Why a Netflix Collapse Is Bad News
For now, Netflix has been the most diverse platform.
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Netflix is officially losing money. The company announced a major loss of subscribers this week, which sent shares tumbling 35% and inflicted a loss of $50bn. It’s not looking good.
This is probably not a surprise for the average consumer or Netflix viewer. Sean Kernan wrote about the issues Netflix has for users, and I have to say I agree with what he says.
I think all of us have noticed a dip in quality in the past couple of years, as well as the rising cost. There are lots of low-quality shows and a lot of cheap reality TV — which I love, by the way — and it’s getting harder to find good shows that are not Netflix originals.
The fact is that the platform has gradually been losing content to the streaming wars as other media giants want to get in on the business. From the early days of Netflix when everything was on the platform, we’ve now moved on to a model where you have to make your pick between six different platforms. And paying for several platforms at once.
As a consumer, you’ll always end up losing money as soon as the big guys get a whiff of what’s happening. They want their share of the pie, and you’ll have to pay up or miss out.
Another problem with Netflix is the company’s own productions. When you find a quality show with amazing actors like GLOW and it gets canceled, you get mad at the platform. Pretty often that happens to the shows that are a little different or eccentric. Or interesting. Like GLOW, which has an overwhelmingly female cast.
But there’s still one aspect in which Netflix is much, much better than other platforms: it’s diversity.
Netflix Is Truly Global
When you check out Apple TV+ or HBO Max, what you see is Hollywood. The same actors you’ve seen on TV for the past 20 years are in every movie. Sometimes you’ll see actors who look different, but it’s far from international.
And while Netflix certainly has its A-listers like The Rock and Adam Sandler churning out content, it’s not all you‘re offered.
For example, I watch a lot of Spanish, Italian and French shows and movies…
