Posted by In the ever-changing world of media, streaming companies have accelerated output and overwhelmed us with an embarrassment of riches regarding TV and movies. However, before streaming companies became the titans of the movie and television business, we consumed our media differently. It’s not just TV and movies that have witnessed this fresh shift in how customers engage. Music streaming companies now rule the roost compared to traditional counterparts like CD and vinyl.
Truth be told, streaming companies have used the internet to their advantage, and many companies that haven’t, such as Blockbuster, have disappeared from the industry. The online casino industry is another excellent example, much like Netflix, of a company that saw the huge changes the internet was about to enact on the horizon and adjusted its business model accordingly, which is why they both remain at the top of their respective industries.
For instance, the idea of playing a casino game with a live dealer from the palm of your hand on your phone would have been laughed at thirty years ago. Nowadays, you can play live dealer games whenever you like from the solitude of your home. Whether it’s a game of live dealer baccarat, roulette, or blackjack, there are dozens of avenues for you to enjoy your favorite casino games via your mobile.
The convenience of digital gambling and the ease at which people can now stream their favorite movies are two worlds that have collided successfully over the last two decades, and both show signs of continuing to grow.
For those old enough to remember Blockbuster, the video rental service was the go-to place for new movies. It operated in the same way as a library, and you’d go, rent your video, watch your film and return it. It was a model that worked wonders before the internet existed, and at its peak, Blockbuster was a multi-billion-dollar company with over 80,000 employees.
In 2000, Blockbuster had the opportunity to purchase Netflix for $50 million, which has now become one of the most immense missed business opportunities of the 21st Century. Of course, Netflix wasn’t a profitable company then, but they switched to DVDs as videos began to age out, and then they made the ingenious move into streaming, as the industry was still finding its feet in 2007.
The rest is history; as they say, Netflix is now the biggest provider of entertainment and media anywhere on the planet, with just over 230 million customers.
The Digital Revolution
Netflix was arguably the first subscription-based streaming company to appreciate the importance of the internet and how it would go on to change the world we live in entirely. However, giving them complete credit for becoming the first company to digitize their business model and turn it into a monumentally lucrative organization would be a stretch.
Truth be told, every sector has benefitted enormously from the rise of the internet, and companies like Google and Amazon show just how colossal you can grow if you’re on the ground floor of such an enormous innovation.
Netflix continues to grow further into this sector, and they have announced big plans to move into the gaming sector. Over the same timespan as the growth of Netflix, the online gaming sector has grown exponentially too. This includes all types of games, whether console, virtual reality, blockchain, or casino. It is another world that has flourished because of the internet.
A Successful Advertising Model
There was a time when Netflix wasn’t overly concerned about password sharing and actively encouraged it. Back in the mid-2010s, Netflix was continuing to grow in numbers. Although people benefited from password sharing and saving money, Netflix deemed it a redeemable and necessary cost of advertising.
Netflix used this as a fantastic springboard to expand into new countries, to millions more people, and drive up the views on many of their movies and series. It has allowed them to dominate this industry for the last ten years. When their vast releases like the smash hit Tiger King came out, the more people watching, the better.
However, the current rhetoric is much sterner and boils down to the fact that Netflix is at the top of this industry. While they may have been happy to let a few users slip through the net, given that their customer base was growing by tens of millions per year, it should have been clear that they would eventually clamp down.
Conclusion
Given that they now have legitimate competitors in the streaming sector, such as Paramount, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV, obtaining every bit of profit and staying at the top of the streaming industry is more important than ever. Another complex question is how the American streaming giant will implement a way to stop people from sharing passwords, which is something that will undoubtedly lead to more profit if they find the solution.
It’s a delicate balancing act for Netflix; they could drive some of their customers to other rivals if they strictly impose some rules that counteract what brought so many people to them in the first place. For example, in the mid-2010s, password sharing was so widespread that some Netflix accounts would have four or five people on one account.
However, it looks like those days are long gone. For those who rode a comfortable slipstream into watching all their favorite Netflix shows, paying a discount rate by pooling their money with their friends or family, it looks like the only way to keep watching Netflix is to pay the fair price like everybody else. This should result in more shows, a higher output, and hopefully better quality, allowing them to stay one step ahead of their competition.
