# Are We Capturing consumer Surplus in Streaming?

By [Normie Take](https://paragraph.com/@mynormietake) · 2025-10-16

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I’ve been thinking about how outdated streaming pricing feels — compared to gaming.  
  
🎮 In gaming, they’ve figured out consumer surplus: some players (the “whales”) willingly spend hundreds through in-app purchases, limited drops, or skins, etc. The model lets them express that willingness to pay.  
Streaming once had its own version through windowed releases — pay more for early access — but gave that up for simplicity: one flat monthly fee for everything.  
  
Now, ad tiers are supposed to bring back pricing flexibility. But here’s the question — do they really capture more surplus, or less?  
If I’m a heavy watcher on an ad tier, am I actually generating more ARPU than someone on a higher-priced ad-free plan? Or did the service just give me a cheaper option I would’ve paid more for if that were the only choice?  
  
📺 Maybe the economics are just different. Gaming and live events thrive on variable pricing and a few high-spending users. Streaming, meanwhile, relies on scale — millions of moderate-paying users, not whales.  
But in a world where people cancel or pause subscriptions right after their favorite show ends, are streamers even capturing any surplus?  
The consumer has become too smart — they pay for what they want, binge, and leave, often getting more value than what they paid for.  
  
So what if we started rethinking pricing itself — more like gaming?  
\-- Could Disney sell Marvel Coins to access Marvel content across any platform like Disney+, Hulu, or even elsewhere?  
  
\--What if platforms offered prepaid or weekly passes, so users pay upfront without the free trial trap — and can later convert that to a longer plan?  
  
\--Could studios price content categories differently based on fandom or viewing elasticity, instead of using one-size-fits-all pricing?  
  
Just thought starters — ways to show how streaming could evolve beyond “flat fee forever.” Or is to too late?  
  
I think its about designing systems that let consumers express their willingness to pay — just like in gaming.

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*Originally published on [Normie Take](https://paragraph.com/@mynormietake/are-we-capturing-consumer-surplus-in-streaming)*