Zen and the Art of Being Online is a monthly column where I try to explain internet culture and news that has a real impact on the way people absorb information and media through a series of 1’s and 0’s.

It seemed seamless, the way that Netflix became an integral part of our lives. I don’t know of another corporation that people use as a verb. “Watching Netflix” became synonymous with spending a day or night in watching television.

In 2019, Netflix hit 151.56 million subscribers in the U.S. In 2007, when the company still competed with Blockbuster renting DVDs, that number wasn’t even at 7.5 million.

It’s no coincidence that Netflix and Amazon became two of the most successful companies of all time at around the same time period; they both realized that you cannot go broke using the internet to make people’s lives more convenient. Amazon did it by offering free, two-day shipping of any product, and Netflix did it by allowing you to watch a movie or TV show without leaving the house.

But not any show or movie – Netflix had to rely on licensing agreements to introduce new generations to shows like Friends and The Office. And Netflix realized that as they got popular, they would be charged more and more to host their most popular programs.

“The goal is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us,” Netflix’s CCO Ted Sarandos said in 2013.

And the comparison to HBO makes sense. You pay $15 a month for HBO, “premium cable,” but you can just as well watch HBO’s library of original shows and licensed films over their HBO Now app. In that way, how does that make them different from any other streaming service?

In 2013, Netflix debuted House of Cards, a piece of prestige television from acclaimed director David Fincher with A-list stars Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright; they firmly planted Netflix’s foot in the arena of premium TV.

By the end of 2018, Netflix had over 1,000 original productions. By comparison, ABC, NBC, FOX, and The CW ordered about 500 since 2013. Netflix’s content spending is expected to hit $15 billion this year.

Their goal is clear: to have so much original content, shows, true crime documentaries, trashy teen dramas, etc., that their subscribers will have a reason to stick around when they lose a lot of their licensed content. To become HBO.

But Camelot doesn’t last forever, and the end of Netflix’s domination may have begun when Disney bought 20th Century Fox for more than $70 billion.

The major streaming platforms competing for subscribers and awards over the years have been Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime – and each has been able to carve out a nice little place for themselves in the market. But when a media giant like Disney decides to get in on the game, it means trouble for everyone.

Disney now owns the rights to 14 of the 20 highest-grossing films in American history, shows like The Simpsons and MAS*H, the two most successful film franchises of all time, Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pixar, and National Geographic for good measure – as well as their motion picture and animation libraries.

Throw 4K capabilities at a $7 price tag on that, and you can’t fail.

With the move, Disney also has a controlling stake in Hulu, which it will use to put out its more adult content. And it plans on bundling that streaming service with its ESPN+ service for $13 a month.

So, is the sky falling for Netflix? Only time will tell; the “they can’t leave if they’re hooked” strategy might very well pay off. Disney+ might have new bells and whistles, but people can’t watch Stranger Things or Narcos on it. The company’s second life will probably be as a premium media company, competing for Emmys and Oscars while they throw money at filmmakers.

What does this all mean for the consumer? That you’ll have to spend more money, of course! NBC Universal is reportedly looking to launch a streaming service of its own in 2020, so you’ll likely have to look there to watch favorites like The Office, Friends, and Seinfeld.

Apple TV is looking to get into the game, with a $5-a-month service that will launch in November with a launch show of its own – The Morning Show starring Steve Carrell, Jennifer Aniston, and Reese Witherspoon.

In the era of content overload, how much are you willing to spend to make sure you’re caught up with everyone else?