After reading earlier this week how subscribers are leaving streaming services, Netflix mainly, is the initial interest in 24/7 film viewing coming to an end?
I do wonder if the growth of such services is to blame for some of the pretty dire films I've watched these last few years, by which I mean Hollywood is pumping out any old tripe just to keep the streaming services happy?
With ever increasing subscription fees and folk leaving in droves is there a future for these providers?
They also say they are clamping down on folk who 'share' their passwords with family members/friends, whether that is right or wrong I can't say but it sounds like a desperate move to me.
$50bn wiped off Netflix’s value as subscribers quit - BBC News
I also just read CNN's streaming service is to close after a mere 1 month.
CNN streaming service to shut a month after launch - BBC News
Regards,
Jay.
The proposition is hyperbolic nonsense.
All of this is expected by anyone who can connect the dots. Five years ago I was discussing the oncoming "streaming wars" with colleagues.
Netflix owned the playground and proved that streaming was a viable business, so inevitably other companies made the same move. Now Netflix shares the the playground with others who have a deep library of IP's that they will use for their own services rather than continuing to license them to Netflix or Prime. This is a problem for both Netflix and Prime, which is why both turned to buying IP's and also creating original content.
The days of easy money are over as competition in the marketplace heats up. This is going to require more savvy about what the audience will pay to watch, so expect some shuffling in executive offices. HBO went through that in 2020, when AT&T fired all of the top brass and their staffs because the service growth was anemic compared to Disney+.
As markets mature the rules change, the players change, the relevant skill sets change.
I've never been a subscriber to HBO because I don't find all that much appealing. I became a subscriber to Netflix because I got exposure to their offerings during EMMY season and they asked me to sign up. Now I don't even pay for Netflix because I get a free membership due to my professional associations. If I had to pay the current rates I'm not sure that I would continue, because a lot of what they offer doesn't interest me.
Netflix is going through a much needed transition. They've been spending money as fast as they make it and sometimes faster, and they need to figure out what they'll need to do to meet challenges. Some things they will get right and some things they will get wrong. Dying isn't likely.
Netflix made an enormous commitment to animation and back in 2018 they decided to produce 24 new animated shows. That's more than Warner Animation. They hired young talent, gave them all sorts of perks, like per diem, and built an animation studio with a free commissary. Nothing was too much. Their idea was to keep churning out new product, running a series for two to three years, tops, and then replacing it with something new, regardless of ratings.
That's been a dud.
So they're now firing a lot of talent that had been promised a lifetime of being treated like prized cattle. What's getting killed off is the little kid and family oriented animation, because there's too small an audience for it, and they'll be pushing far edgier fare, because that's where the money is.
The playing field of streaming service will consolidate. Nobody is going to pay for 60+ streaming services, and nothing offered will be free. It might seem that way, but trust me, you're paying for "free" services whether you want to or not.
Streaming won't be dying off any time soon, but inevitably it will be replaced by some new form of content providing that becomes temporarily popular. And so on, and so on.
