Streaming platforms have been the saviors of the audiovisual industry in the last decade. After the golden age of television series, these platforms started to grow and eventually dominated the entire market, surpassing traditional television and shaping an uncertain future.
However, not everything that glitters is gold. Netflix has been canceling unfinished series for a while now, and their lenient account sharing policy has reportedly affected their revenues this year. As for the other streaming platforms, the sector's rapid growth has led to a shrinking pie for everyone. Despite experiencing a surge in popularity in recent years, especially during the pandemic, we are now reaching a critical impasse where streaming platforms must make crucial decisions.
A bad year for the sector
Many streaming platforms have recorded losses or very minimal profits in the last fiscal year. Disney is one of the hardest hits, with $5.5 billion in revenue and $6.2 billion in expenses, resulting in a loss of $700 million. As they have announced, they plan to reduce costs by removing content from their catalog and implementing other cuts.
Warner has also struggled, with $2.5 billion in revenue and $2.4 billion in expenses, resulting in meager profits of $100 million. However, since the appointment of David Zaslav as CEO, they have been making significant changes, removing various releases from their catalog, rebranding their app as Max, and even canceling upcoming movies. It's clear they are taking serious measures to survive.
Other American platforms are in even worse shape. NBC Universal has reported losses of $704 million, and Paramount is at $511 million in the network. On the other hand, Amazon Prime Video does not disclose its specific data, but being integrated within Amazon Prime, it is evident that they are far from experiencing losses. However, the streaming division may be at risk following the failure of projects like “The Rings of Power” and “Citadel.”
Netflix, on the other hand, seems to be surviving the massacre—for now. Despite losing subscribers worldwide due to recent policies, their actions are a proactive response to the ongoing cuts made by other media outlets. This year, they generated $8.2 billion in revenue with $6.4 billion in expenses, resulting in a positive balance of $1.7 billion. However, it remains uncertain whether their challenging 2023 will negatively impact their future data. Perhaps it's time for a revolution in the current models.
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