HBO almost did that experiment: in the nordic countries you can get HBO Nordic (access to all of HBOs content) for the same as a Netflix subscription.
It isn't very popular - partly because it is the same as a netflix subscription but so much less content, partly because it is a technical disaster (you can't use a tablet only, the ios app doesn't support streaming the pictures to a tv, no chromecast support while netflix has both) and partly because they launched slightly after Netflix with a much worse proposal.
That said if the same offer was available in the US, I think a lot more users would take it. And certainly HBO makes nothing from torrent users.
Finally users like buffet style content - it means you only suffer the pain of paying once, rather than every time you press the button.
Not that the Netflix launch was anything cheer about. A random glance back then showed Netflix being a year or two behind on Doctor Who seasons.
Never mind that there is an aspect that keeps being overlooked, social interaction. A popular TV show or movie is not just about the experience itself, but also the chatter afterwards. Be it over the lunch room table, or over the net.
And the latter is what drives many to pirate even if they know the episode will eventually be broadcast locally. This because they are involved in the chatter about the show online, and there people will discuss the latest when it aired initially, not when it aired in some nation or other.
It isn't very popular - partly because it is the same as a netflix subscription but so much less content, partly because it is a technical disaster (you can't use a tablet only, the ios app doesn't support streaming the pictures to a tv, no chromecast support while netflix has both) and partly because they launched slightly after Netflix with a much worse proposal.
That said if the same offer was available in the US, I think a lot more users would take it. And certainly HBO makes nothing from torrent users.
Finally users like buffet style content - it means you only suffer the pain of paying once, rather than every time you press the button.