“Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay”: When Streaming Services Push Viewers Back to Piracy
In the hope of putting an end to piracy, streaming likely once felt like a triumph. Yet in 2025, a growing number of viewers are drifting back to it, not out of rebellion, but sheer necessity.
For many, the frustration starts simply: you want to rewatch Medici before a Florence trip. But in 2025, even with a Netflix subscription, it’s nowhere to be found. HBO Max, Disney+, Apple TV+, all yield nothing. Amazon Prime? They’ll sell you each episode separately, which mysteriously disappear from your library overnight. Suddenly, nostalgia for the convenience of the Pirate Bay kicks in.
Streaming services have shifted from being an oasis of convenience to a fragmented maze of subscriptions, geo-restrictions, ads, even if you’re already paying. A decade ago, for about £6/month, Netflix in Sweden delivered everything in one place. Now, platforms are costly, ad-heavy, and scattered. The average European household shells out nearly €700 per year on three or more services, and often sees less content for their money.
Unsurprisingly, piracy is back. In Sweden, about 25% of respondents admitted to pirating content in 2024, especially among those aged 15–24. Globally, illicit streaming now makes up a staggering 96% of all film and TV piracy. Digital piracy, once thought to be in retreat, has surged again, from 130 billion website visits in 2020 to 216 billion in 2024.
It’s not about price alone, it’s a matter of user experience. Gabe Newell, co-founder of Valve, hailed piracy as a failure of service, not morality. Viewers are frustrated by streaming’s “enshittification”, a term critics use to describe platforms degrading in quality in the pursuit of profit. Studios have built virtual fortresses of exclusivity and paywalls, driving users to alternatives.
The message is crystal clear: if streaming platforms want to quell piracy, they must prioritize accessibility, fairness, and trust, just as the Renaissance-era Medici did through networks built on credit and cooperation.