October 15, 2025 • 29 mins
Need a break from chasing your favorite TV and movie content across eight different services? Join Nicole, Killian and Drew on this episode of Distracted Librarians as they chat about streaming services, the pros and cons, what's out there that you might want to know about and much more!
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Many thanks to BCTV for their support in recording, editing, and releasing this podcast; and to the Friends of the Library for sponsoring closed captioning on every episode.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
- [Nicole] Hey there.
Welcome to the DistractedLibrarians podcast.
We're your friendly neighborhood bookworms
with a penchant
for all things pop culture.
- [Drew] Picture this as
our digital campfire,
where we dive into
our latest obsessions,
analyze our favorite distractions,
and rediscover the joy of reading.
- [Killian] Whetheryou're a media enthusiast,
a book lover,
(00:21):
or just need a break
from the daily grind,
you've come to the right spot.
- [Amanda] So kick back, relax,
and get delightfully distracted with us.
- [Nicole] Hey everybody.
On today's episode
of Distracted Librarians,
we are going to be talking
about streaming services.
I'm Nicole.
- [Killian] I'm Killian.
- [Drew] And I'm Drew.
- [Nicole] All right,
(00:42):
so streaming services.
Drew has been a little bit
of our authority
on streaming services at the Library
because he has been able
to do some presentations for
the local community
and all of that.
So Drew's gonna take
the reins on this one--
- [Drew] Ayyyy- [Nicole] But we will be
here to chat, and yeah.
(01:04):
So streaming serviceversus streaming device?
- [Drew] Streaming service
and streaming device are confusing
when you first enter the game.- [Nicole] Okay, mm hmm.
- [Drew] I like to, in programs,
talk about it as the difference
between a DVD and a DVD player.
- [Nicole] Okay.
(01:24):
- [Drew] Where the DVD is the content
that you're looking for,
and that's the streaming service.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] But you need
a streaming device to play it,
and that can be
your smartphone,
or a tablet or computer,
or a Roku or an Xbox,
what have you.
- [Nicole] Sure, sure.- [Drew] But you need
something to connect
to the thing.- [Nicole] Yeah.
Okay, cool.
Interesting.
(01:45):
Why would people...
Why would they choose streaming services
over a cable package?
- [Drew] There are a lot of pros
and cons to it.
We always say we're not here
to convince you to switch to
exclusively streamingservices or anything.
(02:06):
It's just to open the door
of what's "possible."
- [Nicole] Sure.
- [Drew] So some of the pros
that exist are
the flexibility of the device,
where you can access it
literally anywhere.
- [Nicole] Mm hmm.- [Drew] When you have
a cable service,
it's tied to your home.
Oftentimes, it's tied to the room
that you have the TV hooked up in.
(02:26):
- [Nicole] Sure.
- [Drew] And with streaming services,
I like to watch "TheGreat British Baking Show"
as my lunchtime show--- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] When I'm on lunch breaks here,
so I'll eat in the car--
- [Nicole] Okay.- [Drew] And have it pulled up
on my phone,
sitting on the dashboard for that.
- [Nicole] Cool.- [Drew] When I go traveling,
I can access the same things.
(02:46):
- [Nicole] Sure.- [Drew] You don't lose
the service when you're not
at the home address.
- [Nicole] Yeah, we...
Funny story, when we were in Costa Rica,
we had logged...
We had moved into
our little resort room,
and they had a TV that had everything
that we could have...
We just signed into
our Disney Plus account
and we were watching Disney movies
(03:07):
with my kids in Costa Rica,
and I was like,
"This is the best thing ever."
But then I realized two days later
that I forgot to log out
and I had to call back
and let them know
to log me out so that
other people weren't using our account.
Anyway, so you can
literally go anywhere.
- [Drew] You can do all of that
from the app too.
- [Nicole] Oh, okay.
I guess I could have done that.
- [Drew] Yeah, go in
(03:27):
and disallow access.
- [Nicole] Okay, good call.
Oh my goodness.
- [Drew] But yeah,
streaming services have all kinds
of their own original programming.
They have 24 hour access
to said programming,
which is super convenient
for me and people
in our general career of anything
(03:48):
to do with customer or public service
where oftentimes we don't get home
until nine or 10.
- [Nicole] Right.- [Drew] You know?
- [Nicole] Yeah, I--- [Drew] What are we gonna do
with those?- [Nicole] I really do
not want to go through a menu
and try to figure out how
to watch something on cable.
No, thank you.
- [Killian] The whole process of like,
"Okay, what's even on right now?"
has not been a part of my life
(04:08):
in so long.- [Nicole] Yeah.
- [Drew] Throw back to
little eight year old Drew,
sitting in front of
the TV guide channel--- [Killian] Oh my gosh.
- [Drew] Waiting for--- [Killian] Waiting for it
to scroll.- [Drew] Yeah.
Waiting for it to scroll
to the channels that I'm interested in--
- [Killian] Yeah.- [Drew] Because I'm a child
and only have three channels
I'm allowed to watch.
- [Killian] And thensomething distracts you
and you miss it,
and you have to wait for it
all over again.
(04:28):
Maybe that was just me.
- [Drew] Nope, nope, that...
I swear my mother had
a preternatural ability to know
when the channel listing was at 51,
'cause at my house,
Disney Channel, Cartoon Network,
and Nickelodeon were all right
next to each other.
They were 57, 58, 59.- [Nicole] Uh huh.
Uh huh.- [Drew] And that's all
(04:48):
I was waiting for.
- [Killian] Why does our generation
all know that?
'Cause mine were 44, 46 and 48.
45 was TV Land
and 47 was ABC Family
or whatever iteration it was
at the given time.
And why do I still know that?
- [Drew] God, ABC Family was 53?
- [Nicole] All I remember is VH1 was 29
and MTV was 30.
(05:10):
But that--- [Drew] 63 and 64.
- [Nicole] That dates me right there.
- [Killian] Food Network was 49.
- [Drew] Oh, I hate this for us.
- [Killian] Oh my God.
The turn this has taken.
Wow.
- [Nicole] Well, and so,
this is a situation too
where people that have cable,
they're in a very different situation
where they don't have the freedom
(05:31):
to watch whatever
they just feel like watching.
My kids do not understand
what cable is at all,
to the point...
We've been streaming
since before they were born.
So when my kids go
to my parents' house
and they have cable
and a commercial comes on,
they are livid about having
(05:51):
to watch the stupid commercial that...
You know, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
- [Drew] Oh, yeah.
- [Nicole] Which, now, we have
some commercials and some things...
Some streaming services still do that.
But for the most part,
they did not know what a commercial was
until quite recently.
- [Drew] And even when
they do have commercials,
streaming services will do it
for 30 seconds to--- [Nicole] Right.
- [Drew] The longestI've seen is two minutes,
(06:13):
- [Nicole] Not 5 minutes long- [Drew] It's not
the three-and-a-half minute ad breaks.
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Killian] Craziness.
- [Nicole] Yeah, totally.
And then I have to sit there
and be like, "Children,
"you don't know what it's like
"because I used to have to watch
"all the commercials every single time.
"They'd show you the same thing
"over and over again."
Yeah, but anyway, so...- [Drew] Yeah.
Yeah, so then there are...
