If you've ventured onto the internet in the past week, you'll know that Netflix talk is the flavor of the month.
News of the company's massive subscriber losses sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry, many of them including those on Wall Street, heralding the end of Netflix's decade-long reign as the supreme streaming service.
Netflix itself has blamed the slowdown on a handful of factors, including its failure (and subsequent need) to crack down on password sharing and diversify its subscription packages in light of heightened competition from rival platforms like Disney. Plus and HBO Max, but social media commentators have added their own reasoning to the mix.
According to some, Netflix has been the victim of a so-called renaissance, or in other words, an alleged over-commitment to politicized programming. Critics lament the streamer's forced diversity peddling, his penchant for social justice, and uniformly "boring" new movies and TV shows. As Tesla CEO (and new Twitter owner) Elon Musk said in a recent tweet: "Waking Mind Virus is making Netflix unreachable."
Awakened Mind Virus Makes Netflix InaccessibleApril 20, 2022
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Naturally, Musk's more than 83 million Twitter followers responded accordingly. As of this writing, his tweet has garnered more than 300,000 likes, with many users echoing his criticism of the streamer's "obvious" social and political agenda in a long series of responses.
"You mean you don't like viking shows where the greatest/baddest warrior is a woman (eyes rolling, no, those didn't really exist); or horror movies that actually turn out to be social justice comments; or shows that make 'cute' references to the devil (Sabrina)?" one account responded sarcastically.
"I've been waiting for this moment for a while. Everything new on Netflix is just hype. Unwatchable right now," wrote another (of course, this list of new Netflix "unwatchable" content should include your recent documentary about Musk and his space program, right?).
The thing is, some people aren't happy with Netflix and its uniquely politicized approach to modern storytelling. Even if it doesn't exist.
awake ≠ broken
Let's be clear: Netflix has a content problem. For starters, many of his recent movies and TV series have fallen into the "style over substance" trap.
Genuinely interesting shows like Squid Game and Stranger Things have outnumbered melodramatic soap operas clad in HBO-quality gear (looking at you, Anatomy of a Scandal), while many of the streamer's recent movies (consider the star-studded void of Don 't Look Up) also didn't live up to its billing.
Netflix has also become a silly reality TV cesspool. The constant addition of series in Sexy Beasts and Is It Cake? mold suggests that the company's €14bn annual content budget no longer provides the quality assurance we once thought. And to make matters worse, these shoddy, overproduced game shows seem less likely to be taken down than many of the really genre-boosting projects that Netflix sometimes strikes gold with (such as Archive 81, Sense8, and The OA, all were victims of streamers). now infamous cancel culture in recent years).
Honestly, the Netflix brand is kind of poison right now. "It looks like a Netflix show" is not a compliment. https://t.co/5LJZ3z6fbQApril 19, 2022
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Following news of the company's loss of subscribers, CEO Ted Hastings admitted the need to improve the quality of the platform's programming - a process that has already begun with the scrapping of several upcoming projects - although Netflix still has a long way to go if you wait. to compete with IP-heavy offerings from its burgeoning rivals.
But none of the above is a consequence of awakening. Is Netflix smarter than Disney Plus or HBO Max? Recent Marvel movies and TV shows supporting the former have also been panned by the same critics, while two of the latter's most popular series, Euphoria and Our Flag Means Death, revolve around gay teens and gay pirates, respectively.
Heck, the most popular English-language Netflix show of all time, Bridgerton, is a standard-bearer for awakening if there ever was one (and so is Sex Education, equally brilliant).
So it's abundantly clear that Netflix hasn't suffered because of a penchant for political correctness, and even if it had, we wouldn't see its biggest rivals enjoying the catch in the same way. pond full of clock.
Level the playing field
Instead, the reasons for Netflix's problems are much more obvious.
Just three years ago, the streamer was the world's leading on-demand entertainment platform, featuring only Amazon's Prime Video service for the company (and, by extension, the competition). In 2022, however, this competition has increased tenfold. The aggressive expansion of IP-heavy Disney Plus and HBO Max is well-documented: The former is expected to overtake Netflix in subscriber numbers by 2024, but Apple TV Plus, Hulu, Showtime, and Paramount Plus have also begun to eat up the market. Netflix cake.
With such a wealth of choice across the board, it's no wonder Netflix no longer offers the same unique appeal to subscribers that it once did. Consider the most talked about TV shows of the past year: Despite Squid Game and Bridgerton, the likes of Euphoria, Yellowjackets, The Mandalorian, Succession, and Severance have dominated the conversation online. Sure, Netflix still has its golden geese, but the platform has never faced such high-quality competition in its decade as the kings of streaming.
Ah, definitely the Wakemind virus and not the other top 5 streaming services that have popped up in the last couple of years. I'm sure Disney and HBO have nothing to do with this. 🤦♂️April 20, 2022
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Furthermore, this competition intensified when Netflix began flirting with unwanted price increases for its customers around the world. As the cost of living continues to rise and interest in streaming declines following the steady lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, consumers have shown an unwillingness to sit back and accept higher rates for lower quality products.
Netflix has expressed plans to mitigate these price increases by offering a wider range of subscription options, which should include a cheaper ad-supported tier similar to what's already available on HBO Max, but the internet has misinterpreted this strategy as further evidence. of the transmitter trend. embarrassment (“If I see ads on Netflix, I cancel them” seems to be the current consensus on Twitter).
For Netflix to regain its status, it will have to fight against factors beyond its control. Competition from rival streamers is only going to increase in the coming years, and business leaders must put together an enticing range of bespoke subscription packages, unlike anything available elsewhere, to rebuild customer trust in the Netflix machine. once indomitable.
Yes, the content on the platform needs to improve, but it certainly doesn't need to become less awake.