforms like Netflix and Hulu. The fact that this service is free will appeal to large crowds at first. But won’t retain them. For those that it does retain, it won’t be too long until Netflix and other streaming platforms catch the wind and get it to shut down, due to it not being legal due to copyright laws.