There are also some mixed bag type things
(06:34):
for getting into streaming services,
where the cost is something
that could be a huge positive
because cable services can cost
a stupid amount of money,
whereas individual streaming services are
like 10 to 15 dollars.
- [Nicole] Right.
- [Drew] But if you arecollecting streaming services
(06:57):
like Pokemon, and--
- [Nicole] Then you're gonna have
a higher cost.
- [Drew] It's gonna add up--
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Drew] To the point where
I think I have five services.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] I have like 11
that I have accounts with,
but most of 'em are canceled
and I cycle through.
So five or six going
at any given time.
And that adds up to
probably 60 or 70 dollars a month.
(07:19):
- [Nicole] Okay.
Yeah, and sometimes you'll sign up
for one and they'll be like,
"Well, you can get Hulu
"and ESPN for free."
And then you just have
these other things.- [Drew] Yeah.
- [Nicole] And sometimes, you watch them
and sometimes you don't,
and it's kind of like meh.
- [Drew] And the original programming can
also be a double-edged sword
because if I really want
(07:39):
to watch "Stranger Things,"
and "Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,"
and "Hacks," and "The Bear,"
those are all exclusive programming
to their various streaming services.
- [Nicole] Right, right.
- [Killian] And the thing we run into
in libraries is a lot of times,
those exclusives won't come to DVD
for a long time, if at all.
(07:59):
- [Nicole] Okay.- [Drew] Usually not at all.
- [Killian] Yeah.
And so, people wanna see those
but don't wanna pay
for the streaming service,
and we can't help them.
- [Nicole] Yeah, and that stinks
'cause usually we want...
We want everything
to be available to everybody,
but...
- [Drew] And you know, the...
Most streaming services will let you do
a seven day package,
or a seven day early access--
(08:23):
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Drew] Thing
before you start paying for it--
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Drew] To test it.
And I've known people who will do
that seven day package during
a week they have off
and just not leave
their living room--- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] To marathon through everything
that they wanted to watch
from the service without paying for it.
- [Nicole] Totally.- [Killian] The problem is
when those streamers take shows
off of their service.- [Nicole] Yeah.
(08:44):
- [Drew] Tell us more
about "Grease (08:46):
Rise of the Pink Ladies," Killian.
- [Killian] My perpetual grudge
with a certain streamer,
and I canceled my account with them
and then I think
I ended up restarting it.
Oops.
But I did cancel it for a while
over the cancellation
and subsequent removal
of "Grease (09:03):
Rise of the Pink Ladies"
within not very long
of the last episode.
'Cause they were putting
those out sequentially,
it wasn't "Here's a whole season at once."
- [Nicole] Sure.- [Killian] They were putting
them out weekly,
and then they canceled it
before they had
even finished the season.
And then it was within days,
I believe, of finishing the season
that they removed it entirely
(09:23):
from the platform.- [Nicole] That's horrible.
- [Killian] And youcouldn't access it anymore.
- [Nicole] Yeah.
- [Killian] And I was so very upset.
And then, I actually didn't know
that it was gonna come to DVD,
and it did eventually come to DVD.
And Drew was very kind
and left it at my apartment,
just in a bag on my door.- [Nicole] He's like,
"I never wanna hear about this again."
- [Killian] And I screamed.- [Drew] Basically.
(09:45):
- [Killian] Yeah, and you will
still hear about it for forever
because I will forever be angry about it.
- [Nicole] Oh my goodness.- [Killian] In spite
of having it on DVD now.
- [Nicole] Well, one thing that
I have been seeing is
there's this great series
and I'm totally like,
"Oh my gosh, I wanna watch that so bad."
"Mayfair Witches," perfect example.
And we didn't have
the streaming service that...
(10:06):
The platform that it was on.
And they were like,
"Well, you can watch the first episode
"but then you have to sign up
"for our service."
So I stupidly was like,
"Nah, they're not really gonna do
"that to me."
And I watched the first episode
and then I was like,
"Well, now what am I gonna do?
"This is horrible."
I was so mad
and my husband was like, "Well,
(10:26):
"yeah, I don't think
"we really want that one."
I'm like, "Ugh, God."
So eventually it ended up going
to Netflix or something,
and I ended up watching it on Netflix,
but I had to wait like six months
to watch the stupid thing.
Ugh.
- [Killian] My favoritestreaming service is a...
It's becoming more and more mainstream,
which is beautiful to watch happen.
But I found it because of Drew.
(10:49):
Anything I find is always Drew.
But they put the first episode...
Dropout puts the first episode
of each "Dimension 20" season
up on YouTube.
And I think a couple of them,
or at least one of them,
the whole season ends up, up.
- [Drew] Yeah, the first three seasons
that they have--
- [Killian] Okay.- [Drew] I think all of them.
- [Killian] But for a while,
(11:09):
it's like "The firstepisode is on YouTube"
and then you subscribe
if you want to see the rest of it.
But it is also...
Dropout is the only streaming service
that I use on a regular basis.
It is also one of my cheapest,
if not my cheapest, streaming service.
So why I have all
the others still, who knows?
(11:30):
Why I give them money?
- [Drew] Yeah, to explain Dropout
a little more,
there's a whole culture
in British comedy shows of having
a group of 30 or 40 comedians
that they'll pull from
and just pull them into random shows.
They'll go and do like "Taskmaster"
or "Would I Lie to You?"
or what have you,
(11:52):
and Dropout is that aesthetic
where they have like 20 shows
at this point, maybe even more.
- [Killian] I've lost track.
- [Drew] And they just pull
from the same core batch of comedians.
So you can follow
your favorites through shows,
you can learn new favorites
by sticking with a specific show
(12:13):
and just meeting more people
along the way.
- [Killian] And they've expanded
outside their...
Because it started
with College Humor folks,
but they've expanded
and now we're starting to see
like Smosh cast members on
(12:33):
a lot of Dimension 20...
Or not Dimension 20.
Dropout content,
with like "Game Changer,"
and "Dirty Laundry,"
and things like that.
But it's...
I really enjoy just the...
There's a little bit of nerd culture
to a lot of their programming,
and that's a lot of fun for me.
- [Nicole] Cool.
- [Killian] A little bit.
(12:54):
That's an understatement.- [Drew] A little bit.
- [Nicole] All right, so what are
some other bad things
about streaming services?
- [Drew] I mean, someof the rougher things is
the initial cost of setup
for people who aren't
already equipped for it.
You need a certain level
(13:14):
of internet speed to be able
to stream anything,
you need to purchase addi...
Persa...
Purchase initial devices.
I can speak.- [Nicole] Sure.
- [Drew] To be able to do it,
sort of purchasing that DVD player
and figuring out the user experience
(13:34):
that works for you.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] You sort of have to accept
that if you don't have cable,
you can't watch things live
unless you're paying
for premium packages.
So you can pay a good amount of money
to have Hulu Live TV.
You can get specifically CBS
(13:56):
or NBC shows
through Paramount and Peacock
if you pay the premium enough
to watch live TV.
- [Nicole] Sure.
- [Drew] But you have to accept
that you are not going
to be interacting with television--
- [Nicole] In the same way.
- [Drew] In the same way
that our parents would,
but also in the same way
that it's often marketed.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] The "Sunday at8/7 Central" doesn't matter
(14:20):
when you're waiting
for 3:00 AM the next morning
for it to go on the streaming service.
- [Nicole] Yeah.
