In the past, not everything was better, by no means. An example? The latest and coolest movies and TV series only came to us over the pond months, sometimes even years later. But thanks to Netflix and the streaming services, this is no longer true, is it? Far from it, the dark age is coming again – my topic of today’s GIGA weekend column.
The streaming services not only promised an enormous variety of content, they also stood for worldwide, simultaneous availability. There were no more waiting times for the German or the European market. So the future looked bright, during the corona pandemic, cinema premieres were even held worldwide at Netflix and Co. But this seems to be over, the diversification of the market requires further sacrifices.
Netflix and Co. cause frustration: New Star Trek and DC series without German launch
Due to the large number of streaming services, which then do not always appear uniformly in all markets, we are now threatened with a return to old and terrible conditions. A current example: Unfortunately, I can’t officially see the latest and currently also best Star Trek series (IMDb rating 8.1 out of 10) in this country. In contrast to “Star Trek: Discovery” and “Star Trek: Picard”, there is not even a German launch date for “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds”, let alone a new home. Currently only available on Paramount+ in the US.
Does it make you want more? Well, bad luck … Strange New Worlds will not run in Germany for now:
Just where will the consequences run here? On Netflix, like Discovery? Probably not, the last season and all the others already disappeared from there, were then sold with advertising on the linear streaming television of Pluto TV. And Picard ran on Amazon, but probably only because the contracts still forced it. Strange New Worlds, on the other hand, is probably being held back for a German launch of Paramount+.
Not the only example, because with “Peacemaker”, the first and not only therefore best series (IMDb rating 8.4 out of 10) of the DC Extended Universe already ran in the USA at the beginning of the year. For Germany, there is still no information when and where the HBO Max series is coming to us. Maybe to Sky, maybe even to RTL +, after they have made a corresponding deal? Who knows.
And also “Peacemaker” with John Cena has no German launch date yet:
Is it legal? Welcome to illegality
Only one thing is clear: The disorderly offer of countless streaming services causes frustration and drives users back into illegality. If there are not even legal, uncomplicated ways of consumption, then you might get the content right away in the dark areas of the Internet. Not everyone knows about VPN services (watch NordVPN) or shies away from them so far.
My thoughts on the weekend: The column wants to provide food for thought and reflect the “news flood” of the week towards the end. A small selection of the previous articles of the column:
A situation in which all participants end up losing, the potential customers, but of course also the streaming providers. In the end, they no longer get enough users willing to pay and sooner or later have to give up again. Why does everyone have to cook their own soup? In the past, so not quite earlier, it might have been better after all. There was a maximum of one or two streaming services. Today there are far too many and the good content can still not be consumed legally. You can’t make it up.