Netflix’s Subscriber Numbers, Advertising Pivot And What To Look Out For
The Netflix earnings call cast a spotlight onto the streaming video industry. I’ve heard all sorts of takes from hot to lukewarm to cold soggy ones. With that in mind, here are some things that I’ve been thinking about with the Conviva team over the past few days.
1. Streaming video is an industry shift that cannot be stopped. Disney+ subs are up. HBO Max Subs are up. Hulu subs are up. While Netflix may have lost subscribers they lost only .01% of their more than 220M subscribers, which is to be expected with early winners like Netflix.
2. It’s time for Alternative Currencies to shine. When Netflix rolls out ad-supported content, I find it hard to believe they would stake their claim in the ad-supported world by working with traditional methodologies like Nielsen, especially as a company traditionally that has historically been close-lipped about their data. Companies like Conviva, iSpot.tv, VideoAmp will continue to thrive in this new world.
3. There is an opportunity with password sharing, as those sharing passwords are already interested in the product. With better solutions to measure how many devices outside a household are sharing an account, companies can launch new commercial models to convert these users into paying customers. Conviva has already started helping our customers to do this: https://lnkd.in/gjMH_Nt3
4. Sports just got that much more valuable. What’s the value of sports rights in an increasingly fragmented ecosystem? As linear models erode, we’ll see new platform-based players like Amazon, Apple, and now potentially Netflix come in to make bids for more sports. So if you’re a sports league what’s more attractive, a platform with both Live and VOD content with a pedigree for Hollywood-level production (think F1 drive to survive) and scaled viewing audiences? Or a legacy media company?
5. Netflix needs to age 10 years overnight to make up for Friends and The Office. Netflix has done the best job of any streaming platform surfacing what you want to watch, but their originals haven't had enough time in market to drive the same evergreen demand series like The Office or Friends commands. A successful streaming network needs to balance consistently producing short-term hits with producing or acquiring content that is in demand year after year, and ensure they build a library of content that has the staying power to keep people coming back to watch when it's recommended. They may start to think about staggered release schedules (something Hulu has been doing), longer seasons, renewing shows for more seasons or beginning to build out franchises.
6. The biggest issue that faces streaming video today is Content Discovery. What service is the content I want to see running on, what’s new and what are my friends talking about? While content providers can build the best hooks within their own apps, when it comes to a traditional lean back experience akin to linear TV the choices aren’t so easy. There’s no easy or intuitive way to flip through your favorites, or scroll through channels the way you can with linear TV.