But I think that
the live television thing is starting
to become more...
We see it a little bit more
in some of the streaming services.
Like, I know on Prime, HBO Max.
I've said in in the past,
my husband and I,
(14:41):
we watch a lot of wrestling,
and so we're able to watch AEW
on HBO Max, and it's live, right?
The time that it would be
on regular television,
and we can watch it that way.
Or pay-per-views, same thing.
- [Killian] And see, my thing is
I am so unaware of
what network TV is anymore,
I don't know what's on
(15:03):
your local NBC channel
or anything like that.
When I was a kid
and would watch Grey's Anatomy,
or CSI, or anything like that,
that was always on one of those,
your CBS, NBC, ABC, whatever.
I don't know what
those shows are anymore.
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Killian] I have no concept
anymore because--- [Nicole] Yeah I have no idea
what's on television.- [Killian] I havent had cable
in almost a decade.- [Nicole] Sure.
(15:23):
- [Drew] I still have the concept of it
but it's because I have Hulu.
So they'll put their list
of newly released episodes,
and I'll see
what's on network television
but it doesn't tell me
the channel it's on.
- [Nicole] Okay.- [Killian] And see,
I have Hulu
but I don't open it,
so I don't see that.
- [Drew] Girl
- [Nicole] And Hulu has a delay, right?
(15:44):
- [Drew] Yes.- [Nicole] Is it
that things post the next day
or--- [Drew] So typically,
things will post,
for us in the East Coast, at 3:00 AM
because it's midnight Pacific Time.
- [Nicole] Oh, okay.
Okay.- [Drew] So it's waiting for
the bulk of the country,
minus Alaska and Hawaii--
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Drew] To be next day.
(16:04):
- [Nicole] Okay, gotcha.
Cool.
I very rarely watch Hulu for anything,
I'm with you, Killian.
I'll go on there
if I'm looking for
something for my kids.
I'll be like, "Is it on here?
"Is it on here?
"Is it..."
And then, I'm poking around,
looking for things,
but yeah, whatever.
Okay, so what do we have at the library
(16:25):
that are streaming services available?
- [Drew] So we have three options for it.
Movies and TV shows exist in Hoopla.
Movies and documentaries exist in Canopy.
And we just got a new service,
probably six months ago,
called "myfilmfriend,"
(16:45):
which is world media.
- [Nicole] Mm.
And that's a newer thing
that we have, right?- [Drew] Mm hmm.
- [Nicole] Okay.
I haven't been able
to poke around on there yet.
- [Drew] It's good.
You can tell that
it's a limited collection
because it's just starting.
When we got our
temporary sign-in account
to test it out as library staff,
(17:08):
they listed all of the libraries
that were current members of it,
and there were eight of them.
- [Nicole] Oh wow.- [Drew] In the country.
- [Nicole] Oh my goodness, okay.
- [Drew] So it's expanded since obviously
as other libraries have gotten on board
and as other productioncompanies become aware
that this is an option to sell
(17:29):
their things to
for a US sort of release.
- [Nicole] Sure.
- [Drew] But it's stilla fledgling enterprise,
if you will.
- [Nicole] Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Cool.
- [Drew] Yeah, we also just have
the library's DVD collection.
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Killian] Yeah.
- [Nicole] Right.
I mean if all else fails,
'cause every once in a while,
there will be something I'm looking for
(17:49):
that is just not streaming.
"Young Frankenstein," hello?
"Young Frankenstein."
Only during like Halloween season will
they put it on streaming services,
but the rest of the time,
you cannot find it.
And I had just watched
the Gene Wilder documentary,
which is a tearjerker by the way.
- [Drew] Yeah.- [Nicole] But
it made me wanna watch that movie,
(18:09):
and I could not find it,
and I was livid.
But the library saves the day.
Yeah, so...
You can always find something
at the library.
- [Killian] There's alsofree stuff out there
just to the general public,
which is most of what I watch,
except for Dropout, which is...
This episode is just that reminder of
(18:30):
I gotta go through my stuff,
but we all know YouTube, I hope.
- [Nicole] Yeah, yeah.
- [Killian] I also watch a lot
of live streaming on Twitch,
which is a little bit different from
most streaming services,
but I watch people playvideo games for fun.
(18:50):
So those work really well for me.
- [Drew] Yeah, there's also Tubi
and Pluto TV.
- [Nicole] Pluto is interesting.
- [Drew] Yeah.- [Nicole] Because that's like
just about as close to cable
as you can kind of get,
where you're able to watch live...
Some kind of live something,
right?- [Killian] Interesting.
- [Nicole] Yeah, and I've found like...
(19:12):
I don't remember.
We were looking for
the "Harry Potter" movies or something
and they weren't streaming at the time,
and I think I was randomly able
to find it on there.
So that was helpful.
- [Drew] Yeah, Pluto is interesting
because it gets really granular.
So they have streaming channels,
but it will be a channel devoted
(19:33):
to "RuPaul's Drag Race."
It will be a channel devoted--
- [Nicole] Yes.- [Drew] To "Project Runway,"
where you just turn it on
and you're watching a random episode.
- [Nicole] Yes.- [Killian] Interesting.
- [Nicole] Yeah, so like if...
If you...
Like you said, "The British Baking Show."
For me, I like sleeping
to "The British Baking Show--"- [Drew] yep.
- [Nicole] So I could just put that on
in the background
and it would just run,
(19:53):
and I don't have to dither with it.
- [Killian] Fascinating.- [Nicole] Yeah.
- [Drew] I'm on Pluto a lot right now,
this will also put a date on
when we're filming this,
but to watch the Big Brother Live feeds.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] They have exclusive channels
for it on Pluto
so that anyone can access it--
- [Nicole] Interesting.- [Drew] To tune into
the house 24/7.
(20:14):
- [Nicole] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [Killian] Nightmare.
- [Nicole] Tubi...
I have been on Tubi
because there's a lot
of really cool independent films on Tubi
that are released strictly to that.
And so, I've been able
to watch some things
that just wouldn't be available
on general streaming services.
(20:36):
So if it's like,
"I have a friend who's an actor
"who was in this movie,
"and I wanna watch it,
"and it's out,"
you can probably find it on Tubi
if it's been released there.
So they have local Detroit films
and stuff there too.
- [Drew] You brought up"Great British Baking Show."
- [Nicole] Mm hmm.
- [Drew] When Netflix got
the partnership with "Bake Off,"
(20:56):
all of the old Mel andSue episodes got taken
off Netflix.
- [Nicole] Oh.- [Drew] they're all on Tubi.
- [Nicole] Oh!
Interesting.
Wow, okay.
So they have a lot more on there
than what I even knew about, really.
Cool.
- [Killian] I gotta dick around in these.
- [Nicole] And Tubi is completely free,
right?- [Drew] Yeah.
- [Nicole] Yeah.
(21:17):
So, of course, YouTube,
but Tubi and Pluto TV,
they're all free.- [Drew] Yep.
They'll put you through
the commercials of cable.
- [Nicole] Yes.
- [Drew] Tubi, whenyou're streaming a show,
will do a full two
or three minute ad break
four times an episode.
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Drew] But it's there
and it's free.
- [Killian] But YouTubewill hit you with--
- [Drew] I know.- [Killian] Long ad breaks.
And sometimes you can skip them
(21:37):
and sometimes you can't.
