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Planet Money · April 5, 2026 · 23m

We Recreated Cable TV and Called It Streaming

The average American now subscribes to 4.5 streaming services at $15-20 each — totaling $80-90/month. That's exactly what cable cost in 2015. Planet Money traces how cord-cutting led right back to bundling.

This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.

Canon

Planet Money: Netflix felt revolutionary in 2013. By 2016, you needed Hulu too. By 2020, Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock. Each new service provided a brief spike of fresh content, then adapted to the new baseline.

Highlights

Every unbundling eventually leads to rebundling — the cycle is structural, not accidental
Planet Money: cable was a bundle. Streaming unbundled it. Now streaming is rebundling (Disney+Hulu, Max+Discovery, bundles with wireless carriers). The economics of media always converge on bundles because consumers prefer one bill.
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