According to the BBC, Netflix has not let go 4% of its total workforce and is expecting more job losses if subscriber numbers continue to fall. The company is working on ideas to find revenue, including using ads for the first time: “We’re not adding ads to Netflix as you know it today,” said Netflix’s co-chief executive, Ted Sarandos, “We’re adding an ad tier for folks who say ‘”Hey, I want a lower price and I’ll watch ads’.” Netflix is under increasing pressure from a host of individual streaming services, such as Disney+, HBO Max, and Paramount+. One of the problems for the company is its all-in-one service no longer looks as attractive to consumers as those other services are maintaining exclusivity across their content. While Netflix has attempted to combat the changing streaming market with its own slew of original TV and movie content – some of its excellent despite memes – it hasn’t been enough to keep customers.
Changing Industry
This may look like a problem for Netflix, but I believe it is an issue the whole streaming market will need to face up to. There’s no doubt that the Netflix model is the most consumer-friendly, i.e., a single subscription that curates content from numerous creators. As more channels and media companies embrace their own service, the result is a collection of major individual streaming services. Each charge a monthly fee and consumers are increasingly paying more to maintain several subscriptions. Password/account sharing is on the rise and consumers are increasinging signing up for a service, consuming the content they want, cancelling the subscription, and moving on. So, you may sign up to watch Stranger Things on Netflix, cancel the subscription, move to Disney+ for your fill of the MCU, cancel and go to HBO Max for a month or two to watch Game of Thrones. This feels like an unsustainable model and eventually the industry will need to front up. The all-in-one model Netflix has may be the answer… whether the company is the one to provide it remains to be seen. Tip of the day: Windows now has a package manager similar to Linux called “Winget”. In our tutorial, we show you how to install and use this new tool that allows the quick installation of apps via PowerShell or a GUI.
