The Netflix Conspiracy (part 1)
As a Netflix subscriber since 2003 with their DVD rental services, I can honestly say that this service has changed so much. The company is about to celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2017 and I can only imagine how they transformed from a small company trying to keep up with Blockbuster/Hollywood Videos to now being the standard on online streaming. Movies has always been their bread and butter but as the streaming services grow with a more intense rivalry, I believe us who enjoy quality Movies are being pushed out for the easy going Reality TV shows and nostalgic 90’s and early 2000 sitcoms/dramas. As I sit here typing, my wife has been binging on “House Hunters: Renovation”, prior to that, it was Nightmare Kitchen. I myself have fallen into the pit of old TV shows like Frasier, Friends, and Murder She Wrote, but what was once a company that prided itself with the best movies they can stream is now 4th place in their priorities.
1) Original Programing
2) Exclusive Programing
3) Nostalgia Shows
4) Reality TV
5) Cult TV hits
6) Movies
I understand that their DVD/Blu Ray deliveries are still offered but in 2 years, they have let go their criterion collections of movies, artistic dramas, and foreign artistic films. The quality of their movies have absolutely dwindled. Now here comes my take…
Netflix was once a Blockbuster Movies alternative…
In their competition to be relevant, they needed to get the biggest movies into their system in order to one up their competition. During this time, Cable TV was a juggernaut and the though of competing against Comcast, Time Warner, etc. was unheard of outside of Satellite TV. If the Internet remained the horrible speeds and expensive prices it had in the early 2000’s, then Netflix would still be competing against the video rental stores. This was a glorious time where these companies fought it out, a race to the bottom for a firefight to the top where the stakes were not mere dominance but survival. The little capitalist company vs. the behemoth establishment and the loser looses it all… and it did.
In 2007 the tides of war flowed one way, like Moses crossing the Red Sea through divine intervention, the Internet grew so large that quality streaming was now a stable option. With Netflix’s small but growing resources taking the gamble of adding streaming in their stable, this sealed Netflix’s victory.
The giant movie rental stores, namely Blockbuster who started its own small company back in 1985 gaining its financial peek in 2004, fell in 2011 and officially liquidated all stores and services in 2014. There were other reasons that led to Blockbusters fall, bad management, horrible investments, online piracy, and questionable business deals, but it stands true that the death of Blockbuster directly benefited Netflix.
(In part 2, we will see who will be next in Netflix’s conquest in shaping up how we view visual media and what is the possible future for movies and TV.)
gospelgamers 