LOS ANGELES — They say what comes around goes around, and this insight on the cyclical nature of things now seems to aptly apply to the world of premium online content driven by next-gen streaming services.
In the early days of the adult internet, paysites were all the rage — if you wanted porn, you paid for it — but that business model did not persist in the face of competition from free porn providers, coupled with the rise of piracy and economic malaise, for a one-two-three knockout punch. Consumers no longer saw the need to pay for digital media of any kind, harming the industry as a whole.
That situation has been steadily changing, however, as better content, better user interfaces, and better pricing comes into play — and with mainstream media powerhouses jumping on the paysite bandwagon consumer attitudes are evolving once again.
Education and experience have taught today’s fans that content must be paid for one way or another — either directly via membership fees and subscriptions, or indirectly, by viewing advertisements along with content, in the same way that print, radio and television viewers have done for years. For a growing number of surfers, however, ads suck more than paying for content does.
Enter premium ad-free versions of sites such as YouTube, Hulu, and FX Now, home of popular television and exclusive programming.
The new FX Now streaming service, launched in partnership with Comcast, is now available to Xfinity TV subscribers for a monthly fee of $5.99. It is an intriguing partnership at a reasonable price point, echoing AMC’s earlier $5 per month AMC Premiere streaming service, also in conjunction with Comcast.
As with Hulu+ and YouTube Red, these prices are far below the typical $19.95 to $39.95 per month that traditional adult paysites charged, pointing the way for adult emulators. It is also important to note that FX Now does not deliver the company’s entire library — at least not yet — making another sales point that large-libraried porners might be inspired by.
Further enhancements to the service are expected, including a complete rollout for 2018 boasting more than 1,100 original episodes spanning 15 years of programming, along with offline downloads, as well as 4K support.
It is all a step towards a future that looks a lot like the past — where people will once again pay for porn.
