There are really three elements to the story of Netflix’s share price collapsing and their market cap falling through the floor.
The first is the simple stuff: Netflix’s offerings are dire. I think there should be an award for the guy who can scroll through their movie menu and find something he really wants to watch, in under 30 minutes. Speaking for myself, I find myself looking for movies on Netflix longer than I actually spend watching any. This is because Netflix’s own movies are about 10% decent and 90% utter trash. The 10% includes the brilliant After Life (Ricky Gervais). The 90%? Oy. They run from endless permutations of women finding themselves while reconciling with a dying parent / sibling / whatever, to mindless celebrity pablum (“my Scientology experience”) to cartoonish rubbish action movies featuring female superheroes, and woke “dramas” riddled with angst.
After a while, I either turn off the TV altogether, or else take the option of Netflix’s other problem: I go to another movie outlet. Not that Amazon Prime is much better; in terms of content, they’re about the same as Netflix: 10% decent, the rest ugh. Even worse are Prime’s options, in that they’ll show you the first season of a show for free, but then you have to buy the rest. Fuck that. There, Netflix’s offer is at least consistent: subscribe, and everything’s “free” thereafter. Hulu and Roku throw in atmosphere-destroying commercials, so forget that shit as well.
I rather like Discovery+, especially their true crime documentaries, while New Wife likes all the shows about Alaska, and some of the real estate shows. But that’s pretty much it, because I absolutely refuse to subscribe to any other of the streamers like Britbox. Thank gawd for Turner Classic movies, because I think I’m nearing the end with Discovery+.
Netflix’s third problem is a common one in the business world: over-demanding shareholders and accountants. You see, once a startup company reaches a commanding market share, further growth becomes increasingly difficult if not impossible, especially if new players enter the fray with similar offerings. None of that matters to the shareholders and finance people, who have grown used to and got rich from annual gains of 25% in market share and / or the share price, and who want that gravy train to last forever. It can’t, of course, even absent stupid business decisions (like embracing wokedom). Market growth is finite, and expanding markets by getting into bed with evil yet populous societies like China or Russia have risks that could (and do, and have) endangered many, many corporations and organizations(Apple, NBA, coff coff ).
So there you have it: a classic case of corporate hubris.
And I see that Disney is starting to see its own ass, too.
