For many college students, every penny counts. Funding is scarce when it comes to luxuries such as entertainment. Watching movies has historically been pricy, requiring either a $10 ticket at the theater, a $7 rental charge when the movie comes out on DVD, or the full price of purchasing the movie for approximately $20.
But with online streaming through websites such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, viewing movies and television shows has become an everyday activity for anyone with a few extra dollars a month and Internet access.
“Netflix lets me watch thousands of movies and shows for less than buying one DVD a month. I can even watch foreign films for my French class without having to hunt them down online,” said Katheryn Kendrick, a first-year student at Southern Methodist University.
Many students have opted to use streaming sites in place of cable or satellite subscriptions. In fact, cable subscriptions have been declining throughout the United States over the past few years. According to research firm SNL Kagan, the number of Americans who pay for satellite or cable fell by more than a quarter of a million people in 2013. Netflix, however, gained 23.1% more subscribers from 2012 to 2013, according to Netflix’s U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
“If students factor in their entertainment costs, Netflix and other streaming sites could save them a substantial amount of money vs. a cable or satellite subscription. I’ve found Netflix in particular to be practically universal among my students the last couple of years…though I still think most of them still have a cable or satellite subscription,” said Southern Methodist University film professor Derek Kompare.
Where a typical Time Warner cable and Internet package costs approximately $40 per month, an unlimited amount of streaming through Netflix costs $7.99 per month. Netflix is also now able to compete with cable by releasing its own original series with shows like “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black.”
Kompare teaches a class on media and culture, where he is able to discuss with his students what types of media they’re consuming and how often they’re consuming it. Kompare says he has seen a shift in the way students watch film and television since the rise in popularity of streaming sites.
“Students seem very likely to pick particular shows to follow, and due to streaming binge-watch them when they get a chance versus only catching a few episodes here and there. Students are busy, but highly flexible, in that, unless they’re working, they’re much more able to set aside a whole evening, day, or even weekend to watch many episodes in a row,” Kompare said.
So Netflix subscribers are not only enticed by the low price, but also by the convenience of watching exactly what they want when they want.
“I find that I spend significantly less money than I normally would going to a movie theater to see films when I can just stream movies from an online library on Netflix,” said Jayson Salomon, a sophomore at Southern Methodist University.
Netflix is, however, planning on a price increase. CEO Reed Hastings said in a webcast that there will be a one or two dollar hike.
