Early last year, Josh Meisel and his wife wanted to watch a new buzzy Peacock drama, Poker Face, starring Natasha Lyonne.

But Meisel, a scientist who lives outside Boston, did not subscribe to Peacock. He paid for half a dozen other streaming services and was reluctant to sign up for another. So he and his wife made a pact. If they weren’t watching Poker Face anymore after two weeks, they would cancel Peacock.