One feature of conversations we often have here on EnWorld about geek media is that they get sidetracked into conversations about the various streaming services that are currently offering the content. So while you want to have a conversation about Captain Pike's amazingly dreamy hair and cooking skills on Strange New Worlds, you instead end up discussing Paramount+. Or instead of being able to chat about the delightfully awesome and weird Severance, you end up debating the merits of AppleTV+.
Therefore, as a public service, I have decided to create these series of threads - for talking about the relative merits of streaming platforms, as well as to all people to provide their own power rankings of the platforms. This is the fourth post on the subject.
The original post in August is here.
The second post in November is here.
The year-end rankings are here.
I apologize but these posts are going to be US-centric. That's because I am reasonably certain that the 'Murika is the only country, and that every time I have flown "outside the US" I have actually only gone to the World Showcase of Epcot ... which, wow, there is sauerkraut in my lederhosen!
As usual, the POWER RANKINGS are an excuse to talk about something in the news. And as usual, one of the topics of conversation will be HBOMax- seriously, what are they doing? The other topic will be Prime ... huh? So if you're looking for the good stuff, just go to those entries.
How are power rankings determined? They are a completely subjective mix of my opinion as to how the service is doing currently, along with my belief in how the service will be doing in the future. In addition, I will provide a trend (up, down, steady).
1. Netflix. (August: 1, November: 1, 2022: 1)
Netflix had, for Netflix, a relatively rough year. The stock price went from $690 in October of 2021 to $175 in June of 2022. Not great, Bob! But the stock price has roughly doubled since that low point, and for good reason.
Are we still at peak Netflix? No. Will Netflix continue to see meteoric growth? Ha, no. But Netflix has a brand, a massive audience, a global reach, and the ability to keep people on the platform; perhaps most importantly, it is one of the few services that doesn't demand continued subsidies from other sources. Unfortunately, this also means that we are seeing Netflix pivot to making more material that is completely disposable- less "event" and "prestige" television and movies, and more, "Eh, might as well see if people can tell the difference between cake and non-cake."
2. HBOMax (August: 4, November 3, 2022: 8)
I'm as shocked as you are. Just look at the prior rankings. So let's get this out of the way. Do I have any confidence in HBOMax's leadership? You're kidding, right? I hate the things that Zaslav has been doing so much that I cancelled it after I finished White Lotus. Heck, let's just list the various terrible things going on-
-Getting rid of entire shows from the streaming service (pour one out for Westworld, yo) because they don't want to pay the residuals.
-Un-renewing shows (sigh, Minx).
-Likely changing the name of the service to "Max" or something else stupid because they don't want people to think they're, um, good.
-Leaning hard into reality TV and Discovery-type programs like Dr. Pimple Popper.
-Apparently greenlighting a Harry Potter show, based on the original books, which is just not a great look, at all.
It's just a mess- if Zaslav was trying to destroy a brand, he'd be hard-pressed to be doing a better job. So why is it number 2 (and not in that sense?). Well, in the same way that "Scoreboard" is the rallying cry in sports, "Content" is the rallying cry for streaming services. And the thing is ... Zaslav hasn't pulled everything from the vast HBOMax catalog, nor has he managed to completely destroy the HBO pipeline. The Last of Us and Succession started the year, and we're about the get the final season of Barry. Combine that with continued good movie content, and, for now, it remains a solid streaming choice.
3. AppleTV+. (August: 3, November 5, 2022: 3)
Weirdly, AppleTV+ is ranked so highly not because of its content (still sparse overall) but because it has a focus on quality and the backing of Apple to keep pouring money into it. It's already won Emmys, and the fact that it got a Best Picture Oscar has to sting Netflix ... a lot. But they are positioning themselves as the new HBO- curated and quality programs.
4. Hulu. (August: 7, November: 2, 2022: 5).
The toughest service to rank for a simple reason. In terms of content, it is at, or near, the level of HBOMax. It has an amazing library of quality content, especially with the FX programming. On the other hand, it is a streaming service that is owned by Disney and Comcast (Peacock), which means that one way or another, it cannot be long for this world. Whether it gets folded into Disney+ as "Adult Disney+" (as it is in many other parts of the world) or sold to Comcast, the situation is untenable.
