With over 83 million users worldwide, Netflix has boomed over the past two to three years as it transitioned from a DVD rental service to a streaming platform for film and television. It is indisputable that Netflix has led the charge when it comes to television consumption and access for millions of consumers as cable becomes a less preferable option.
However, it might surprise some that Netflix's catalog has actually shrunken from 11,000 titles to 5,300 titles, according to data from uNoGS.
One might normally believe that the booming popularity of Netflix would lure TV production studios to their platform to publish their content, but there are two pressing factors that prevent Netflix from expanding their robust catalog to encompass more producers.
To start, some may already recognize that Netflix is dedicated to making more original content than ever. In fact, Netflix has stated that they will produce 600 hours of original content by the end of 2016. Their mission is backed by partnerships with several companies to produce and release content on the platform. For example, Marvel has already published 3 original television series on the platform as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, an initiative that attempts to bring together many intellectual property into one continuum. Even with Marvel at the forefront, several hits including House of Cards, Stranger Things, and Making a Murderer certainly entice consumers to purchase their monthly service. However, producing these series comes at a cost, and it is undeniable that Netflix would prioritize their original content over licenses and partnerships with other companies. Therefore, it discourages those companies from publishing content on the platform, alongside the fact that Netflix is less willing now that they hold the assets to create content that is arguable high-quality and critically responsive.
In addition, Netflix fosters a ever-growing form of entertainment consumption: binge watching. Nowadays, viewers tend to watch multiple episodes in one sitting if the series is good enough and accessible to them immediately. This not only encourages producers to create more television shows, but also increases the active user count and the chances of them discovering new content on the platform. In addition, Netflix used to primarily serve as a DVD rental service that rented out movies to viewers or subscribers. In light of this, it makes much more sense why the number of movies would be decreasing instead of increasing.
The entertainment industry continues to evolve, and Netflix plays a huge part in the direction it takes. As consumers turn to streaming in order to access content, we must ask ourselves what state television and film will be in a year, five years, or even a decade from now. It is quite possible that Netflix will become an exclusive, dedicated platform that only holds its own content, and it's entirely plausible that movies may become less desirable by the average consumer. Regardless, the significant changes that a provider like Netflix makes to its services might signal how our consumption of television, our access to content, and the type of content created, may be drastically changing in the future.
