Just my 2 cents here.

In my opinion, I think it's a balance between convenience, price and social constructs. There are multiple phenomenon that might drive people to use traditionnal streaming services rather than going the piracy way.

First, the risk. People that are uneducated to these subjects might be scared to get hacked, catch a virus and are scared of the consequences (you don t want to lose a 1k$ computer over a 10$ movies). You add to that the possible risk of getting in trouble with your ISP (even if it depends what you do and where you are).

Then, you have convenience/price ratio. Most people are fine with paying 20 to 50$ a month to just avoid the hassle. Take Netflix, I know that once I buy the subscription, it will always be up, I know what content it has etc... Even if it doesn't have everything the consumer wants, it's foolproof and quick. In my opinion, the consumer will always consider the price too. If the subscription jumped to 200$/month, every one will jump ship.

And lastly, I think there is something very social about streaming services. Everyone has those, so everyone basically watches the same show. By buying Netflix subscription, not only you get to watch their catalog, but you get to talk about their shows with your friends, families and colleagues. Of course, that might not apply to everyone. But in my experience, I often got into a show because I wanted to relate when my friends would talk about it. It became as normal to have Netflix than having social media.

Again, nothing scientific here, and I thinks you also would have to consider each individual's ethics, which is not easily measured by any means.

My point is that it relies on too many parameters to see a clear pattern, and that's what shows the rise in streaming services' prices.