5. Disney+. (August: 2, November: 4, 2022: 2).
The optimism surrounding the return of Bob Iger has now become the realism that the prior pace of production was untenable. Say what you will about the multiplicity of Marvel and Star Wars shows on Disney+, but combined with all the COVID-era movies, they were giving us a firehose of content. Now, with an unsustainable burn rate, the cutbacks in content have started to arrive.
6. Prime. (August: 5, November 6, 2022: 6)
So how is it that Prime stays at number 6 but is marked in red? Well, did you read the article? You know, THAT ARTICLE?
www.hollywoodreporter.com
Ouch. The reason Prime can't go any further down is because I think it will always be the #1 P (Prime, Paramount, Peacock). But dang. It truly looks like they've been sending money like a drunken sailor, and all they have is a hangover to show for it. Rings of Power might not have been a flop, but to have 2/3 of the people who start it quit before finishing? To not only pay exorbitant amounts for Thursday Night Football, but also to have to give back money to the advertisers?
Heck, look at the upcoming programming. Are you excited to see Citadel? Do you even know what it is? Most streamers have some sort of identity, but Prime doesn't, unless that identity is, "The place where people will give you hundreds of millions of dollars for ideas that the other streamers passed on."
Given the Amazon business model, Prime isn't in any danger. But many of their projects seem a lot like they are just lighting Amazon's revenue on fire to see how fast it will burn.
7. Paramount+. (August: 6, November 7, 2022: 6).
The streamer of CBS, Star Trek, and Yellowstone spinoff series (but not Yellowstone) will continue to chug along, and, eventually, probably sell itself to another streamer. Enjoy the multiplicity of Star Trek shows while they last. I hear Picard season 3 was good!
8. Peacock. (August: 8, November 8, 2022: 7)
Comcast executive: We still exist, and will continue to do so. Anyone up for some OLYMPICS????
Therefore, as a public service, I have decided to create these series of threads - for talking about the relative merits of streaming platforms, as well as to all people to provide their own power rankings of the platforms. This is the fourth post on the subject.
The original post in August is here.
The second post in November is here.
The year-end rankings are here.
I apologize but these posts are going to be US-centric. That's because I am reasonably certain that the 'Murika is the only country, and that every time I have flown "outside the US" I have actually only gone to the World Showcase of Epcot ... which, wow, there is sauerkraut in my lederhosen!
As usual, the POWER RANKINGS are an excuse to talk about something in the news. And as usual, one of the topics of conversation will be HBOMax- seriously, what are they doing? The other topic will be Prime ... huh? So if you're looking for the good stuff, just go to those entries.
How are power rankings determined? They are a completely subjective mix of my opinion as to how the service is doing currently, along with my belief in how the service will be doing in the future. In addition, I will provide a trend (up, down, steady).
1. Netflix. (August: 1, November: 1, 2022: 1)
Netflix had, for Netflix, a relatively rough year. The stock price went from $690 in October of 2021 to $175 in June of 2022. Not great, Bob! But the stock price has roughly doubled since that low point, and for good reason.
Are we still at peak Netflix? No. Will Netflix continue to see meteoric growth? Ha, no. But Netflix has a brand, a massive audience, a global reach, and the ability to keep people on the platform; perhaps most importantly, it is one of the few services that doesn't demand continued subsidies from other sources. Unfortunately, this also means that we are seeing Netflix pivot to making more material that is completely disposable- less "event" and "prestige" television and movies, and more, "Eh, might as well see if people can tell the difference between cake and non-cake."
2. HBOMax (August: 4, November 3, 2022: 8)
I'm as shocked as you are. Just look at the prior rankings. So let's get this out of the way. Do I have any confidence in HBOMax's leadership? You're kidding, right? I hate the things that Zaslav has been doing so much that I cancelled it after I finished White Lotus. Heck, let's just list the various terrible things going on-
-Getting rid of entire shows from the streaming service (pour one out for Westworld, yo) because they don't want to pay the residuals.
