It's a lazy take because it underappreciates that Netflix saw this coming for the last ten+ years. They made the switch from physical, mail-order rental to dig

It's a lazy take because it underappreciates that Netflix saw this coming for the last ten+ years. They made the switch from physical, mail-order rental to digital streaming when the average connection supported a streaming model. But as soon as they switched from owning content (DVDs) to leasing it (limited time streaming rights), they saw the countdown until the content owners would eventually have an equivalent platform offering. That's what kicked off the Netflix originals spend, and continues to drive their content creation spend today. Netflix is 100% sober that (1) they need enough already-owned back-catalog to stay competitive & (2) they will never be in a stronger future financial position than they are today. So it's literally "accumulate content or die." And I'm not crediting them with foresight. It was abundantly clear to everyone that eventually the content owners would see {cost of developing platform} < {content value being pocketed by Netflix}. It was only a question of how long it would take the legacy companies to random stumble into a viable offering. --- The more timely question is "What is Netflix's edge, once they've finished becoming a traditional content producer?" Because from the last few years of hits and misses, they don't seem particularly better than HBO or Amazon Studios at picking winners.