But they do have like a paid option too
if you wanna get rid of that.
Twitch is the same way,
with streamers having to run
a certain amount of ads per hour
that they stream
in order to shut off ads
the rest of the time and things like that.
(21:57):
And you can turn that off
by subscribing to the channel
or subscribing to Twitch as a whole,
'cause that's an option now.
So like there are paid ways
into some of these
that can get around those ads.
I just deal with the ads.
But I...
(22:19):
What I really miss is the YouTube era
of like mini series
that were based on
classic literature,
like "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries"
and stuff like that.
And I will go back and re-watch those.
- [Drew] I thought youwere gonna say "Carmilla."
- [Killian] Also "Carmilla."
"Carmilla" is also wonderful.
I went for the one that might be
more well known.
(22:39):
But yes, any of those were
a big part of the early 2010s,
and I would love to see more of that.
If anyone knows anything like that
that's more current,
please let me know
because I do miss that.
It was a really interesting time
on the internet.
(23:00):
- [Drew] Yeah.
What streaming services do you guys have?
- [Nicole] We have Disney Plus,
'cause, you know, kids.- [Drew] Right.
- [Nicole] And we have HBO Max
and we've got Hulu.
I know I'm probably missing
a couple here.
We don't have a ton.
We don't even have Netflix anymore.
(23:22):
- [Drew] Okay.
- [Nicole] We just decided
that it was like...
We weren't really watching it that much
and they kept raising their prices,
so that's me being a brat.
But anyway, what do you guys have?
- [Killian] Too many.
I know I have Netflix,
I have Hulu,
I have Disney Plus,
(23:42):
I have...
I think I currently have Paramount.
- [Nicole] Oh, I have Apple TV.
I'm just throwing that in there.
I thought of that.- [Killian] I had one
and then I completely lost track
of what it was.- [Nicole] Sorry.
- [Killian] HBO Max.- [Nicole] There we go.
- [Killian] I have Dropout.
Situationally, I will subscribe to
(24:03):
a service called FloMarching,
which is a substit...
Subsidiary, I think that's the word
I want right now, of FloSports,
which is how I can watch live streams
of certain Drum Corps International shows
or winter guard International shows
(24:23):
because that is a part of my life.
But that one I will do monthly
because it's so expensive.
So I try to do like one month
twice a year, and that's about it.
- [Nicole] Why is it so expensive?
- [Killian] I--
- [Nicole] I mean that seems
like such a niche thing
that--- [Killian] Well, but they do
other sports too--- [Nicole] Oh, okay.
(24:44):
Gotcha.- [Killian] Which is...
FloMarching does just specifically DCI
and a bunch of different guard circuits
and things like that.
They might also do BOA, Bands of America,
high school marching band stuff.
But they also do a lot of cheer and--
- [Nicole] Okay.- [Killian] Like, sports.
Other sports.
And you get access to all of it
(25:05):
with the subscription.
But it is cheaper than trying
to travel to those shows,
and then get a ticket to those shows,
and then have to travel back,
and that's why I pay
a ridiculous amount of money for it.
But like I said,
I try to do a month at a time
'cause yikes.- [Drew] Yep.
- [Killian] Especially with all
of the other ones that
(25:25):
I simply never cancel
and I should do that.
- [Nicole] Well, and so maybe
that's something for our audience
to think about too,
is that maybe every once in a while go
through your streaming services
and see if this is still something
that you even want
because it's money.
- [Drew] Yeah.
- [Killian] And 'cause there's
specific shows that you wanna see,
but you don't have
(25:45):
to subscribe for forever
to see those shows when they come out.
- [Nicole] Yes.
- [Drew] Yeah, the streaming services
that I keep year round are Netflix,
Hulu, and Paramount.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] And Paramount,
I'll pay the higher fee
to get live TV almost exclusively
so I can watch "Survivor" as it airs
(26:06):
because I'm in
enough online communities for that
and it's ridiculous.
And if I don't know things by 9:15,
then I will be spoiled on them.
- [Nicole] Oh, okay.
Yeah.
Nothing like the internet
to ruin a perfectly
good episode of something, yeah.
- [Drew] And then I have accounts
with seven or eightother streaming services
(26:28):
that I just rotate which one
I'm paying for that month.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] So right nowI'm paying for Peacock,
and that's actually gone on
a couple of months too long
because I was watching Top Chef
as it came out.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] And so I'll probablycancel that this month
and pick up something new to binge
over the rest of the summer.
(26:48):
I've been wanting to watch
"The Pitt" and "Hacks,"
so it'll probably be HBO Max.
Do that through the fall.
The new "Percy Jackson"season comes out in December,
so I'll switch to Disney Plus then.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] And just keepa constant rotation--
- [Nicole] Gotcha.- [Drew] That way,
so I'm connected
but not paying every month.
(27:09):
- [Nicole] Yeah, totally.
- [Killian] Drew also does have
my Dropout subscription on his TV.
- [Drew] That is a thing.
- [Killian] Which...
They actively encourage people
to share accounts, so...- [Nicole] Oh I was gonna say
"Don't say anything out loud."
- [Drew] No, they like you to.- [Killian] I--
- [Nicole] Oh, okay.- [Killian] Will sing
the praises of Dropout for...
Until they start doingsomething ridiculous.
Because they are doing some great things
(27:30):
and they make some really
solid choices as a company.
- [Nicole] All right.
So if you could keep
one streaming service, only one,
what would it be?
- [Killian] Dropout.
- [Nicole] Okay.- [Drew] Paramount.
- [Nicole] Okay.
For me it would be HBO Max
'cause I like my wrestling.
- [Killian] That's fair.
- [Nicole] That's the thing we watch
the most of, honestly.- [Killian] Yeah, most of
(27:50):
what I watch outside
of Dropout right now is YouTube,
so Dropout.
- [Nicole] Yeah, yeah.- [Killian] In a heartbeat.
- [Nicole] Cool.- [Drew] Yeah.
I'm in Paramount daily
because "Drag Race" is also my sleep show.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] Which feels like
it should be too chaotic
to be a sleep show but--- [Nicole] Maybe,
just a little bit.- [Drew] We run with it anyway
- [Nicole] All right.
That works.
- [Drew] It's the show that I,
by far, know the best.- [Nicole] Yeah.
- [Drew] So I can stoppaying attention to it.
(28:11):
- [Nicole] Gotcha.- [Killian] See?
And I would've thought
it would've been like "Gilmore Girls."
- [Drew] No, "GilmoreGirls" still has a plot.
- [Killian] Fair.
- [Nicole] All right, well,
to our audience members,
if you have any suggestions
or streaming service pro tips,
let us know
and we'll be happy to talk
about those on the air.
(28:32):
And that is all for now.
We will see you next time.
Thank you for joining us for this episode
of Distracted Librarians.
- [Drew] Many thanks to BCTV
for their support in recording,
editing, and releasing this podcast.
And to the friends of the library
for sponsoring closed captioning
on every episode.
- [Killian] If you have
any questions or suggestions,
(28:52):
feel free to reach out
to us at distracted@btpl.org.
- [Amanda] Until then,
keep those pages turning
and those screens lighting up.
We'll catch you in the next episode.
