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Have the Streaming Wars Reached a Stalemate?

Have the Streaming Wars Reached a Stalemate?

 By Movieguide® Contributor

In the last few years due to the global pandemic, streaming platforms dominated media as people turned to home entertainment for comfort. Netflix, Disney+, Apple, Hulu, and Prime saw growth, and other networks rapidly tried to through their hats in the ring with the rise of Paramount+, Discovery+ and more.

Now, experts have identified some of the growing pains and say the current market no longer encourages growth. Many of the platforms, instead, are falling flat, losing subscribers in an oversaturation of the market.

Per Variety: 

Disney, Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery and Comcast have seen tens of billions of dollars in market capitalization wiped out over the first five months of the year, as have tech titans like Amazon and Apple. Investors have spoken.

“Wall Street is not rewarding subscriber growth anymore,” says Liska Schmitz, managing director and partner at consulting firm BCG. “Investors are looking more at profitability.” There’s a higher level of scrutiny on spending and proving the economics of streaming, and that could lead some players to become “hesitant about spending as much as they have,” she says. …

Indeed, the streaming bubble that boosted shares of media and entertainment companies in 2019 and 2020 has all but burst. Falling stock prices are coinciding with rising interest rates, inflation and heavier-than-usual debt loads at the largest conglomerates. The heightened pressure to deliver earnings and the need to pay more to service debt will inevitably force a pullback — at least in the short term — in the tidal wave of spending on content production, marketing and distribution.

Fortune reported in April that “Dark clouds are gathering for the streaming industry,” predicting a a sectorwide fallout.

“It will be very hard to find many new subscribers in these markets in the near to medium term,” analysts said.

“It looks like dark clouds are gathering for the streaming industry,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at the Swiss online bank Swissquote, told Fortune. “The fierce competition hints that the industry metrics could get worse before they get better.”

While these industry analysts may be predicting doom and gloom, there’s one major factor that predicts success for Wall Street that, unfortunately, many of these platforms have ignored – family-friendly content.

Netflix often promotes vile streaming series and has faced lawsuits over such. Disney+ initially looked like a hopeful competitor until they made the decision to add mature content onto the service, which previously only allowed ratings up to PG-13 for movies or TV-14 for series. Paramount+ has been just as distressing, with excessive series populating its lineup, and even former family-friendly content like reboots of RUGRATS or iCARLY containing too much foul content to broadly appeal to families today.

Yes, the market is saturated, but consumers are desperate for a streaming service that offers high-quality product that is not marred by language, violence, sex, or, most importantly, worldviews that displace Christ as king.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.