It's been popular to "cut the cord" and just buy the programming that you want to see - but that option is about to get more expensive.
That's because when you were buying from a cable or satellite provider, you were buying a volume discount. In short, it was cheaper to buy channels that you didn't watch in order to get the channels that you did. As time goes by, multiple streaming services will offer exclusive content ONLY on a specific platform and you'll need to buy EACH service separately in order to get the programming you want.
Case in point:
Disney's “The Incredibles 2” is heading to Netflix….briefly.
The animated movie will be added to the streaming site in January, right before Disney's contract with Netflix ends. The sequel to 2004's “The Incredibles” came out in June, and grossed over one billion dollars at the worldwide box office.
January 30 will be the first day to stream the movie and when Disney rolls out it’s streaming service next year, all Disney produced TV shows and movies will move to that service.
I am likely to buy the Disney service because of all the content that Disney controls. But what do I give up? Netflix? Hulu? Prime Streaming? There will be only more choices in the future - each with its own price tag.