We would need compulsory licensing to get even a modicum of competition, and even then the licensing deals will work as a pricing cartel.
There can be no competition if there is copyright involved.
I get that movie studio's don't want to 'flat rate' their premium content. Online movie "purchases" seem to be better covered. You can buy/rent about the same movies from Apple, Amazon and some others but they cover a very small number of popular movies. Older movies like the Criterion collection needs yet another subscription which isn't even available in big parts of the world, especially in the EU there seems to be a copyright clusterf*ck of epic proportions where every member state has it's own rule, regulations and small time film licensing companies making it totally impossible to release niche content. Combined with the demise of disc-based movies (I give it about 10 years before major movies are only streamable) I fully expect an increase in enthusiasts resorting to piracy. It really is a service problem...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Paramount_Pic....
They're trying to not make that mistake again and being forced to actually... compete!
Truth is there can almost never be real competition on any market that isn't raw materials, because there's IP (not just copyright, but patents and trademarks as well) almost everywhere else.
The free market is only for the plebs.
And this almost always comes with reduction in quality. A premium product gets watered down and Walmartified. Happens with cheeses or any other fancy foodstock.
Refusal of United States to recognize European geographical quality marks was one of the reasons why TTIP trade agreement failed (that together with United States wanting Europe to severely reform its legal base for the betterment of American corporations).
That said, businesses absolutely hate this, which is why you see all kinds of methods being applied to uncommodify goods, or ensure they never become commodities in the first place. Exclusive licensing deals for media content is just one of the more egregious examples, but then there are all forms of soft bundling and integrations happening in physical space too.
Laundry detergent companies have actually been spending billions in ads over multiple decades to manipulate you into caring about it though.
> That said, businesses absolutely hate this, which is why you see all kinds of methods being applied to uncommodify goods
Exactly.
That's a lawsuit from the anti-trust commission that I'd love to see. They can't own movie theaters, after all.
I think it’s pretty exciting; competing to offer better product can lead to better results than competing to offer cheaper product.
I.e. the only thing they aren't competing on is the one that matters.
Shows are not substitutable. If I want to watch Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, I won't be interested in watching Mandalorian or The Boys instead. Especially if I've already seen the other two.
I'm not sitting there trying to decide between Avengers: Endgame and some Sundance premiere. And the denigration of people who like MCU/action movies in general that tends to come with these critiques is really not helpful. I like a good indie film and a good blockbuster. My life has room for Tangerine and Black Panther.