Lowkey the gaming industry helped set the stage for all of this years ago. Charging people 9.99 for xbox Live memberships, 9.99 for playstation plus, charging season passes for any game worth a damn + micro-transactions...
Now we're seeing the carry-over to television. 2 weeks ago ESPN pretty much forced people to download/purchase their $5/month app in order to watch that Terrence Crawford boxing fight.. had ppl who already pay for cable furious bc they were like "why i gotta pay for this espn app when i already pay for all these espn channels?!" I was like damn homie, they doubling down on your wallet like that?
Outside of NBA, I don't watch tv and dropped cable 2+ years ago, and i don't do any of those game memberships. Yet it's been clear what's been happening across all entertainment.
10.99/month netflix
9.99/month for music service like spotify or tidal
9.99/month for game membership like xbox or ps4
12.99/month amazon
9.99/month youtube premium
7.99/month hulu
4.99/month espn app
x.99/month dc comics streaming app
x.99/month for disney/marvel app
14.99/month HBO Now streaming
11.99/month Showtime streaming
+ xx.99/month whatever you pay your internet provider
+ xx.99/month whatever you pay your cable provider
+however many other companies/industries are trying to get in on this
That xx.99/month hustle