The Netflix Effect
Op-ed by Angela Hickey
With the digital age bringing new improvements to television as we know it, including streaming services, none are as popular and well known as Netflix. Now, Netflix is going through some serious changes.
Whether your favorite shows are being given the boot (RIP The Office) or your Disney fix is becoming unattainable, you may have some bones to pick with the big guys in charge. But, what stands out the most about Netflix’s huge updates, is how they plan on changing from a binge-watching streaming service to releasing weekly episode drops of their brand new Netflix Originals.
Many people are outraged by Netflix’s sudden changes. With the weekly episode drops completely contradicting Netflix’s original brand, watching your favorite shows from beginning to end without the hassle of commercial breaks or having to worry about missing an episode, and with Netflix releasing their new original shows and other exclusive series’ week-by-week, it leaves its viewers with many questions about what caused this sudden change.
Among Netflix’s many changes comes an increase in subscription fee, with subscription rates rising $1-$2 every month depending on what membership plan users have. This doesn’t stop people from subscribing. Subscription rates are leveling out to 139 million globally with expectations to add another 8.9 million subscribers in the upcoming year.
Netflix isn’t the only platform making big changes this year. Many streaming services, such as the new Disney+, have started streaming exclusive content in order to isolate their market and, by exclusively streaming all of their content on their platform and taking their films off of other streaming services, they isolate their market and, by doing so, they knowingly create a product people will want, dealing a huge blow to the entire platform.
In retaliation, Netflix is planning big things in the upcoming year. With many titles, such as The Office, scheduled to leave in the site in the next few months, Netflix plans to compensate by releasing many new titles. In October alone, there are multiple new titles to be released onto the platform, such as the 4th season of Big Mouth and a new Netflix Original film The Laundromat, starring Gary Oldman and Antonio Banderas. Even as new contenders arrive in the streaming scene Netflix will always be a heavy hitter and a platform that paves the way for other services to be where they are. No matter the changes Netflix makes, whether it be for rising subscription rates or getting rid of your favorite shows, Netflix will always hold a special place in the hearts of the public and, in the eyes of society. Even now, Netflix is making big news in their releases of their originals, such as Stranger Things or The Crown, which have both won numerous awards and increased Netflix’s reputation immensely, showing how Netflix will always be a top contender for best streaming service.
