5 ms·

DirecTV, Comcast, and Netflix are all losing customers. Are there winners in this space or are people finding other things to do with their time?

by jobu 7y ago

gfs 7y ago
I think some of it could be subscription burnout. All these networks are fragmenting and offering a subset of shows that I want to watch but don't want to pay or keep track of. Plus, I think people get a lot of content via other internet sites too.
- saxonww 7y ago
  This is essentially what people asked Cable for all these years - a la carte service. They wouldn't or couldn't do it, so now we're getting this. There was no way content was going to let third parties basically take the place of Cable at a fraction of the cost. What will be interesting is if we end up with bundlers to combine billing because of subscription burnout and whether it will just be the Cable companies.
  - hakfoo 7y ago
    Aside from billing, some sort of combined UX, browse/search/discovery and platform support would be important. Honestly, I wonder if this is somewhere device manufacturers could get an edge. They already have to build the integrations for their individual platforms, so they could wire them together into an interface which says "I just want to watch Black Lagoon, not worry about whose catalog it's in this week." I wonder if the money people would pay for "the slickest smart TV experience on the market" exceeds the kickback for putting the hard-coded Netflix and Amazon remote buttons, which only serve to reinforce the silos.
ggg3 7y ago
daytime tv is now fully replaced with UGC. people now scrolls instagram/tiktok/etc for hours and hours. so when the vestigial bill changes price, it's enough to call people into action.
- rootusrootus 7y ago
  UGC == user generated content?
sdinsn 7y ago
Netflix is not losing customers. They have never had a quarter where they lost customers.
- harshalizee 7y ago
  They just did
  - sdinsn 7y ago
    They lost customers in the US, not customers overall.
- endianswap 7y ago
  They lost US customers in Q2, which is probably what OP is referring to.
  - sdinsn 7y ago
    If that's what he was referring to, he should have said US customers.
- SirensOfTitan 7y ago
  This comment is getting unfairly downvoted. Netflix did not lose customers this past quarter, they added new ones globally. They did lose net customers in the US, though.
meddlin 7y ago
Some people are postulating that subscribers are moving to newer services (i.e. Disney). A slight piracy resurgence is coming around again. A return to the "cable model", but with refined content choice may win out. Already an average sized household subscribing to several services rivals a cheaper cable bill.
- basch 7y ago
  They are moving to a service that isnt released yet? Canceling in preparation. Do you really think most of the US is aware disney has a service coming?
guiomie 7y ago
I think Netflix might be more of a seasonal thing or business readjustment, while Comcast, it's really the end of a business: linear TV.
sjg007 7y ago
I am guessing YouTube and social media.
snarf21 7y ago
It feels like it is what happened with TV and cable. At first there were 30 channels. Years later there are 900 channels. It gets harder to separate the good from the bad and the majority is garbage. Now you also have all these services having exclusives to get lock in. But to get all this top exclusive content, you need to pay for 12 services which is basically back to cable. We really need a new model. Customers would prefer micro-transactions and providers and producers want recurring locked in revenue. Something has to give.
mbreese 7y ago
Netflix was reported as saying that one of their major competitors wasn't the broadcast networks or cable, but rather Fortnite. There are lots of companies that are vying for your attention, and back when the choice was Cable or Cable plus Netflix, it was an easier bet to have Netflix. Now, you have Netflix, Youtube, Hulu, CBS All Access, AMC and FX (I think?) have their own streaming, HBO, SHO, and soon the Mouse is going to have a must have service. And that's not even considering the amount of time people spend on "alternative" forms of entertainment, such as video games. It's all just too much, so I think there will be a lot of churn with Netflix. Instead of getting 12 months of service from Netflix, I think we'll see people hopping around more between 2-3 different services each month.
hbosch 7y ago
YouTube and Twitch are the real winners IMO.
moate 7y ago
Netflix is your outlier in this group. They're probably losing subscribers (in certain locations) because things are fragmenting and every content creator wants to try and start an app right now. Short term (next 5 years) we're probably going to go through a painful adjustment period where CBS keeps trying to make CBS now happen before they realize they should just shut it down and put everything through Hulu. Consumers aren't going to keep paying 8-$10/month for more and more splintered programming. The sweet spot between massive bundle, massive price (Cable Packages) and "just the content I want for a reasonable price" (netflix, HBO, Disney+) is going to take some figuring out. 100% of nothing is < a 50/50 split of millions of dollars. Lots of these apps are going to realize that.
JohnJamesRambo 7y ago
I watch a lot of Pluto TV now. It’s like having cable but all totally free and has a PS4 app. Mystery Science Theater 3000 channel is my favorite.
dragonwriter 7y ago
> DirecTV, Comcast, and Netflix are all losing customers. Are there winners in this space Yes, content-owner owned streaming services, and note that both DirecTV and Comcast are (or are owned by) content owners which have or are imminently launching streaming services focussed on first-party content.
fred_is_fred 7y ago
Anecdotally my kids would rather watch YouTube, although I've since blocked it in my house for a variety of reasons, they seem to like the shorter video format. And they LOVE watching people play video games which I just want to shake my cane at.

