Netflix/Hulu aren't making these decisions unilaterally. They have to meet DRM requirements set by the Studios.
You seem to want to demonize Netflix/MS/Google/Hulu for this but I'm having a hard time doing so when they seem to be trying to evolve standards to meet current market conditions.
I really, really don't care about their relationship with their business partners. And you should not care about this too. If they are pushing for standards that limit our freedom, I will blame them. From my point of view, they should pressure "Studios" to get rid of DRM for their own good. If they instead make us suffer from DRM I will demonize them as much as I can with the goal of informing public of their evil actions and/or taking them out of business.
I do not see how a "pay monthly" system like Hulu or netflix streaming could work on a system without DRM, where people could simply sign up for one month and download all the videos they could ever want to watch.
Do you have a suggestion, or do you think such systems should simply sink? What should replace them?
People can already download via bittorrent more videos than they could ever watch. Streaming services don't have to compete with that to be successful.
> From my point of view, they should pressure "Studios" to get rid of DRM for their own good.
Presumably they are. Think about it: if you are Netflix, you recognize that DRM adds a lot of technical and business complexity to your product, for a "feature" that your users don't care about or even actively dislike. Why would Netflix sign up for that unless it was the only option?
Not only that, but prominent networks have pulled out of their licensing deals with Netflix recently, which should give you an idea as to the amount of leverage Netflix has with the studios.
You seem to want to demonize Netflix/MS/Google/Hulu for this but I'm having a hard time doing so when they seem to be trying to evolve standards to meet current market conditions.