- [Emily] The views and opinions expressed
in the DistractedLibrarians podcast do not
necessarily reflect those
of Bloomfield Township,
Bloomfield Township Public Library,
(29:14):
Bloomfield Community Television,
the Birmingham Area Cable Board
or its producers or production staff.
- [Nicole] Hey there.
Welcome to the DistractedLibrarians podcast.
We're your friendly neighborhood bookworms
with a penchant
for all things pop culture.
- [Drew] Picture this as
our digital campfire,
where we dive into
our latest obsessions,
analyze our favorite distractions,
and rediscover the joy of reading.
- [Killian] Whetheryou're a media enthusiast,
a book lover,
(00:21):
or just need a break
from the daily grind,
you've come to the right spot.
- [Amanda] So kick back, relax,
and get delightfully distracted with us.
- [Nicole] Hey everybody.
On today's episode
of Distracted Librarians,
we are going to be talking
about streaming services.
I'm Nicole.
- [Killian] I'm Killian.
- [Drew] And I'm Drew.
- [Nicole] All right,
(00:42):
so streaming services.
Drew has been a little bit
of our authority
on streaming services at the Library
because he has been able
to do some presentations for
the local community
and all of that.
So Drew's gonna take
the reins on this one--
- [Drew] Ayyyy- [Nicole] But we will be
here to chat, and yeah.
(01:04):
So streaming serviceversus streaming device?
- [Drew] Streaming service
and streaming device are confusing
when you first enter the game.- [Nicole] Okay, mm hmm.
- [Drew] I like to, in programs,
talk about it as the difference
between a DVD and a DVD player.
- [Nicole] Okay.
(01:24):
- [Drew] Where the DVD is the content
that you're looking for,
and that's the streaming service.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] But you need
a streaming device to play it,
and that can be
your smartphone,
or a tablet or computer,
or a Roku or an Xbox,
what have you.
- [Nicole] Sure, sure.- [Drew] But you need
something to connect
to the thing.- [Nicole] Yeah.
Okay, cool.
Interesting.
(01:45):
Why would people...
Why would they choose streaming services
over a cable package?
- [Drew] There are a lot of pros
and cons to it.
We always say we're not here
to convince you to switch to
exclusively streamingservices or anything.
(02:06):
It's just to open the door
of what's "possible."
- [Nicole] Sure.
- [Drew] So some of the pros
that exist are
the flexibility of the device,
where you can access it
literally anywhere.
- [Nicole] Mm hmm.- [Drew] When you have
a cable service,
it's tied to your home.
Oftentimes, it's tied to the room
that you have the TV hooked up in.
(02:26):
- [Nicole] Sure.
- [Drew] And with streaming services,
I like to watch "TheGreat British Baking Show"
as my lunchtime show--- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] When I'm on lunch breaks here,
so I'll eat in the car--
- [Nicole] Okay.- [Drew] And have it pulled up
on my phone,
sitting on the dashboard for that.
- [Nicole] Cool.- [Drew] When I go traveling,
I can access the same things.
(02:46):
- [Nicole] Sure.- [Drew] You don't lose
the service when you're not
at the home address.
- [Nicole] Yeah, we...
Funny story, when we were in Costa Rica,
we had logged...
We had moved into
our little resort room,
and they had a TV that had everything
that we could have...
We just signed into
our Disney Plus account
and we were watching Disney movies
(03:07):
with my kids in Costa Rica,
and I was like,
"This is the best thing ever."
But then I realized two days later
that I forgot to log out
and I had to call back
and let them know
to log me out so that
other people weren't using our account.
Anyway, so you can
literally go anywhere.
- [Drew] You can do all of that
from the app too.
- [Nicole] Oh, okay.
I guess I could have done that.
- [Drew] Yeah, go in
(03:27):
and disallow access.
- [Nicole] Okay, good call.
Oh my goodness.
- [Drew] But yeah,
streaming services have all kinds
of their own original programming.
They have 24 hour access
to said programming,
which is super convenient
for me and people
in our general career of anything
(03:48):
to do with customer or public service
where oftentimes we don't get home
until nine or 10.
- [Nicole] Right.- [Drew] You know?
- [Nicole] Yeah, I--- [Drew] What are we gonna do
with those?- [Nicole] I really do
not want to go through a menu
and try to figure out how
to watch something on cable.
No, thank you.
- [Killian] The whole process of like,
"Okay, what's even on right now?"
has not been a part of my life
(04:08):
in so long.- [Nicole] Yeah.
- [Drew] Throw back to
little eight year old Drew,
sitting in front of
the TV guide channel--- [Killian] Oh my gosh.
- [Drew] Waiting for--- [Killian] Waiting for it
to scroll.- [Drew] Yeah.
Waiting for it to scroll
to the channels that I'm interested in--
- [Killian] Yeah.- [Drew] Because I'm a child
and only have three channels
I'm allowed to watch.
- [Killian] And thensomething distracts you
and you miss it,
and you have to wait for it
all over again.
(04:28):
Maybe that was just me.
- [Drew] Nope, nope, that...
I swear my mother had
a preternatural ability to know
when the channel listing was at 51,
'cause at my house,
Disney Channel, Cartoon Network,
and Nickelodeon were all right
next to each other.
They were 57, 58, 59.- [Nicole] Uh huh.
Uh huh.- [Drew] And that's all
(04:48):
I was waiting for.
- [Killian] Why does our generation
all know that?
'Cause mine were 44, 46 and 48.
45 was TV Land
and 47 was ABC Family
or whatever iteration it was
at the given time.
And why do I still know that?
- [Drew] God, ABC Family was 53?
- [Nicole] All I remember is VH1 was 29
and MTV was 30.
(05:10):
But that--- [Drew] 63 and 64.
- [Nicole] That dates me right there.
- [Killian] Food Network was 49.
- [Drew] Oh, I hate this for us.
- [Killian] Oh my God.
The turn this has taken.
Wow.
- [Nicole] Well, and so,
this is a situation too
where people that have cable,
they're in a very different situation
where they don't have the freedom
(05:31):
to watch whatever
they just feel like watching.
My kids do not understand
what cable is at all,
to the point...
We've been streaming
since before they were born.
So when my kids go
to my parents' house
and they have cable
and a commercial comes on,
they are livid about having
(05:51):
to watch the stupid commercial that...
You know, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
- [Drew] Oh, yeah.
- [Nicole] Which, now, we have
some commercials and some things...
Some streaming services still do that.
But for the most part,
they did not know what a commercial was
until quite recently.
- [Drew] And even when
they do have commercials,
streaming services will do it
for 30 seconds to--- [Nicole] Right.
- [Drew] The longestI've seen is two minutes,
(06:13):
- [Nicole] Not 5 minutes long- [Drew] It's not
the three-and-a-half minute ad breaks.
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Killian] Craziness.
- [Nicole] Yeah, totally.
And then I have to sit there
and be like, "Children,
"you don't know what it's like
"because I used to have to watch
"all the commercials every single time.
"They'd show you the same thing
"over and over again."
Yeah, but anyway, so...- [Drew] Yeah.
Yeah, so then there are...
There are also some mixed bag type things
(06:34):
for getting into streaming services,
where the cost is something
that could be a huge positive
because cable services can cost
a stupid amount of money,
whereas individual streaming services are
like 10 to 15 dollars.
- [Nicole] Right.
- [Drew] But if you arecollecting streaming services
(06:57):
like Pokemon, and--
- [Nicole] Then you're gonna have
a higher cost.