DirecTV, Comcast, and Netflix are all losing customers. Are there winners in this space or are people finding other things to do with their time?

by jobu 7y ago

DirecTV, Comcast, and Netflix are all losing customers. Are there winners in this space or are people finding other things to do with their time?

gfs 7y ago

I think some of it could be subscription burnout. All these networks are fragmenting and offering a subset of shows that I want to watch but don't want to pay or keep track of. Plus, I think people get a lot of content via other internet sites too.

saxonww 7y ago
This is essentially what people asked Cable for all these years - a la carte service. They wouldn't or couldn't do it, so now we're getting this. There was no way content was going to let third parties basically take the place of Cable at a fraction of the cost. What will be interesting is if we end up with bundlers to combine billing because of subscription burnout and whether it will just be the Cable companies.
- hakfoo 7y ago
  Aside from billing, some sort of combined UX, browse/search/discovery and platform support would be important. Honestly, I wonder if this is somewhere device manufacturers could get an edge. They already have to build the integrations for their individual platforms, so they could wire them together into an interface which says "I just want to watch Black Lagoon, not worry about whose catalog it's in this week." I wonder if the money people would pay for "the slickest smart TV experience on the market" exceeds the kickback for putting the hard-coded Netflix and Amazon remote buttons, which only serve to reinforce the silos.

ggg3 7y ago

daytime tv is now fully replaced with UGC. people now scrolls instagram/tiktok/etc for hours and hours. so when the vestigial bill changes price, it's enough to call people into action.

rootusrootus 7y ago
UGC == user generated content?

sdinsn 7y ago

Netflix is not losing customers. They have never had a quarter where they lost customers.

harshalizee 7y ago
They just did
- sdinsn 7y ago
  They lost customers in the US, not customers overall.
endianswap 7y ago
They lost US customers in Q2, which is probably what OP is referring to.
- sdinsn 7y ago
  If that's what he was referring to, he should have said US customers.
SirensOfTitan 7y ago
This comment is getting unfairly downvoted. Netflix did not lose customers this past quarter, they added new ones globally. They did lose net customers in the US, though.

meddlin 7y ago

Some people are postulating that subscribers are moving to newer services (i.e. Disney). A slight piracy resurgence is coming around again. A return to the "cable model", but with refined content choice may win out. Already an average sized household subscribing to several services rivals a cheaper cable bill.

basch 7y ago
They are moving to a service that isnt released yet? Canceling in preparation. Do you really think most of the US is aware disney has a service coming?

guiomie 7y ago

I think Netflix might be more of a seasonal thing or business readjustment, while Comcast, it's really the end of a business: linear TV.

sjg007 7y ago

I am guessing YouTube and social media.

snarf21 7y ago

It feels like it is what happened with TV and cable. At first there were 30 channels. Years later there are 900 channels. It gets harder to separate the good from the bad and the majority is garbage. Now you also have all these services having exclusives to get lock in. But to get all this top exclusive content, you need to pay for 12 services which is basically back to cable. We really need a new model. Customers would prefer micro-transactions and providers and producers want recurring locked in revenue. Something has to give.

mbreese 7y ago

Netflix was reported as saying that one of their major competitors wasn't the broadcast networks or cable, but rather Fortnite. There are lots of companies that are vying for your attention, and back when the choice was Cable or Cable plus Netflix, it was an easier bet to have Netflix. Now, you have Netflix, Youtube, Hulu, CBS All Access, AMC and FX (I think?) have their own streaming, HBO, SHO, and soon the Mouse is going to have a must have service. And that's not even considering the amount of time people spend on "alternative" forms of entertainment, such as video games. It's all just too much, so I think there will be a lot of churn with Netflix. Instead of getting 12 months of service from Netflix, I think we'll see people hopping around more between 2-3 different services each month.

hbosch 7y ago

YouTube and Twitch are the real winners IMO.

moate 7y ago

Netflix is your outlier in this group. They're probably losing subscribers (in certain locations) because things are fragmenting and every content creator wants to try and start an app right now. Short term (next 5 years) we're probably going to go through a painful adjustment period where CBS keeps trying to make CBS now happen before they realize they should just shut it down and put everything through Hulu. Consumers aren't going to keep paying 8-$10/month for more and more splintered programming. The sweet spot between massive bundle, massive price (Cable Packages) and "just the content I want for a reasonable price" (netflix, HBO, Disney+) is going to take some figuring out. 100% of nothing is < a 50/50 split of millions of dollars. Lots of these apps are going to realize that.

JohnJamesRambo 7y ago

I watch a lot of Pluto TV now. It’s like having cable but all totally free and has a PS4 app. Mystery Science Theater 3000 channel is my favorite.

dragonwriter 7y ago

> DirecTV, Comcast, and Netflix are all losing customers. Are there winners in this space Yes, content-owner owned streaming services, and note that both DirecTV and Comcast are (or are owned by) content owners which have or are imminently launching streaming services focussed on first-party content.

fred_is_fred 7y ago

Anecdotally my kids would rather watch YouTube, although I've since blocked it in my house for a variety of reasons, they seem to like the shorter video format. And they LOVE watching people play video games which I just want to shake my cane at.