cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/35892866
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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.
Try paying for 4k streaming service then realising your restricted to 480 because youre using Linux. Screw that fraudulent advertising. Unsubscribed.
Hey, the Supreme Court said it’s cool for LLMs to pirate stuff for their bullshit so it’s free game. I’m not paying for shit. Just like that bullshit article that has been posted, which I won’t open
I am working on a prototype purely organic LLM called myself. In order to be able to interact with prompts that include popular media references I will train the model on TV shows and movies.
Large Brain Move
Training can be reinforced by opining on said media at work, with friends and online. Feedback from these other models in the form of their own wrong opinions about the media reinforces one’s own model to always be right.
I guess to further the science of organic LLMs I should hope that more people develop their own using my methods.
I find this so ironic. For so many years the US has been sort of the anti-piracy centre of the world. Now their just blatantly allowing piracy for the sake of progress.
“progress”? I think you mean “profit”.
There’s nothing really progressive about LLMs. But, some people are making a lot of money and others are pouring money in and hoping for a big payday.
my jellyfin library is cuter than netflix anyway
My local has a higher % of shit i want to watch in higher quality with better uptime and less bullshit. Maybe larger total library by now, too.
We may put up our hats for a while, but we never pull in the sails.
Translation: I’m more than happy to pay for a fair service, but I’m not stupid enough to believe it will last.
Hopefully this won’t get me too much negative reaction: I’m not a proud pirate. I’d rather not pirate at all. I’m kind of ashamed that it’s come to this.
There were a few solid years where I literally did not do it and felt no desire to, back when streaming was new, and there were only a few serious players. I’d love to return to that era, but I know it will never exist again.
So now, I and other members of my family, pay a ridiculous amount of money for a rotating suite of services, trying to do things the right way, and still, there are way too many times when we can’t find anything we want to watch on any of those services and/or the thing we wanted to watch is not available on any of those services.
Finally broke down and just said fuck it. I tried to support this mess as best I could in hopes it would get better, but fully knowing it wouldn’t. When it definitely did not get better I said no more.
you could account share? most services banned account sharing last year afaik.
and anyway; how is it a bad thing to reject predatory services?
piracy wad literally always a service problem. they solved it by netflix monopoly providing a great service people wanted and piracy was practically dead for an entire decade - then they all got greedy and we’re all headed back to piracy.
the solution here seems pretty obvious, and i think even the execs are aware of it.
It literally is. They solved music piracy by adopting all in one licensing with services like Spotify. If they released a subscription platform that included all movies and tv shows for a reasonable price I’d instantly sub. Instead we get the current enshittification mess.
I was recently travelling and tried to sign up for Netflix and couldn’t. Because I didn’t have a phone number in the country I was in. And they block vpns.
You can see where this is headed. Mullvad needs the money more than Netflix anyway.
Here’s a VPN that’s available for free and funded by donations.
I’d say they are providing a better service and need money more than mullvad.
yep, 'been focused on my downloads a lot more as of late, and more storage solutions/expansions as well.
Streaming issues aside, what is this?
Republished here, as AI content is in the Public Domain. References are available in the original article.
Why the hell are we posting this crap instead of linking the original article?
Action?
Reaction.
Choice?
Consequence.
SurprisedPikachu.png
<Insert piracy is a service issue Gaben quote>
I received an email from them last week, telling me my current plan is no longer available and I either switch to a more premium one or a lower ad-driven tier.
That’s atrocious and will be the final nail in my subscription. I’m already running a jellyfin powered infrastructure and I will cancel my Netflix. Screw them, Black Mirror loving MFs.
Edit: wording.
Oh noes! Who could have seen this coming?
/s
sarcasm aside, literally, our lord and savior, Gabe Newell.
Get Stremio setup with a debrid subscription. Stream all your content at better quality than streaming sites
I’ve been using this setup for a bit. Super simple and hassle free. I enjoy self hosting but in terms of simplicity, you really cannot beat Stremio combined with a debrid sub.
😏
Industry Scrambles for Solutions
Anything but solve the main issue: pirate sites offer a better service, with no stupid licensing problems, having everything on a single app and without geolocking bullshit.
When the pirate alternative it’s not just cheaper but also way more convenient, it’s no wonder they are losing customers.
I absolutely love rubbing it in the face of people subscribing to streaming services that I get more content without even having to enter in my credit card info.
Brains > wallets, every time.
Exactly, if they came up with some open standard for payments, subscriptions, so that most users got seamless one stop shopping for all content without barriers the convenience would beat the price.
They don’t have a piracy problem, they have a convenience problem.
It’s so damn stupid. Every time i hear of a new show, I must look for which platform will have it in my country. And also which seasons, because it happens (with old shows specially) that they are fragmented, having some seasons here, some there, and some unavailable.
Then, I open stremio and the whole show is there, a single app with all the content.
Now tell me, if I want to watch that show, what should I do?
Like Gaben said, piracy is service problem.
Netflix: Pay for 4k, max at 720p in Firefox or Librewolf
Trackers: Don’t pay, actual 4k
DRM limiting the quality is the main reason I won’t pay for streaming.
That was my reason for cancelling. I can afford the service, but it better let me stream at full resolution through LibreWolf or I’m just gonna download the movies and shows.
