I do and I am afraid these times have come to an end now. The streaming industry is going through a turbulent moment as it faces a turning point marked by an oversupply of options and the desire to generate new revenue streams. Some platforms are now experiencing subscriber churn, so to combat this we experience merging or ad-supported tiers.

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The landscape of streaming has evolved significantly since Netflix entered the market and began producing original content. Tech companies and the biggest entertainment studios joined the race to attract subscribers, develop original productions or utilize their existing movies, series and shows. However, the costs involved in creating content and the need to rethink expenses led to the introduction of ad-supported options and the removal of some titles from libraries. The streaming world started to look like the traditional television industry, with shows moving between platforms and limited players dominating the market.

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Let’s move on. HBO Max completed a rebranding to "Max" while Netflix limited password sharing. Disney announced the removal of a number of titles from Hulu and Disney+. Even The Writers Guild of America raised a discussion about fair compensation when it comes to content development. In addition, Warner Bros. Discovery got criticized for merging writers and directors together as creators in credits.

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The number of streaming platforms globally has reached its peak, so as always some will fail or struggle in this highly competitive market. Some series will be canceled, movies will not be sequelled, shows will be taken off after just one season. Nowadays P&L emerges and dominates, together with consumer insights and analytics data. Customers are now beginning to face the challenge of subscribing to and canceling multiple services, shaping a new definition of watching TV.

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Challenges? The high cost of producing attractive content and the need to understand and cater to the preferences of the audience. Furthermore the trend of consolidation - content is the king, but distribution is a queen so not always content providers win the race. The role of technology in streaming services is underrated - the right technology partner who understands the OTT landscape and market mechanisms is crucial for minimizing churn. The areas taken from the linear TV that still needs to be covered - sports, live shows, news.

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Maybe we need a hybrid model, a merger with linear TV where traditional channels offer their content on streaming platforms. As a result, cable TV stays relevant by embracing the changing landscape. However, if this happens, the transition of streaming services offering channel-like experiences will initiate conflicts and growing pains. So if you think streaming wars are over, I am telling you it is just a beginning.

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#StreamVX #SzymonKarbowski #streamingwars

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