Brief - The Hustle

Will the streaming bubble burst with too many platforms?

Written by Wes Schlagenhauf | Jun 30, 2020 9:33:23 AM

Netflix reportedly put out some 90k minutes of original programming in 2018. That’s a lot of content — 9 weeks’ worth of binging actually. 

But when does it all become too much?

*Spends 40 minutes scrolling, falls asleep choosing* 

A recent Nielson survey found that US adults typically spend a little over 7 minutes perusing content aisles across multiple streaming services. 

And that’s before media giants like Disney, NBCUniversal, and WarnerMedia squeeze their multibillion-dollar-sized bodies into the already at capacity streaming market, starting in 2021.

Soon, consumers won’t have anxiety over content, because they’ll be too busy stressing out over which subscription to pick — an outcome that, according to Axios, could potentially hit the industry’s growth where it hurts. 

Especially for Netflix…

21% of survey respondents said if they can’t make up their minds, they generally choose to watch nothing, and more than half of users said they were more likely to switch back to traditional TV — a medium that Netflix and Amazon Prime have absolutely no footprint in. 

What’s worse, Netflix is preparing to lose its two most popular showsthe Office and Friends — to the series’ original owners.

Bottom line, as more streaming platforms hit the market, the platforms doubling down on original content may struggle to compete for consumer spending budgets. Because all anyone really wants to do is watch Michael Scott say something inappropriate.