In the early days of streaming it wasn’t quite as bad. A few licenses did expire, but it wasn’t like most things were just going to disappear overnight. And Netflix started out with strong original programming, so there was still always value.

Now, though even though I’ve spent a lot of money on my server and a lot of time futzing with it, it’s worth it to me compared to futzing around figuring out which streaming service has the license this week for the show I want to watch.

Plus, unless I totally lose my Plex/Jellyfin database (has happened before as I’ve tinkered around learning things), my watch history stays with me. I can pick up a show where I left off, even years later. Not true if a show moves to another streaming service.

I view it kinda like the trade-off paying for anything vs DIY. Sometimes it’s worth paying a premium to hire someone, especially if it’s way outside your skill set. Other times you interview contractors, and either the price is way high, or you get the sense they have no clue what they’re doing and will wreck your project. If you DIY then there’s a learning curve and you won’t always get everything right, but you have total control.