This could have some major effects on how we watch, aside from just making it more expensive.
The FCC could end up classifying Prime, Netflix, Disney+, etc., as cable companies.
Some serviceslike Apple TV, for examplemight not be there yet, but I think they’ll get there.
TV Ads.Jeffery Coolidge / Getty Images
But it’s kind of always been that way.
You might pay for cable TV, but you’ll still see ads during movies and shows.
So why are streaming companies doing this now?
Streaming Television Shows.0meer / Getty Images
Money, obviously, but why not just jack up the subscription prices?
Because advertisers are willing to pay way more than you would ever consider.
Creating TV shows and movies and operating a streaming service is expensive.
And that could have some rather drastic side effects.
There are two big advantagesapart from the lack of ads tointernet-streaming services versus regular cable.
The FCC closely controls cable, whereas internet TV is notyet.
The FCC may end upregulating them just like cable.
But that won’t help if the quality of shows drops.
