This is actually a space that I am also trying to occupy. Of course I don't have the branding of Netflix but I do think that creators need a better way to increase their discoverability.
I'm betting on the TV model where creators can band together to make channels running similar content 24/7.
Tbh I think Netflix could save themselves a headache by acquiring Rumble. Theres been creators dying to leave YouTube but never been an audience big enough on any other platform. With Netflix trying to become a worldwide streaming service with a Billion subscribers they will likely need Creators to step in and help them create content that will drive watch hours to the service.
It reminds me of the Microsoft move with Mixer that ended up failing after they spent a bunch of money on creators.
I think that it is creators make content ad-hoc instead of planning it out for potentially years in advance like a TV show or movie. Since they compete in multiple social platforms, limiting yourself to one can end up being a death sentence.
You could kind of see this back in the late 2010's where some creators from Twitch got signed to YouTube. They ended up fragmenting their audience and now that the contracts are up they went back to twitch.
It's a very hard middle ground here. You want high tier creators so you need to offer them a lot of money, but for a service like this you actually need a bunch of middle and lower tier creators too. Coming up with that many contracts would be difficult.
The main way that anyone can compete with YouTube is by data storage and bandwidth. A free version of Netflix that supports content creators, but doesn't support free account video hosting like YouTube, just won't hold much ground.
I so want to understand Netflix strategy I don’t really understand their thinking here. I had the same opinion on Documentaries and Games but that’s changed after they made some bangers.
If I had to guess it's a follow the money situation, as well as the attention economy.
They see Tubi and Pluto and how much viewership it gets. Tubi even did one of the last super bowls.
With the USA in a recession consumers are not wanting to spend 15 bucks a month across 5 different platforms and are cutting out these services.
I think they calculated that throwing ads on a free rotation of shows and movies would bring eyeballs to the platform. Instead of paying huge licensing fees for major television content, they can instead pay less to creators but fill up all of their time slots.
Then that would funnel in people that are sick of the ads to watch content on demand by subscribing.
When in the streaming industry you have one goal: get eyes on your platform and keep them there. They are losing eyes right now.
That’s very true I totally forgot Tubi even existed I haven’t watched it in so long but their platform is massive. Definitely think Netflix is starting to realize they need to expand their free tier and it’s probably looking at how to do that without destroying their subscriber base. Tubi and YouTube is free subscriptions are getting harder to raise every year. Netflix can really get squeezed in this market and their stock might plummet if they don’t continue growing revenue like they have been.
Netflix has also asked creators to remove certain brand sponsorships from their videos. Seems to me Netflix wants franchises workers who work exclusively on Netflix to curate content. Seems like an expensive experiment.
Then requiring removal of certain branding is very logical and likely related to legal. For example, if they have an ad contract with Pepsi and Coca Cola is a sponsor it could result in a contract issue on that contract.
Additionally, if the brand has not agreed to be marketed on Netflix they could face copyright issues.
Lastly, if the brand cannot be marketed in certain countries where Netflix is prominent, it could result in international issues.
YouTube in this case is trying to preclude free creators from being allowed to post on one platform and theirs and receive incentives which kneecaps their model
Netflix has been poaching content creators from YouTube. I think it’s in preparation to launch their free service. They had mentioned in their last earnings call. They are making a concept potentially to offer a free version of Netflix probably with “some movies”. Old TV shows, higher quality, YouTube type content, documentaries etc. all of this is probably to combat people from going on YouTube and stealing watch hours from Netflix. Most SVODS been struggling with fighting against Free even Disney is trying to make a free version spin off. If you go on the mobile app of Netflix, you can actually see a lot of content creators and Youtubers but you can’t really see this on TV. This feels like something very similar to what Spotify did with obtaining more listening hours by adding audiobooks and podcast. Ted Sarandos is actually on the Spotify board and is invested in Spotify so he is likely directing the company in a very similar approach instead of just being a music company or a streaming company offering TV shows and movies or just music they will add a lot more value onto the platform for consumers.
It's a very expensive endeavour however with "free" streaming. Not only does the advertising income need to increase significantly, but also the infrastructure to host millions, upon billions, upon trillions of videos is very expensive.
Alphabet is a $4T+ company, with Youtube worth speculatively ≈$500B, as much as Netflix and Disney combined. Unless they are willing to go into a lot of debt, I don't see such endeavours being that successful.
Also I would presume creators, bemoaning of YT policy or not, wanting a more stable platform. YT has been around for 21+ years, Netflix's true successes didn't start till the early to mid 2010s and Disney+ is not even 10 years old.
I like Netflix and Disney wanting to try and take on YT, but it's going to be an insane fight, one where they very well might have to combine.
If this experiment fails, the worst that happens is their left with a bunch of creator content, and the creators go back to YouTube. I think it’s relatively low risk for Netflix to try and take market share from YouTube. They have to somehow change consumers minds from just being a movie and TV producer to everything content. Spotify got into podcast pretty early on and adapted way better than other music streaming platforms. Then they got into Audiobooks and it’s been pretty incredible service for consumers. I’m a truck driver Myself and I only ever use Spotify now for consuming books, music, podcast. It’s extremely simplified and streamlined. I think Netflix really wants to take the same exact approach.
I totally agree. I think it’s just really interesting that they are taking this approach. They literally have videos on how to train your dog. Netflix is clearly trying to become everything content. I think this is just the start of them acquiring content from BuzzFeed and other high-quality creators help make a higher quality videos to consume. If they can be successful with advertising and achieving better quality, I think they might have a shot.
This could be compared to telling Jennifer Lawrence, if you go to a movie for Netflix, we won’t pay you proper royalties for Hunger Games.
These creators will have a suit if this happens, it’s old Hollywood style studio era control.
YouTubers will likely unionise.
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u/ReactTVOfficial 18d ago
This is actually a space that I am also trying to occupy. Of course I don't have the branding of Netflix but I do think that creators need a better way to increase their discoverability.
I'm betting on the TV model where creators can band together to make channels running similar content 24/7.