But HBO not only produces a roster of the best-made shows today, it’s also home to decades of culture-defining programming, from “Game of Thrones” to “Sex and the City" to “Six Feet Under.” While Netflix can produce well-made content today and tomorrow, the company is unable to travel back in time to create nostalgia shows. The irony is that Netflix introduced audiences to the joy of easily binge-watching old television shows, and this is the same joy that now helps Netflix’s competitors.

An argument could be made for canceling Netflix, as the original allure of it being a one-stop destination for nostalgia, and new content fizzled once networks realized the value of their content and moved those shows to their own streaming services. It seems that Netflix will one day be home to only their original shows, and is that worth a monthly subscription? Yes and no. For every five shows Netflix produces, one is a huge hit. And by huge hit, I mean a cultural phenomenon that is the only thing anyone will talk about for two weeks. Canceling Netflix would mean canceling the ability to talk with my friends about Ryan Murphy’s “Sandy Palms,” the satirical drama about the competitive world of sand castle building and the intimate lives of those who compete. And who wants to miss out on that conversation?

But I should cancel something. The amount I pay for streaming services is more than a cable package. But I can’t just go back to cable alone, because I wouldn’t have access to certain streaming originals that are basically a form of cultural currency. On top of that, experts predict that the last remaining cable providers will stop offering services within the next five years. I thought I had outsmarted the system, with my measly $7.99 a month. We all thought we outsmarted the system. But that system outsmarted us all in a way that’s irreversible, because we can’t go back to cable — it’s dying, we killed it — and we’re now at the mercy of the streaming services and what they choose to charge us each month.

We never outsmarted the entertainment industry when we opted for Netflix subscriptions over cable. Instead, we gave the industry a way to monetize our love of one or two television shows forever.

The CW Watch was my tipping point, not just because it was the 11th streaming service I subscribed to, but because I had signed up for the sole purpose of rewatching old content. At first, I didn’t even question the fact that I had agreed to pay money each month to view old programs that I could own outright. But I’ve since realized how financially irresponsible it is, and I’ve done the math to prove it: If I subscribe to The CW Watch for a decade, I’ll have spent $1,078 to, more or less, watch three shows I’ve seen before. On the other hand, purchasing the brand-new DVD box sets of these shows would be a grand total of $380.96, which would save me $697.04 over the next 10 years. I should just buy the DVDs and cancel The CW Watch.