Netflix is a company that seems to be a titan in our current age. In its early days, it was just delivering DVDs and disrupting Blockbuster. Now it is making those movies and cutting out the physical media and even the theatrical release. Warner Bros, a company that once dominated the movie industry, is now under threat of being acquired by Netflix. This is a company that is entertainment now, and everyone is simply a vassal in the shadow of its influence. This is a company that Hollywood saw as an add-on to the power. Now they are the ones who are an add-on to Netflix.
While Netflix does not have the same quantity of movies now as it did in the past, but it does have the revenue and userbase. It is continuing to grow and is formidable in its loyalty and willingness to put with the unfriendly customer service that Netflix has. This is very important for them to be able to pursue these takeovers of once influential American companies. Netflix is now the leader of the entertainment industry and is peering into the world’s many thoughts and visions.
Netflix just released its Stranger Things Season Five, Volume 1 and it is one of those rare TV events we have in our culture now.
In the past, shows such as the original Shogun were changing watching habits. Shogun in 1980 in particular seems to have reset American attitudes about Japan. My thoughts are that Shogun made people more appreciative of Japanese culture and history.
Now, TV shows are treated like content rather than as events.
Netflix is taking away content which was “Original”
It is becoming more apparent to me that Netflix puts the “N” label on its content and then removes it without much ceremony. They do not even say which company owns the content or where you can watch that content, but it is just taken away without any context, and you have no idea when you are going to be watch it again.
This happens alot with content made in Spanish-Speaking countries. Juana Ines was taken away despite the fact that I had watched in 2017 and while I had issues with certain ideological viewpoints or framing of characters, it was an interesting series. The series was just removed from the site and now I cannot watch it without trying to get it through streaming through other channels.
I understand that not everything is an “Original” however, they are so deceptive putting that opening logo when you start an episode. Just show the original makers and that should be it.
This happens with many other series, especially period dramas, which is my favorite genre on Streaming services.
Netflix’s removal of its own content makes the service less valuable in comparison to the past here.
Here is my suggestion:
Try to subscribe only when there is something interesting on the site. When you are done watching those shows, you should unsubscribe,
TUBI: The next thing in Streaming
People should be paying attention to Tubi. There you can get tons of ad-supported content. They are also making their own content also and it is getting traction here. Netflix is providing ad-supported tiers but has less content.
I think I know which one users will want to use.
Will one want to use a service which makes you pay for a smaller library of content with ads?
Will you use a service that has ads and is free and actually has the big movies and shows as well as a growing library of their own originals?
There is a reason why Tubi has been growing quickly with consumers. It promises value with quality.
Netflix has too many reality tv shows and is not having the hits that it used to have.
Competition is needed and Tubi may be one of the few services that may be able to shake up the streaming industry in America. Right now, the industry is stagnant and Tubi is truly having innovative concepts in our age.
Netflix is making so many reality shows that it is ruining the platform. While people may claim that Netflix is better than the old cable tv channels, the platform seems destined to be taking up the same content that made people want to leave cable in the first place.
Netflix has spent so much money on these shows that the home page, no matter what choices that you make is filled with Too Hot To Handle and Love is Blind. Not only that, but Netflix has making more country specific reality tv shows and it is only starting to fill the entire platform with more slop which is making the site unusable. A decade ago, Netflix had some original programming but it had a much larger library. There were shows from the studios as well as the small but growing catalog made within Netflix.
Now?
It is like a desert in comparison to Netflix of 10 or 20 years ago.
While Netflix did not have streaming services yet, its online catalog was in the area of around 30,000 to 40,000 movies and tv shows 20 years ago. 10 years later in 2015, the catalog of physical movies included Blu-Rays as well and was around 80,000 to 90,000 movies. The catalog is much smaller now and we can clearly see the results of what that means. It means that Netflix is churning out low quality entertainment(slop) in order to prop up the platform. For now, it is working here as Netflix is now putting ads on its cheapest subscription along with having increasing subscriber counts in countries outside of America.
Netflix’s originals are also taking much longer than in the past to make. Stranger Things has been on Netflix since 2016, yet the show has sporadically been on television. The series came online when Netflix was starting to pump out many more originals to replace the licensed shows that were being taken off the platform by the studios and put on their own streaming services.
Reality TV shows allow Netflix to have predicable seasons just like on old TV channels. However, they are not really shows that have any artistry but are there just to prop up its catalog. They are cheap to make and reliable. However, they are a sign that Netflix has sold its soul out for quick and cheap cash.
Netflix in its earlier years, before the subscriber counts broke over a million, had more movies in its catalog than now. While you had to wait to get a DVD and then later Blu-Rays in the mail, you had choices and wasn’t reliant on their originals.
This is why Netflix was better in the past. Delayed gratification is better than instant gratification. That people are spending minutes scrolling through the menu looking for what they want to watch is a clear sign that Netflix simply wants to keep people on the platform and not accomplish anything of note. There is no grandness to their vision, just profits. Studios of the past cared about profits, but they created stars who were avatars of their respective nations.
What is Netflix now but simply a money scheme for the streaming elites? Is there any sense of care for art or beauty anymore?
Netflix will realize that churning out reality tv show will not help the site in the long run. Another streaming service will come about, and it will create competition. That competition is what Netflix needs to return to its roots and give people choices.
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