-Un-renewing shows (sigh, Minx).
-Likely changing the name of the service to "Max" or something else stupid because they don't want people to think they're, um, good.
-Leaning hard into reality TV and Discovery-type programs like Dr. Pimple Popper.
-Apparently greenlighting a Harry Potter show, based on the original books, which is just not a great look, at all.
It's just a mess- if Zaslav was trying to destroy a brand, he'd be hard-pressed to be doing a better job. So why is it number 2 (and not in that sense?). Well, in the same way that "Scoreboard" is the rallying cry in sports, "Content" is the rallying cry for streaming services. And the thing is ... Zaslav hasn't pulled everything from the vast HBOMax catalog, nor has he managed to completely destroy the HBO pipeline. The Last of Us and Succession started the year, and we're about the get the final season of Barry. Combine that with continued good movie content, and, for now, it remains a solid streaming choice.
3. AppleTV+. (August: 3, November 5, 2022: 3)
Weirdly, AppleTV+ is ranked so highly not because of its content (still sparse overall) but because it has a focus on quality and the backing of Apple to keep pouring money into it. It's already won Emmys, and the fact that it got a Best Picture Oscar has to sting Netflix ... a lot. But they are positioning themselves as the new HBO- curated and quality programs.
4. Hulu. (August: 7, November: 2, 2022: 5).
The toughest service to rank for a simple reason. In terms of content, it is at, or near, the level of HBOMax. It has an amazing library of quality content, especially with the FX programming. On the other hand, it is a streaming service that is owned by Disney and Comcast (Peacock), which means that one way or another, it cannot be long for this world. Whether it gets folded into Disney+ as "Adult Disney+" (as it is in many other parts of the world) or sold to Comcast, the situation is untenable.
5. Disney+. (August: 2, November: 4, 2022: 2).
The optimism surrounding the return of Bob Iger has now become the realism that the prior pace of production was untenable. Say what you will about the multiplicity of Marvel and Star Wars shows on Disney+, but combined with all the COVID-era movies, they were giving us a firehose of content. Now, with an unsustainable burn rate, the cutbacks in content have started to arrive.
6. Prime. (August: 5, November 6, 2022: 6)
So how is it that Prime stays at number 6 but is marked in red? Well, did you read the article? You know, THAT ARTICLE?
Inside Amazon Studios: Big Swings Hampered by Confusion and Frustration
Despite ambitious bets like 'Daisy Jones & The Six' and the upcoming 'Citadel,' insiders complain that there’s still "no vision for what an Amazon Prime show is." But chief Jen Salke says they are missing the point: "You don’t reverse-engineer true creative vision."
www.hollywoodreporter.com
Ouch. The reason Prime can't go any further down is because I think it will always be the #1 P (Prime, Paramount, Peacock). But dang. It truly looks like they've been sending money like a drunken sailor, and all they have is a hangover to show for it. Rings of Power might not have been a flop, but to have 2/3 of the people who start it quit before finishing? To not only pay exorbitant amounts for Thursday Night Football, but also to have to give back money to the advertisers?
Heck, look at the upcoming programming. Are you excited to see Citadel? Do you even know what it is? Most streamers have some sort of identity, but Prime doesn't, unless that identity is, "The place where people will give you hundreds of millions of dollars for ideas that the other streamers passed on."
Given the Amazon business model, Prime isn't in any danger. But many of their projects seem a lot like they are just lighting Amazon's revenue on fire to see how fast it will burn.
7. Paramount+. (August: 6, November 7, 2022: 6).
The streamer of CBS, Star Trek, and Yellowstone spinoff series (but not Yellowstone) will continue to chug along, and, eventually, probably sell itself to another streamer. Enjoy the multiplicity of Star Trek shows while they last. I hear Picard season 3 was good!
8. Peacock. (August: 8, November 8, 2022: 7)
Comcast executive: We still exist, and will continue to do so. Anyone up for some OLYMPICS????
