Ok. It is an idea and some would probably take advantage of it, but I don’t think it would keep people home.
U.S. Senator ANGUS KING . . . an Independent from Maine . . . came up with an interesting idea to keep people at home during the holidays and to avoid gatherings: FREE STREAMING.
King has written a letter to all six of the largest streaming services asking them to make their platforms free over the holidays.
He’s arguing that if people have complimentary access to Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+, they’ll be encouraged to stay at home and BINGE.
As far as we know, he hasn’t received any responses yet.
There are a few complications to King’s plan: For one, what do you do for people who are already subscribers? After the year we had, it’s fair to assume that a good number of people have at least two or three of them.
If the paywall is dropped for non-subscribers . . . naturally, paying customers will want something out of it too.
Also, streaming services are currently trying to make MORE money on the extra traffic. Netflix and Hulu recently raised their prices, and Disney+ is about to.
HBO Max recently shut down free trials because they’re about to start releasing blockbusters from WarnerMedia like “Wonder Woman 1984”.
They’re hoping to recoup money that they’re losing from the lack of theatrical releases by adding PAYING subscribers . . . so it’s hard to see them allowing it to stream for free.
Finally, people have already been staying at home streaming for NINE MONTHS now . . . they know about that option.
If they’re willing to go out now . . . when numbers are spiking to their highest levels across the country . . . you’re going to need a fresher incentive.
