Other than Netflix, Hollywood’s streaming services have become black holes that suck up billions in cash.
The problem, at least as the industry sees it, is churn. People don’t cancel their streaming service due to cost. They cancel because they never watch it. Churn works like this… Because there’s nothing left to watch that interests you on Disney+, you cancel Disney+ and jump over to another streaming service, like Paramount+. Then, once you’ve binged everything of interest on Paramount+, you head over to Peacock or Hulu.
And on and on it goes.
Blaming “churn” is shortsighted, but “shortsighted” is what we have come to expect from an industry that woke-rapes its golden geese franchises into flops just to please a bunch of fetishists.
The problem isn’t churn, morons.
The problem is content.
If you want to hold on to your streaming subscribers, you must offer a non-stop supply of compelling content.
Duh.
DUH!
Why do you think tens of millions of households still pay $150 a month for cable TV?
Content.
Unlimited content.
My dad is a perfect example. He hates cable TV. He hates the $225-a-month bill. He hates the 20 minutes of commercials per hour. He hates all the gay stuff. But guess what? He still pays that $225 a month. Wanna know why? Content.
He’s retired, Wisconsin winters are brutal, and he enjoys a dozen or so shows, which keeps him on the hook. Every week, he DVRs his shows, which allows him to zip through the ads and any gay stuff. Every month he pays that $225.
Whenever he complains about that cable bill, I pitch the Roku: You spend $50 once for a Roku player. You already pay for Internet, so you’re all set. In addition, Roku gives you access to thousands of TV shows and movies—all for free. One-time $50 bill, and you never pay another penny.
His response is always the same: Yeah, but it’s all reruns. I can’t watch my shows.
So he pays and keeps squandering my inheritance…
Why?
Content.
If Disney and the rest want to put an end to churn, the only way out is this…
Cable TV is doomed. Nothing will change that. So, instead of waiting for cable TV to die while your streaming services die, why not do the following: move your cable TV content over to your streaming services? All the old shows, the new shows, the reality shows, the scripted shows on cable TV… All of it goes to streaming. And then, just like cable TV, drop one episode per week. Yes, some outlets already do this, but they don’t do this… Stop airing these shows on cable TV. Use cable TV for reruns and the like, but the new seasons of Law & Order, CSI, NCIS, etc., are stream only.
Cable TV is the past. Streaming is the future. Why watch both cable and streaming die when you can save one?
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.