UGH: Streaming Bundles Are Here, and You May Need a Ph.D. to Navigate the Options.

Earlier this month, Disney DIS 0.67%increase; green up pointing triangle and Warner Bros. Discovery WBD 1.88%increase; green up pointing triangle announced plans for a discounted package of Disney+, Hulu and Max that will be available this summer. And Comcast CMCSA 0.00%increase; green up pointing triangle on Wednesday will launch a $15-a-month bundle of Netflix NFLX 0.35%increase; green up pointing triangle, Apple AAPL 0.01%increase; green up pointing triangle TV+ and its Peacock service for its Xfinity customers.

More tie-ups are in the works. Bundles are a great way for streamers to expand their reach and reduce the rate of customer defections. Users, meanwhile, get a discount at a time of sharply rising streaming prices, as well as a simplified bill.
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Bundles can help with customer retention, which is a major issue for streaming services. Many users jump back and forth between platforms to watch a specific show, then cancel when they are done.

Offering multiple services as part of one package decreases the likelihood that subscribers will cancel on any given month, according to data from Antenna. The subscriber-measurement company found that most streaming services count about twice as many casual consumers—people who are either past subscribers or have signed up less than six months ago—than long-term users.

Maybe the best part of streaming was that it busted up the cable bundles that forced consumers to pay for dozens (or even hundreds) of channels they never watched to get the few they did.

Now the streamers are bundling their services together to lock customers in the way cable used to. I don’t know if it will work for them but I know I won’t play along. There are plenty of unbundled deals to be had if you shop around for them.