Netflix is restoring the cable bundle, yet there's a noticeable subject it's evading.
Netflix, the pioneer in blowing up the century-old linear television industry and triggering the expensive era of streaming, is edging closer to resembling the massive entertainment conglomerates of olden times.
The company has started incorporating advertisements into its plans, a decision it resisted for quite some time. It unveiled more than 40 million subscribers for its ad-supported tier on Wednesday. It also ventured into live late-night comedy, with Tom Brady's recent roast and the upcoming show "Everybody's In L.A." by John Mulaney. Additionally, it has been making significant strides in the live-sports landscape, amid claims that it had no intentions to venture too deep into this territory.
On Wednesday, the streaming giant announced an unprecedented agreement with the NFL to broadcast not one, but two games on Christmas Day this year. This adds to its diverse collection of live-sports offerings, rounding up WWE "Raw," which will be exclusively aired on Netflix starting next year.
"Last year, we decided to take a big bet on live — tapping into massive fandoms across comedy, reality TV, sports and more," Bela Bajaria, Netflix's Chief Content Officer, said in a statement regarding the decision.
However, curiously absent from Bajaria's statement and the company's programming strategy is news. Despite its immense audience, Netflix has shown no interest in investing in either live-news or pre-recorded programming (think "Vice News Tonight" or "60 Minutes"). To date, it has neither expressed public intentions nor launched any such projects. In conversations with talent agents, Netflix has made it clear that it has no desire to even explore the news business.
"The entertainment platforms are not interested in news," a talent agent, anonymous, stated while chatting with me. "Their audiences don't want it and it can be polarizing. It's just not worth it for them."
Similar to Netflix, Meta has also distanced itself from this industry, paving the way for radical changes to the news industry's business models that have been relied upon for decades.
Admittedly, Netflix and Meta have valid reasons to steer clear of the news. Firstly, news is not as popular as entertainment content. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, news has become increasingly polarizing in recent years.
Mentioning the 2020 presidential election as not being stolen - a demonstrably accurate fact - is enough to alienate Republicans. Such polarized content makes it harder to sell advertising around this programming and could potentially drive away customers who disagree with the viewpoint.
From a purely business standpoint, investing in news programming is less rewarding than other genres, yet a riskier venture. Abstaining from such content makes logical business sense.
Nonetheless, the counter-argument emerges: these companies have a civic duty to invest in journalism and public affairs programming, especially considering their role in undermining the business models sustaining traditional journalism. Journalists play a vital role in thriving democracies and the dwindling media industry poses severe implications for the future of liberty.
It's not unusual for large media corporations to allocate resources towards journalism. Warner Bros. Discovery boasts CNN, Comcast houses NBC News, Disney oversees ABC News, and Paramount owns CBS News. The list goes on. And, during the carnage-causing cable era, major carriers played a pivotal role in the launch of C-SPAN, offering the public a continuous feed of their government in action. Is it far-fetched to wonder if a streamer like Netflix should consider a similar move to broadcast news content that educates and emboldens the public?
Echoing the demise of traditional cable bundles through the acquisition of live sports rights will inevitably have a knock-on effect. As Netflix and similar platforms endanger the once-powerful network news outlets, the situation spirals into a grave scenario.
Neglecting news is like assembling a meal that consists of steak, potatoes, and ice cream, but no broccoli. The vegetables may not be the most delectable, most popular items on the menu, but skipping them is not a healthy option. Similarly, sticking to entertainment and sports alone may cater to the desires of the audience but does not promote the well-being of society.
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Despite Netflix's significant expansion into live sports and comedy, there's no indication that it will venture into business-related news programming. In fact, the company's strategy has shown no interest in investing in live or pre-recorded news content, aligning with other media giants like Meta in steering clear of this sector.
Source: edition.cnn.com