- [Drew] It's gonna add up--
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Drew] To the point where
I think I have five services.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] I have like 11
that I have accounts with,
but most of 'em are canceled
and I cycle through.
So five or six going
at any given time.
And that adds up to
probably 60 or 70 dollars a month.
(07:19):
- [Nicole] Okay.
Yeah, and sometimes you'll sign up
for one and they'll be like,
"Well, you can get Hulu
"and ESPN for free."
And then you just have
these other things.- [Drew] Yeah.
- [Nicole] And sometimes, you watch them
and sometimes you don't,
and it's kind of like meh.
- [Drew] And the original programming can
also be a double-edged sword
because if I really want
(07:39):
to watch "Stranger Things,"
and "Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,"
and "Hacks," and "The Bear,"
those are all exclusive programming
to their various streaming services.
- [Nicole] Right, right.
- [Killian] And the thing we run into
in libraries is a lot of times,
those exclusives won't come to DVD
for a long time, if at all.
(07:59):
- [Nicole] Okay.- [Drew] Usually not at all.
- [Killian] Yeah.
And so, people wanna see those
but don't wanna pay
for the streaming service,
and we can't help them.
- [Nicole] Yeah, and that stinks
'cause usually we want...
We want everything
to be available to everybody,
but...
- [Drew] And you know, the...
Most streaming services will let you do
a seven day package,
or a seven day early access--
(08:23):
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Drew] Thing
before you start paying for it--
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Drew] To test it.
And I've known people who will do
that seven day package during
a week they have off
and just not leave
their living room--- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] To marathon through everything
that they wanted to watch
from the service without paying for it.
- [Nicole] Totally.- [Killian] The problem is
when those streamers take shows
off of their service.- [Nicole] Yeah.
(08:44):
- [Drew] Tell us more
about "Grease (08:46):
Rise of the Pink Ladies," Killian.
- [Killian] My perpetual grudge
with a certain streamer,
and I canceled my account with them
and then I think
I ended up restarting it.
Oops.
But I did cancel it for a while
over the cancellation
and subsequent removal
of "Grease (09:03):
Rise of the Pink Ladies"
within not very long
of the last episode.
'Cause they were putting
those out sequentially,
it wasn't "Here's a whole season at once."
- [Nicole] Sure.- [Killian] They were putting
them out weekly,
and then they canceled it
before they had
even finished the season.
And then it was within days,
I believe, of finishing the season
that they removed it entirely
(09:23):
from the platform.- [Nicole] That's horrible.
- [Killian] And youcouldn't access it anymore.
- [Nicole] Yeah.
- [Killian] And I was so very upset.
And then, I actually didn't know
that it was gonna come to DVD,
and it did eventually come to DVD.
And Drew was very kind
and left it at my apartment,
just in a bag on my door.- [Nicole] He's like,
"I never wanna hear about this again."
- [Killian] And I screamed.- [Drew] Basically.
(09:45):
- [Killian] Yeah, and you will
still hear about it for forever
because I will forever be angry about it.
- [Nicole] Oh my goodness.- [Killian] In spite
of having it on DVD now.
- [Nicole] Well, one thing that
I have been seeing is
there's this great series
and I'm totally like,
"Oh my gosh, I wanna watch that so bad."
"Mayfair Witches," perfect example.
And we didn't have
the streaming service that...
(10:06):
The platform that it was on.
And they were like,
"Well, you can watch the first episode
"but then you have to sign up
"for our service."
So I stupidly was like,
"Nah, they're not really gonna do
"that to me."
And I watched the first episode
and then I was like,
"Well, now what am I gonna do?
"This is horrible."
I was so mad
and my husband was like, "Well,
(10:26):
"yeah, I don't think
"we really want that one."
I'm like, "Ugh, God."
So eventually it ended up going
to Netflix or something,
and I ended up watching it on Netflix,
but I had to wait like six months
to watch the stupid thing.
Ugh.
- [Killian] My favoritestreaming service is a...
It's becoming more and more mainstream,
which is beautiful to watch happen.
But I found it because of Drew.
(10:49):
Anything I find is always Drew.
But they put the first episode...
Dropout puts the first episode
of each "Dimension 20" season
up on YouTube.
And I think a couple of them,
or at least one of them,
the whole season ends up, up.
- [Drew] Yeah, the first three seasons
that they have--
- [Killian] Okay.- [Drew] I think all of them.
- [Killian] But for a while,
(11:09):
it's like "The firstepisode is on YouTube"
and then you subscribe
if you want to see the rest of it.
But it is also...
Dropout is the only streaming service
that I use on a regular basis.
It is also one of my cheapest,
if not my cheapest, streaming service.
So why I have all
the others still, who knows?
(11:30):
Why I give them money?
- [Drew] Yeah, to explain Dropout
a little more,
there's a whole culture
in British comedy shows of having
a group of 30 or 40 comedians
that they'll pull from
and just pull them into random shows.
They'll go and do like "Taskmaster"
or "Would I Lie to You?"
or what have you,
(11:52):
and Dropout is that aesthetic
where they have like 20 shows
at this point, maybe even more.
- [Killian] I've lost track.
- [Drew] And they just pull
from the same core batch of comedians.
So you can follow
your favorites through shows,
you can learn new favorites
by sticking with a specific show
(12:13):
and just meeting more people
along the way.
- [Killian] And they've expanded
outside their...
Because it started
with College Humor folks,
but they've expanded
and now we're starting to see
like Smosh cast members on
(12:33):
a lot of Dimension 20...
Or not Dimension 20.
Dropout content,
with like "Game Changer,"
and "Dirty Laundry,"
and things like that.
But it's...
I really enjoy just the...
There's a little bit of nerd culture
to a lot of their programming,
and that's a lot of fun for me.
- [Nicole] Cool.
- [Killian] A little bit.
(12:54):
That's an understatement.- [Drew] A little bit.
- [Nicole] All right, so what are
some other bad things
about streaming services?
- [Drew] I mean, someof the rougher things is
the initial cost of setup
for people who aren't
already equipped for it.
You need a certain level
(13:14):
of internet speed to be able
to stream anything,
you need to purchase addi...
Persa...
Purchase initial devices.
I can speak.- [Nicole] Sure.
- [Drew] To be able to do it,
sort of purchasing that DVD player
and figuring out the user experience
(13:34):
that works for you.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] You sort of have to accept
that if you don't have cable,
you can't watch things live
unless you're paying
for premium packages.
So you can pay a good amount of money
to have Hulu Live TV.
You can get specifically CBS
(13:56):
or NBC shows
through Paramount and Peacock
if you pay the premium enough
to watch live TV.
- [Nicole] Sure.
- [Drew] But you have to accept
that you are not going
to be interacting with television--
- [Nicole] In the same way.
- [Drew] In the same way
that our parents would,
but also in the same way
that it's often marketed.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] The "Sunday at8/7 Central" doesn't matter
(14:20):
when you're waiting
for 3:00 AM the next morning
for it to go on the streaming service.
- [Nicole] Yeah.
But I think that
the live television thing is starting
to become more...
We see it a little bit more
in some of the streaming services.
Like, I know on Prime, HBO Max.
I've said in in the past,
my husband and I,
(14:41):
we watch a lot of wrestling,
and so we're able to watch AEW
on HBO Max, and it's live, right?
