'Say Yes to the Dress: In Sickness and In Health': Are viewers ready to pay to watch the Discovery+ show?
The Covid-19 pandemic might have turned the whole world upside down, but that doesn't mean that brides have stopped in the tracks on their quest for the perfect wedding outfit. So, while we continued to watch re-runs of the old episodes of 'Say Yes to the Dress' and all the drama that the bridezillas unleashed inside the famous Kleinfeld Bridal studio, the showrunners were busy filming a pandemic special of the series, 'Say Yes to the Dress: In Sickness and In Health'. When the new show was finally announced and it was revealed that Randy Fenoli and Hayley Paige would be returning to help brides with their gown during the pandemic, fans couldn't contain their excitement.
The trailer for the show left fans waiting for the show with bated breath. Unfortunately, the excitement was very shortlived as fans realized that the new show wouldn't be airing on TLC, but instead on a new streaming platform called Disney+. The new show is part of the several popular HGTV, Discovery, TLC, and Food Network titles to land an exclusive spinoff on Discovery+.
When fans realized that they would have to pay additional money, to watch their favorite shows, they began taking to social media to express their displeasure. A monthly membership of Discovery+ with ads costs $4.99, while the ad-free version is being billed at $6.99 per month. Despite their love towards the popular 'SYTTD' franchise, fans are willing to just resort to watching the reruns of old episodes on TLC, instead of paying for yet another subscription service,
On the show's Instagram page, several fans have flooded the comments section calling out the showrunners and network for shifting to the payment-based model. A fan wrote, "I love Say Yes to the Dress!!! Unfortunately I won’t be buying in to the whole Discovery+ I agree with most of the comments about having g to spend money for another streaming service. It really is annoying." Another fan questioned, "Why is it that all these tv shows are going to steaming, which requires an app to be downloaded and requires another cost to us? Not all if us can afford another service!!!!" "This one of my favorite shows. And can’t believe I have to pay for another streaming service I just won’t do it. 😡," declared a fan.
Many fans also pointed out how the timing for the launch of a new streaming platform couldn't have come at a worse time, thanks to the pandemic, which resulted in several job-losses and pay cuts. A fan shared, "With so many streaming services that paying for all of them is the same as paying for satellite or cable. Love SYTTD but having to pay to watch is ridiculous. Not great timing either with so many people not working!" "😢 it’s so sad that TLC is caving into a” pay service”. TLC helped get us thru this pandemic. Cable is expensive enough!," echoed another fan. "People still out of work, medical bills, etc. and all Discovery cares about is the almighty dollar-shame on you! 😟," commented an angry fan. "Y’all really think ppl gonna pay for another streaming service for these shows....think again NOT," expressed a fan.
'Say Yes to the Dress: In Sickness and In Health' premieres on January 4 only on Discovery+.