Just this year, Netflix has canceled 14 popular TV shows. Competitors Hulu, Prime, and Disney canceled half that at five, four, and three, respectively.
The reasoning behind Netflix’s high cancellations are mostly attributed to budget issues, which are either untrue, or show that Netflix is quickly running out of money. Shows that more than made back their budget were still canceled, despite their possibility to bring in an incredible amount of money for Netflix.
For example, even after grossing over $854 million on a $65 million budget and numerous positive reviews from critics, naming it one of the best book to movie adaptations of all time, the Netflix TV series Lockwood and Co. has been canceled after only one season.
Cancellations of popular shows like Lockwood and Co. are hardly unheard of in the world of Netflix. Other shows have also been canceled suddenly despite popular demand and amid significant fan outrage, such as Inside Job, I Am Not Okay With This, and Final Space.
Regardless of popularity or revenue, unless a series becomes incredibly and overwhelmingly talked about, like Wednesday or Stranger Things, there is never any guarantee that it will not be canceled at the drop of a hat.
Netflix’s other shows, while they may be spared the pain of cancellation, hang in a sort of “Netflix limbo.” For example, The Unlisted, a highly popular TV show from 2019 that ended on a cliffhanger, is still awaiting either a cancellation or another season, leaving fans disappointed, even though the show hasn’t been officially canceled.
If a show isn’t axed or left lying in wait for a later season release, then it is ended forcefully by Netflix, resulting in rushed and unsatisfying endings, a fate that has been met by shows like The Umbrella Academy, House of Cards, or Jessica Jones.
In recent years, the rate at which this happens has been speeding up exponentially, and this isn’t for no reason. As the years go on, Netflix’s business model is starting to reveal fatal flaws.
These flaws make themselves known in Netflix’s profit strategies. Netflix has three main revenue streams, subscription fees, original content, and content licensing.
Subscription fees serve to directly support most of Netflix, via different levels of subscription. Netflix works to attract new subscribers, and retain old ones. It does this through its content, and setting itself apart from competitors.
To set itself apart, Netflix has started to produce originals, like Stranger Things, that pull in a large audience. Other content may be found on places like Hulu or Peacock, but you can only find Netflix originals on the site itself.
In recent years however, this is no longer something that pulls and keeps subscribers.
New Netflix originals rarely inspire the same devotion that they did in the past, as Netflix pours their budget into shows like Is It Cake?, Nailed It, and other similar easily marketable shows. Eye catching, but not enough to set Netflix apart from other streaming services
Finally, one of Netflix’s greatest pulls and sources of revenue is their content licensing. By acquiring shows and movies from other producers, Netflix is able to widely expand both its library and viewer base. Shows Netflix has gotten the right to make up most of their library, and are the reasons most of the subscribers are there.
However, this model is not perfect. As Netflix loses revenue, they have started to jack up their prices. Back in 2010 when they first began streaming online, the cost of Netflix was $7.99 a month for a standard plan. Now, a standard subscription costs double that at $15.49.
While Netflix has done this in hopes that they will be able to make up what they’re lacking in earnings, this price increase has instead pushed possible subscribers and even long-term subscribers into canceling their subscriptions.
Not only that, but they have started removing password sharing and asking viewers to pay an outrageous price of $22.99 for additional slots.
Furthermore, many of Netflix’s licenses are running out, and they are no longer available on Netflix. In fact, just this October, 34 movies and TV shows are being taken off Netflix including big names like Monty Python, Crazy Rich Asians, and La La Land. That’s on top of the 47 from September, and the over 200 other shows that have been removed this past year.
Netflix is still a very large and successful company, but it is not the only one. Disney Plus has shared a lot of popularity with Netflix in recent years, and may soon surpass it, especially with the colossal amount of movies and TV shows under the Disney umbrella.
Additionally, HBO Max, Hulu, Peacock, Prime Video, and several smaller sites are quickly rising in popularity due to the spread of movies. Most people can’t only be subscribed to one site. Because most series have been scattered throughout the internet, it’s most useful for the average person to choose the services with the cheapest price and greatest selection.
That used to be Netflix, but as it loses its library and raises its prices, there is really no reason for anyone to choose them out of the growing options.
In the end, Netflix is becoming borderline useless. High prices, terrible shows, and a small collection are not factors that pull customers in. Unless they change their tactics, they will quickly fall from the top streaming services, and you’d be better off subscribing to one of their many competitors.
