Panic stations: why streaming’s set for big changes in 2024
Streaming services are headed for a major shakeup in 2024 The Financial Times. While Netflix is making money, most other streamers are not – and with losses exceeding $5 billion in the past year alone, Netflix's rivals are looking at cost cutting, consolidation and perhaps even getting out of the streaming market altogether.
According to the FT, which spoke to multiple industry analysts and insiders, entertainment conglomerates Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Comcast and Paramount are “under pressure to downsize or sell existing businesses, scale back production and cut costs after spending billions of losses resulting from their digital activities.” platforms.” With the advertising market slumping a bit, TV revenues falling and costs rising, the streaming landscape in 2024 looks more difficult than ever.
So what does that mean for us, the streaming subscribers?
“The only thing they know how to do to survive is try to merge and cut costs”
The FT spoke to Rich Greenfield, an analyst at LightShed Partners, who says the sector is in a state of “complete and utter panic”. With cord-cutting accelerating, TV advertising revenues falling and sports broadcasting costs rising, “everything that can go wrong is going wrong.” Rising borrowing costs are also a major problem: many streamers have large debts that are becoming even more expensive to pay off.
We have already seen price increases across the board; Many industry watchers now expect that the next step will be mergers and consolidation, with streamers acquiring each other or licensing their films and shows to multiple outlets. Netflix in particular will probably be the big winner there, because that's where the most attention is paid.
Variety says we can expect to see a lot more content licensed to Netflix, a game-changer for many studios. “More licensed titles are sure to flow onto the platform in the coming year as rivals-turned-suppliers look for more cash injections to shore up their balance sheets and help push their streaming businesses into the black.” Many studios have set themselves a deadline of the end of 2024 to reach profitability, Variety says, and that will add urgency to their monetization efforts.
As for Netflix, Variety expects it will build on its experiments with live sports streaming and continue its efforts to franchise its hits like Wednesday and Peaky Blinders, as well as push harder on its gaming division. As the only streamer that seems to be doing well right now, Netflix has something its rivals don't: time to figure out where it wants to go and how it's going to get there.