I'm a Professional TV Watcher. Here Are Some Streaming Trends I Wish I Could Change in 2026

At this point, it seems like streaming services can do whatever they want, no matter how annoying. Audiences will still subscribe because we've been conditioned to feel simultaneously overloaded with and starved for content. And, we want more, more, more all the time. 

That's why I have dozens of titles in every one of my streaming service queues, but still spend hours of my life scrolling, looking for the perfect thing to watch. What I'm saying, I guess, is that I'm a glutton for punishment -- I will likely continue to subscribe to many of my favorite streaming services indefinitely, despite their ongoing price hikes and ever-changing interfaces, and ever-changing programming schedules. 

I know that Festivus was last month, but I'd like to air out a few grievances I have and ask the streaming overlords to listen up. 

Those annual price hikes 

Can we get a break for a year? In 2025, multiple streaming services significantly increased their rates, including Peacock, Disney Plus, Hulu and Apple TV. Will they dare to raise them again within the calendar year?

It remains to be seen, but Paramount Plus has already announced that it's also increasing prices on Jan. 15, which is not the news I wanted for the new year. Yes, there are savings to be had if you bundle services or get them free through mobile phone plans. But it makes me wonder: Is there a maximum price that will cause viewers to hit their limit and cancel? Or will we all start to pause our subscriptions to catch small savings here and there?

Ads, ads, ads

I shell out bigger bucks to have an ad-free experience on most of my streaming service subscriptions, but for those that are ad-supported, I ask, nay, beg, the streaming overlords to reconsider forcing viewers to watch ads if we want to rewind or fast-forward within a show or movie. It's one thing to watch a set of ads at certain intervals throughout a show, I get that. But when you're forced to watch an ad before a show begins, and then you want to jump ahead to a specific moment, only to have to immediately watch another set of ads, I feel like we are being dared not to like watching TV anymore.

When episode rollouts are a moving target

As someone who writes about streaming content for a living -- especially new releases and show premieres -- I tend to have a good grasp of which platforms do binge drops of TV shows and which shows are on a weekly rollout schedule. And while I understand that some platforms (cough, *Netflix*) eventify their content so that, say, Stranger Things gets three big premieres within six weeks of each other just to offer up a holiday experience, it's not necessarily fun for a viewer to keep up with all these premiere dates. 

Then there's Apple TV. Its Wednesday shows are released on Tuesday nights, but sometimes the streamer releases its Friday shows on Wednesdays. Make it make sense. The new season of The Traitors on Peacock? Three episodes arrived in the first week, and two will drop this week. However, only one episode will be released each week after that, except for the finale week, when there are two. 

When I was a new parent, all the parenting books I read said that as a caregiver, consistency is key. To these streaming services, I say, please baby me. I like a reliable schedule. Apple TV, I love you, but you didn't need to change the date of the Pluribus finale because I was still gonna watch it, no matter what. 

Rhea Seehorn stars in Pluribus on Apple TV.

Apple TV

Losing momentum when shows take too long to come out

Here's where I admit something I shouldn't: I haven't watched the final season of Stranger Things yet. I have literally forgotten every major plot point since I last heard Runnin' Up That Hill, and I lost all momentum. (Rollin' down that hill?) I'm pretty sure I'll never go back to House of the Dragon for the same reason. Yes, these shows take a long time to produce, but I'm curious if they'd retain a bigger audience if they didn't make us wait over two years between seasons. 

Those parenting books I read? They also say not to favor one child over another, but to these showrunners, I say, "Why can't you be more like your brother, The Pitt? He took less than a year to make a second season. You could learn a thing or two from him." 

Fake-out endings

I am looking squarely at Ted Lasso here. We mourned you once when you had your series finale. Let's not rewrite the show's legacy and make things more complicated than they need to be with season 4.

Is there anything good about streaming services?

The list above is just my pet peeves. I love the fact that I have a vast library of old and new content at my fingertips 24-7, and a few services have features I wish others would adopt. 

Prime Video's X-Ray feature has spoiled me. Whenever I can't place an actor's face or a song in the background, all I have to do is swipe to get that information. It's like Google and Shazam and IMDb all in one. Another service that offers features I appreciate is Peacock, particularly with its sports coverage. Its Discovery Multiview feature, which launched for the 2024 Summer Olympics, is essentially a four-way picture-in-picture interface that's perfect for someone who wants to engage with multiple events. 

This might be sensory overload for some, but it worked for the Olympics, and returning for this year's Winter Games. Peacock is also debuting Rinkside Live for Olympic figure skating and hockey as well as its Courtside Live feature for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game in February. It offers alternate angles and feeds from different parts of the arena. While ESPN's streaming platform has been broadcasting alternate viewing angles for some time, Peacock's sideline views can also be combined with Multiview, allowing you to watch simultaneously. 

I guess what all of this boils down to is control: I want to know as a viewer that I have some sense of control over what I'm watching, and how and when I'm watching it. Now that I've aired out my belated grievances, excuse me while I go and rewatch Seinfeld on Netflix -- but don't even get me started on the show's aspect ratio on the streaming service. I know the technology exists to fix that problem, and yet it seems to be an ongoing issue for a lot of platforms.