The time that it would be
on regular television,
and we can watch it that way.
Or pay-per-views, same thing.
- [Killian] And see, my thing is
I am so unaware of
what network TV is anymore,
I don't know what's on
(15:03):
your local NBC channel
or anything like that.
When I was a kid
and would watch Grey's Anatomy,
or CSI, or anything like that,
that was always on one of those,
your CBS, NBC, ABC, whatever.
I don't know what
those shows are anymore.
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Killian] I have no concept
anymore because--- [Nicole] Yeah I have no idea
what's on television.- [Killian] I havent had cable
in almost a decade.- [Nicole] Sure.
(15:23):
- [Drew] I still have the concept of it
but it's because I have Hulu.
So they'll put their list
of newly released episodes,
and I'll see
what's on network television
but it doesn't tell me
the channel it's on.
- [Nicole] Okay.- [Killian] And see,
I have Hulu
but I don't open it,
so I don't see that.
- [Drew] Girl
- [Nicole] And Hulu has a delay, right?
(15:44):
- [Drew] Yes.- [Nicole] Is it
that things post the next day
or--- [Drew] So typically,
things will post,
for us in the East Coast, at 3:00 AM
because it's midnight Pacific Time.
- [Nicole] Oh, okay.
Okay.- [Drew] So it's waiting for
the bulk of the country,
minus Alaska and Hawaii--
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Drew] To be next day.
(16:04):
- [Nicole] Okay, gotcha.
Cool.
I very rarely watch Hulu for anything,
I'm with you, Killian.
I'll go on there
if I'm looking for
something for my kids.
I'll be like, "Is it on here?
"Is it on here?
"Is it..."
And then, I'm poking around,
looking for things,
but yeah, whatever.
Okay, so what do we have at the library
(16:25):
that are streaming services available?
- [Drew] So we have three options for it.
Movies and TV shows exist in Hoopla.
Movies and documentaries exist in Canopy.
And we just got a new service,
probably six months ago,
called "myfilmfriend,"
(16:45):
which is world media.
- [Nicole] Mm.
And that's a newer thing
that we have, right?- [Drew] Mm hmm.
- [Nicole] Okay.
I haven't been able
to poke around on there yet.
- [Drew] It's good.
You can tell that
it's a limited collection
because it's just starting.
When we got our
temporary sign-in account
to test it out as library staff,
(17:08):
they listed all of the libraries
that were current members of it,
and there were eight of them.
- [Nicole] Oh wow.- [Drew] In the country.
- [Nicole] Oh my goodness, okay.
- [Drew] So it's expanded since obviously
as other libraries have gotten on board
and as other productioncompanies become aware
that this is an option to sell
(17:29):
their things to
for a US sort of release.
- [Nicole] Sure.
- [Drew] But it's stilla fledgling enterprise,
if you will.
- [Nicole] Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Cool.
- [Drew] Yeah, we also just have
the library's DVD collection.
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Killian] Yeah.
- [Nicole] Right.
I mean if all else fails,
'cause every once in a while,
there will be something I'm looking for
(17:49):
that is just not streaming.
"Young Frankenstein," hello?
"Young Frankenstein."
Only during like Halloween season will
they put it on streaming services,
but the rest of the time,
you cannot find it.
And I had just watched
the Gene Wilder documentary,
which is a tearjerker by the way.
- [Drew] Yeah.- [Nicole] But
it made me wanna watch that movie,
(18:09):
and I could not find it,
and I was livid.
But the library saves the day.
Yeah, so...
You can always find something
at the library.
- [Killian] There's alsofree stuff out there
just to the general public,
which is most of what I watch,
except for Dropout, which is...
This episode is just that reminder of
(18:30):
I gotta go through my stuff,
but we all know YouTube, I hope.
- [Nicole] Yeah, yeah.
- [Killian] I also watch a lot
of live streaming on Twitch,
which is a little bit different from
most streaming services,
but I watch people playvideo games for fun.
(18:50):
So those work really well for me.
- [Drew] Yeah, there's also Tubi
and Pluto TV.
- [Nicole] Pluto is interesting.
- [Drew] Yeah.- [Nicole] Because that's like
just about as close to cable
as you can kind of get,
where you're able to watch live...
Some kind of live something,
right?- [Killian] Interesting.
- [Nicole] Yeah, and I've found like...
(19:12):
I don't remember.
We were looking for
the "Harry Potter" movies or something
and they weren't streaming at the time,
and I think I was randomly able
to find it on there.
So that was helpful.
- [Drew] Yeah, Pluto is interesting
because it gets really granular.
So they have streaming channels,
but it will be a channel devoted
(19:33):
to "RuPaul's Drag Race."
It will be a channel devoted--
- [Nicole] Yes.- [Drew] To "Project Runway,"
where you just turn it on
and you're watching a random episode.
- [Nicole] Yes.- [Killian] Interesting.
- [Nicole] Yeah, so like if...
If you...
Like you said, "The British Baking Show."
For me, I like sleeping
to "The British Baking Show--"- [Drew] yep.
- [Nicole] So I could just put that on
in the background
and it would just run,
(19:53):
and I don't have to dither with it.
- [Killian] Fascinating.- [Nicole] Yeah.
- [Drew] I'm on Pluto a lot right now,
this will also put a date on
when we're filming this,
but to watch the Big Brother Live feeds.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] They have exclusive channels
for it on Pluto
so that anyone can access it--
- [Nicole] Interesting.- [Drew] To tune into
the house 24/7.
(20:14):
- [Nicole] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [Killian] Nightmare.
- [Nicole] Tubi...
I have been on Tubi
because there's a lot
of really cool independent films on Tubi
that are released strictly to that.
And so, I've been able
to watch some things
that just wouldn't be available
on general streaming services.
(20:36):
So if it's like,
"I have a friend who's an actor
"who was in this movie,
"and I wanna watch it,
"and it's out,"
you can probably find it on Tubi
if it's been released there.
So they have local Detroit films
and stuff there too.
- [Drew] You brought up"Great British Baking Show."
- [Nicole] Mm hmm.
- [Drew] When Netflix got
the partnership with "Bake Off,"
(20:56):
all of the old Mel andSue episodes got taken
off Netflix.
- [Nicole] Oh.- [Drew] they're all on Tubi.
- [Nicole] Oh!
Interesting.
Wow, okay.
So they have a lot more on there
than what I even knew about, really.
Cool.
- [Killian] I gotta dick around in these.
- [Nicole] And Tubi is completely free,
right?- [Drew] Yeah.
- [Nicole] Yeah.
(21:17):
So, of course, YouTube,
but Tubi and Pluto TV,
they're all free.- [Drew] Yep.
They'll put you through
the commercials of cable.
- [Nicole] Yes.
- [Drew] Tubi, whenyou're streaming a show,
will do a full two
or three minute ad break
four times an episode.
- [Nicole] Yeah.- [Drew] But it's there
and it's free.
- [Killian] But YouTubewill hit you with--
- [Drew] I know.- [Killian] Long ad breaks.
And sometimes you can skip them
(21:37):
and sometimes you can't.
But they do have like a paid option too
if you wanna get rid of that.
Twitch is the same way,
with streamers having to run
a certain amount of ads per hour
that they stream
in order to shut off ads
the rest of the time and things like that.
