Netflix Has Other Options Besides Inserting Ads and Cutting Talent

The Q1 loss of 200,000 subscribers is still reverberating within Netflix. While I doubt the co-CEOs (Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos) will take any financial hit after their respective $34 million and $40 million salaries/stock, the company laid off most of their editorial Tudum team and shuttered much of its animation programming. In addition to firing people, Netflix has publicly stated that instituting a subscription tier that’s supported by advertisements is being considered. It doesn’t have to be like this, and these actions look like Netflix is actively working against itself.

The other night, I watched Captain Midnight’s video entitled Netflix Has to Change. This was a followup to his 2020 video The Fall of Netflix. Among many issues, he chalks things up to Netflix’s failure to adapt in a crowding field (especially regarding bingeing) and little to no marketing. The platform wore bingeing as a badge of honor because the longer time spent was the goal in an algorithm-based platform.

I think they were partly banking on the FOMO that worked for them. The “you just have to watch it” attitude around shows like Stranger Things, Tiger King, etc. Like Midnight states, this “shotgun” approach of dumping entire seasons at once and moving on doesn’t give shows much time to grow. It also doesn’t allow Netflix to prepare marketing or for creators to feel like there’s any support behind the show either.

Cook on low for a few weeks

The primary thing I disagreed with Midnight about was that slowly rolling out shows more like a traditional TV model would be a tough sell to those who have grown accustomed to the binge model, though lightyears better than including ads. (To be clear, Midnight also agreed ads weren’t a good route.) When they began this in 2018 and 2019 with shows like the Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, Rhythm + Flow, and The Break with Michelle Wolf, Netflix released an episode a week. Granted, they were all canceled, but there is something in between that has so far proved successful: Love Is Blind.

Once a week, a few episodes were released, and then there was a week of speculation. Love Is Blind released the first five episodes, then four more, then the finale, and then the reunion. It kept the show in the news. Anything dramatic like reality TV (including some documentaries), adventure stories, romance, or drama would work best in this format. Could you imagine if they did this with Kate and Anthony in Bridgerton!?

While they could go an episode a week like their competitors (who the customers pick over Netflix anyways), a happy medium or even transition could be a few at a time. Drop a few episodes every week that make story sense (yes, this means cliffhanger anxiety) by splitting up the show’s rollout over two to six weeks. (Also, this can cut down a few weeks of the slow time between seasons.) This adjusted rollout would need to vary by show, factoring in runtime, the number of episodes, and editor and writers’ input. Their oversight is vital. Those who want to binge can wait till the end, so it’s still no harm done.

Tudum’s place in all of this

In addition to press coverage and Netflix social media, this in-between time could be supplemented with editorial content like on Tudum, a.k.a. the project they just let got most, if not all, of their staff for. If this is the first time you’re hearing of it, you’re not alone. Originally, it was a fan event, but was in an almost year-long transition into an editorial arm of Netflix. Named like the sound of the Netflix app opening, Tudum was in the beta state as a hub for guiding conversations and (more importantly) information on Netflix content.

Between restructuring content rollout, giving shows time to grow, and marketing (through Tudum) more than two shows at a time (almost playing catch up to fans), organic engagement will lead people to choose the platform. They need to stop chasing the views and build the content (including supporting the staff) that make people want to stay.

(image: Netflix)

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Alyssa Shotwell

(she/her) Award-winning artist and writer with professional experience and education in graphic design, art history, and museum studies. She began her career in journalism in October 2017 when she joined her student newspaper as the Online Editor. This resident of the yeeHaw land spends most of her time drawing, reading and playing the same handful of video games—even as the playtime on Steam reaches the quadruple digits. Currently playing: Baldur's Gate 3 & Oxygen Not Included.

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