The problem with Netflix isn’t the cost, it’s the content

While Disney+ is adding subscribers every quarter, Netflix is starting to lose them. This isn’t because Netflix is expensive. Sure, they might do away with password sharing, but that won’t fix their problems. Their problem isn’t revenue, it’s that their content is mostly boring and unoriginal.

I’m talking about the Netflix originals here, obviously not the other stuff. Everyone loves The Office and Breaking Bad. But did they seriously expect people to be excited about a second season of Tiger King, or Old Man Obama’s trip to Hanauma Bay?

There isn’t anything wrong with Obama. I’m not a hater. Don’t get me wrong, if I lived in the US, I’d probably vote Democrat. But only because they’re slightly less terrible than the Republicans.

Business in an exercise in utility. (Not futility.) The more utility you create for your customers, the more likely they are to hand you their money. In fact, if the value you create for them eclipses the value of the money, they are compelled to hand it over.

Have you ever walked through a mall and seen something cheap and cool and thought, “I have to have that?” This process occurs hundreds of times per day. If the cost of something (monetary or non-monetary) is less than the utility that something will create, we will try to acquire it.

How much utility can a celebrity like Obama possibly create for a Netflix show? In a few years, kids won’t know he is. Half the US hates him simply based on partisan rhetoric. Yes, Barack Obama is a great orator. If I wanted someone to give a speech on geopolitics, Obama would be a first-round draft pick. But would I hire him as the celebrity host for my nature show? Not a chance.

1.  Obama is expensive.

2.  He’s old and boring.

3.  He’s sexually unattractive to the vast majority of people.

You’ve heard the marketing slogan, “Sex sells,” haven’t you? Because it does. A romance novel with the topless torso of an absolutely shredded cowboy will get more clicks than a wrinkly 60-year-old man who probably disagrees with your politics.

What went wrong?

Netflix fell victim to the same thing everyone does when they watch a movie. They go home and they say, “I could write a better movie than that.”

Buddy, let me tell you, you probably can’t. There is a small handful of writers that can compete at the top level. Making high-quality art is insanely difficult, but everyone thinks they can do it. This is because the barrier to entry is basically non-existent. Anyone with a word processor can write a screenplay. Producers have to sift through an ocean of shit to find a good one. And even if a diamond in the rough does end up in their slush pile, they might accidently skip over it.

Some great movies are done by a writer/director combo. Sometimes they even act in their own movies. Like Taika Waititi. The first Thor movie was okay. But only because it was an origin story. The second Thor movie was absolute drivel. It was so bad, Chris Hemsworth was close to abandoning the character altogether.

Then along comes Taika and says, “Hold the phone and let’s go bananas.”

Thor: Ragnarok is colorful, unique, and humorous. It added a whole new dimension to the Thor character. And that’s what Netflix is missing. They aren’t trying to make great movies. They’re just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks.

“People liked Tiger King for some reason, let’s make another one!”

No. Stop it. If you can’t further the narrative, don’t make a sequel. Move on to new characters. New adventures. Intrigue. Mystery. Comedy. Romance.

When I was a teen, I’d pick up a VHS tape at the rental store. The back cover might read, Warning: Contains scenes of violence, sex, and coarse language. Fantastic. You loved to see it because it meant the movie was probably at least watchable. Especially when you’re a kid and are very stupid/horny.

I rate movies and TV shows into three categories. Avoid, Watchable, and Recommend.

Some of the stuff Netflix has produced is Watchable. Most stuff is Avoid.

Like the movie sequel to Breaking Bad, Gran Torino, are you kidding me? Tapping into nostalgia is one of the easiest ways to get people at least quasi-excited about your work. Gran Torino was dog shit wrapped in cat shit. The story was lame and the actors had aged terribly. I don’t even remember if I finished it.

Now that Netflix is losing subscribers, they have a choice. They can either seek to increase revenue by banning password-sharing in a vane attempt to boost their numbers, or they can admit that most of the content they produced in the last decade is junk.

Dear Netflix, here is a difficult, but rewarding path forward:

Hire better creators.

Film better movies.

Make better shows.

Increase your subscriber’s utility to the point where they’re cancelling their plans to watch your new release. And stop releasing an entire season in one week. It was a cute gimmick 10 years ago, but now it’s just annoying. It forces people into binge watching an entire season so that nobody spoils it for them. A single episode once a week is more than enough. It also serves to keep people excited about a show for two months, instead of days.

Netflix is even floating the idea of a free version of their platform that’s supported by advertising. While this might bring some subscribers back, it devalues the content and creates a whole new set of issues. How do you deal with people that figure out how to block the ads? How do you know which ads to run? You’d need to create an entire “free TV” advertising department. Sales, targeting, etc. Total nightmare. Free TV with advertising is a regression to the 90s and it doesn’t solve the underlying issue of boring content.

Do better, Netflix. I’m not mad at you, I’m disappointed. You had the biggest head start and now you’re tripping over your expensive but useless sneakers. If you don’t want to end up like Blockbuster, then you need to innovate. Focus on truly fantastic content. Maybe take a field day and bring the entire staff to see Everything Everywhere All at Once. Now that is a movie I would Recommend.

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