Weekly Rewind
Feeding the Netflix beast: A couple of stories about Netflix landed over the couple weeks that together raise some interesting questions. The first was a lengthy piece on by The Hollywood Reporter’s Kim Masters on how Netflix routinely outbids other studios for original TV shows and movies, and causing fears that one company may eventually control all the best content. The second is a news story by Deadline about Netflix’s desire for original content to make up half its catalog, and an admission that the associated costs will likely drive up subscription prices.
Netflix has certainly been a positive force for television and a major driver of cord cutting. But there are legitimate concerns here: What if Netflix controls a majority of the best TV shows, and starts charging considerably more to watch them? Alternatively, what if other studios feel they have no choice to engage in the bidding war, inflating the cost of all television? Will all of this spending cause the bubble to burst on the golden age of television we’re in now? Streaming video is supposed to promote more competition, resulting in lower prices, but Netflix’s desire for growth at any cost could, in theory, allow the opposite to happen.
CW goes subscription-free: Perhaps the counterpoint to what I just wrote is the news this week that CW is putting all its new shows online for free. Apps will be available for phones and tablets, along with Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast, and Xbox consoles. Previously, CW was putting its content on Hulu, which required a subscription to stream on mobile devices and televisions. Presumably there will be ads in this new offering.
As I’ve written before, cord cutting naysayers love to argue that the cost of new streaming services is adding up to more than what you’d pay for cable. That argument was demonstrably false already, and CW’s streaming plans only help disprove it further.
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