(21:57):
And you can turn that off
by subscribing to the channel
or subscribing to Twitch as a whole,
'cause that's an option now.
So like there are paid ways
into some of these
that can get around those ads.
I just deal with the ads.
But I...
(22:19):
What I really miss is the YouTube era
of like mini series
that were based on
classic literature,
like "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries"
and stuff like that.
And I will go back and re-watch those.
- [Drew] I thought youwere gonna say "Carmilla."
- [Killian] Also "Carmilla."
"Carmilla" is also wonderful.
I went for the one that might be
more well known.
(22:39):
But yes, any of those were
a big part of the early 2010s,
and I would love to see more of that.
If anyone knows anything like that
that's more current,
please let me know
because I do miss that.
It was a really interesting time
on the internet.
(23:00):
- [Drew] Yeah.
What streaming services do you guys have?
- [Nicole] We have Disney Plus,
'cause, you know, kids.- [Drew] Right.
- [Nicole] And we have HBO Max
and we've got Hulu.
I know I'm probably missing
a couple here.
We don't have a ton.
We don't even have Netflix anymore.
(23:22):
- [Drew] Okay.
- [Nicole] We just decided
that it was like...
We weren't really watching it that much
and they kept raising their prices,
so that's me being a brat.
But anyway, what do you guys have?
- [Killian] Too many.
I know I have Netflix,
I have Hulu,
I have Disney Plus,
(23:42):
I have...
I think I currently have Paramount.
- [Nicole] Oh, I have Apple TV.
I'm just throwing that in there.
I thought of that.- [Killian] I had one
and then I completely lost track
of what it was.- [Nicole] Sorry.
- [Killian] HBO Max.- [Nicole] There we go.
- [Killian] I have Dropout.
Situationally, I will subscribe to
(24:03):
a service called FloMarching,
which is a substit...
Subsidiary, I think that's the word
I want right now, of FloSports,
which is how I can watch live streams
of certain Drum Corps International shows
or winter guard International shows
(24:23):
because that is a part of my life.
But that one I will do monthly
because it's so expensive.
So I try to do like one month
twice a year, and that's about it.
- [Nicole] Why is it so expensive?
- [Killian] I--
- [Nicole] I mean that seems
like such a niche thing
that--- [Killian] Well, but they do
other sports too--- [Nicole] Oh, okay.
(24:44):
Gotcha.- [Killian] Which is...
FloMarching does just specifically DCI
and a bunch of different guard circuits
and things like that.
They might also do BOA, Bands of America,
high school marching band stuff.
But they also do a lot of cheer and--
- [Nicole] Okay.- [Killian] Like, sports.
Other sports.
And you get access to all of it
(25:05):
with the subscription.
But it is cheaper than trying
to travel to those shows,
and then get a ticket to those shows,
and then have to travel back,
and that's why I pay
a ridiculous amount of money for it.
But like I said,
I try to do a month at a time
'cause yikes.- [Drew] Yep.
- [Killian] Especially with all
of the other ones that
(25:25):
I simply never cancel
and I should do that.
- [Nicole] Well, and so maybe
that's something for our audience
to think about too,
is that maybe every once in a while go
through your streaming services
and see if this is still something
that you even want
because it's money.
- [Drew] Yeah.
- [Killian] And 'cause there's
specific shows that you wanna see,
but you don't have
(25:45):
to subscribe for forever
to see those shows when they come out.
- [Nicole] Yes.
- [Drew] Yeah, the streaming services
that I keep year round are Netflix,
Hulu, and Paramount.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] And Paramount,
I'll pay the higher fee
to get live TV almost exclusively
so I can watch "Survivor" as it airs
(26:06):
because I'm in
enough online communities for that
and it's ridiculous.
And if I don't know things by 9:15,
then I will be spoiled on them.
- [Nicole] Oh, okay.
Yeah.
Nothing like the internet
to ruin a perfectly
good episode of something, yeah.
- [Drew] And then I have accounts
with seven or eightother streaming services
(26:28):
that I just rotate which one
I'm paying for that month.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] So right nowI'm paying for Peacock,
and that's actually gone on
a couple of months too long
because I was watching Top Chef
as it came out.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] And so I'll probablycancel that this month
and pick up something new to binge
over the rest of the summer.
(26:48):
I've been wanting to watch
"The Pitt" and "Hacks,"
so it'll probably be HBO Max.
Do that through the fall.
The new "Percy Jackson"season comes out in December,
so I'll switch to Disney Plus then.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] And just keepa constant rotation--
- [Nicole] Gotcha.- [Drew] That way,
so I'm connected
but not paying every month.
(27:09):
- [Nicole] Yeah, totally.
- [Killian] Drew also does have
my Dropout subscription on his TV.
- [Drew] That is a thing.
- [Killian] Which...
They actively encourage people
to share accounts, so...- [Nicole] Oh I was gonna say
"Don't say anything out loud."
- [Drew] No, they like you to.- [Killian] I--
- [Nicole] Oh, okay.- [Killian] Will sing
the praises of Dropout for...
Until they start doingsomething ridiculous.
Because they are doing some great things
(27:30):
and they make some really
solid choices as a company.
- [Nicole] All right.
So if you could keep
one streaming service, only one,
what would it be?
- [Killian] Dropout.
- [Nicole] Okay.- [Drew] Paramount.
- [Nicole] Okay.
For me it would be HBO Max
'cause I like my wrestling.
- [Killian] That's fair.
- [Nicole] That's the thing we watch
the most of, honestly.- [Killian] Yeah, most of
(27:50):
what I watch outside
of Dropout right now is YouTube,
so Dropout.
- [Nicole] Yeah, yeah.- [Killian] In a heartbeat.
- [Nicole] Cool.- [Drew] Yeah.
I'm in Paramount daily
because "Drag Race" is also my sleep show.
- [Nicole] Okay.
- [Drew] Which feels like
it should be too chaotic
to be a sleep show but--- [Nicole] Maybe,
just a little bit.- [Drew] We run with it anyway
- [Nicole] All right.
That works.
- [Drew] It's the show that I,
by far, know the best.- [Nicole] Yeah.
- [Drew] So I can stoppaying attention to it.
(28:11):
- [Nicole] Gotcha.- [Killian] See?
And I would've thought
it would've been like "Gilmore Girls."
- [Drew] No, "GilmoreGirls" still has a plot.
- [Killian] Fair.
- [Nicole] All right, well,
to our audience members,
if you have any suggestions
or streaming service pro tips,
let us know
and we'll be happy to talk
about those on the air.
(28:32):
And that is all for now.
We will see you next time.
Thank you for joining us for this episode
of Distracted Librarians.
- [Drew] Many thanks to BCTV
for their support in recording,
editing, and releasing this podcast.
And to the friends of the library
for sponsoring closed captioning
on every episode.
- [Killian] If you have
any questions or suggestions,
(28:52):
feel free to reach out
to us at distracted@btpl.org.
- [Amanda] Until then,
keep those pages turning
and those screens lighting up.
We'll catch you in the next episode.
- [Emily] The views and opinions expressed
in the DistractedLibrarians podcast do not
necessarily reflect those
of Bloomfield Township,
Bloomfield Township Public Library,
(29:14):
Bloomfield Community Television,
the Birmingham Area Cable Board
or its producers or production staff.
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