Is Netflix down? Depends on how we look at it. Recent viewership metrics for select shows indicate that their programming has never been more popular (at least since Netflix shared the metrics).
Four titles released in the past two months — Wednesday, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Stranger Things 4 part 1, and Squid Game — have all set records for Netflix. All but Dahmer logged more than 1 billion hours in their first 28 days.
But at the same time, Netflix’s 2022 has been in turmoil, to be clear. One minute they are generally losing subscribers for the first time in ages, the next minute they are so desperate for more money they are cracking down on account sharing. Media analyst Julia Alexander V imp news (Opens in a new tab) He explained that the Netflix viewing records are at odds with “how arguably Netflix also had its worst year ever”. Wall Street is calling for more growth, as new subscriber numbers are getting worse year after year.
With Netflix living rent-free in my head, I thought I’d give Netflix CEO Reed Hastings some unsolicited business advice for the new year. Because as it stands right now, it doesn’t seem like enough of the best Netflix shows and all the best movies on Netflix are at war to be the best streaming service.
1. Restore faith by bringing back canceled favourites
About Tom’s Guide Slack We’ve always mourned one show more than any other: Netflix’s GLOW. Greenlit for a fourth season before that run was cancelled, the story of women in professional wrestling was a smash hit across the demographic.
I say this with confidence because my colleague Kelly Wu and I watched it for completely different reasons (we’re only a size-two sampler, but just stick with me). I’m a fan of professional wrestling on The Office, and she loves great shows with great dialogue that makes for good drama. Both are at a point where we have given up on the return of the glow.
And since GLOW is far from the only series to die before fans were ready (there’s a whole conversation surrounding Netflix has a habit of canceling shows that focus on lesbian characters (Opens in a new tab)), I would argue that brand overhaul is necessary at House Hastings. The better the image people have of your service, the less likely they are to cancel their membership out of frustration.
Bring flare (and First Kill and Warrior Nun) back to feature films that give viewers some closure. Doing so will raise Netflix’s esteem slightly.
2. Fix Netflix with ads
Launched last November, the ad-supported Netflix is a beta test that has been rolled out to the public to do Netflix’s work for them. It could be said that it was added to give Netflix access to a wider range of customers, because it offered the cheapest “Basic with ads” tier, which is $6.99 per month.
However, it is amazingly flawed. The first and most obvious reason is that you can only get ad-supported Netflix by downgrading to 720p Netflix Basic. Introducing a 720p streaming service in 2022 is like trying to sell milk before it’s pasteurized. So, here is the price of Netflix should Look like this next year.
- Basic with ads: $6.99 per month
- Basic: $9.99 per month
- Standard with ads: $12.49 per month
- Standard: $15.49 per month
- Premium with ads: $16.99 per month
- Premium: $19.99 per month
The new ad-supported level (up to 1080p) and Premium (up to 4K) I suggest applying the same $3 discount per view with ads. Arguably, these discounts could be higher, as advertisers are likely to pay more to reach the highest paying subscribers. That’s why you see ads for expensive products during prime time, and for cheaper products in late-night commercials. Netflix has already hinted that this could happen.
The next step to unblocking Netflix with ads is something Netflix is already working on: closing the gaps. Many shows and movies in the Netflix vault are not available on Netflix with ads because contracts are not made.
With those two caveats fixed, I think Netflix with ads will be more interesting for both subscribers and advertisers. Yes, getting a new lower-tier price is good for Netflix, but these ad-based discounts could help Netflix keep people who want 4K Netflix but are tired of spending $20 a month on it.
3. Embrace live sports – and that includes professional wrestling
Just search up and down the best streaming services, and you’ll see that showtime is back. While on-demand releases — some stayed until midnight or later to watch Stranger Things 4 — remain the status quo, Peacock and Paramount Plus have NFL games, and HBO Max is getting into football with USMNT and USWNT in January.
Even the biggest services do that. Disney Plus streams Dancing with the Stars live, and (most famously) Prime Video has a live NFL stream with Thursday Night Football. But with all of these services tying up all of those rights, and Netflix losing its F1 livestream bid to ESPN, there’s not a whole lot of sport that can be illegally caught. But there is sports entertainment.
Okay, I know I’m going to lose some people even if I describe professional wrestling as a sport, but professional wrestling is where Netflix should look if it really wants customers who won’t cancel. Not because pro wrestling fans will put up with anything or have low standards (some of us do), but because it’s a year-round “sport.”
WWE (and other promotions) do not have an off-season. This means that WWE fans can’t cancel Peacock if they want to catch up with the company’s frequent live events. For now, WWE is locked down with Peacock, and they’re locked into a multi-year agreement. So, Netflix should look one step lower on the ladder, to All Elite Wrestling.
A recent upstart in the professional wrestling space that launched on TNT in 2019, AEW is currently a professional wrestling promotion without an aggressive broadcast strategy. She is currently working with Warner Bros. Discovery With Discovery currently airing on TBS and TNT (and streaming PPVs on Bleacher Report), AEW needs a streaming service, and I think Netflix needs it, too.
Outlook: Experiment and embrace creative talent
So, it’s possible that Netflix has bigger plans than I just suggested. This is just a starting point for what can be done. And my last tip is the trickiest.
The problem with HBO Max — cancellations left and right, removing content to save budget — can’t do wonders for the trust of the people who make the shows. Sure, White Lotus maestro Mike White has been signed on for a third season, but all of this makes you wonder about the rest of the talent who helped HBO Max become so… Max.
And this idea has one thing in common with all of these shows: make Netflix more than it is today. Netflix isn’t synonymous with prestige TV the way it is with HBO, and adding a show or a few could help in that direction (it already has true crime and competition-based reality TV on the lock) get more people to consider Netflix as something they need — rather than something They can come back to it later.
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