I’ve been an avid Netflix user since middle school, but in the past year, I have noticed a shift in the content put out and a general decline in quality regarding the platform. What made Netflix so great was its diversity and the large array of options available across different genres. TV shows and movies spanning decades, genres, cultures, and popularity were available and easily accessible. As more streaming services such as Disney+, Hulu, HBO, and Peacock have surfaced, Netflix lost its competitive edge and had to shift from distributing content to crafting original content. It has become virtually impossible for Netflix to sign licensing agreements for the content they want to put out. Losing licensing agreements essentially forced the company to start making originals which is a strategic, necessary business move. However, its execution for these originals is flawed and needs improvement.
Although some of the originals Netflix has produced have been really well-produced, such as “Stranger Things,” “Ozark,” “The Crown,” and others, Netflix has limited growth opportunities for some of its other shows. Netflix doesn’t give new shows the chance to grow unless they blow up and become trendy. Shows that don’t fit this mold are usually canceled after a season or two, which results in a multitude of unresolved plotlines and frustrated consumers. Some notable examples of canceled original shows include but are not limited to “Santa Clarita Diet,” “I Am Not Okay with This,” and “The Dark Crystal.” These shows aren’t downright terrible. In fact, a lot of them have great storylines and are well-received by fans, but they aren’t as popular or talked about as the original shows such as “Bridgerton.” When Netflix cancels shows early, those who watched at the start don’t get to see the whole storyline come into fruition and end up having to continuously look for new shows to watch next. It seems like Netflix is more focused on pumping out a lot of shows rather than developing or improving the storylines and characters they’ve already poured energy, time, and money into.
In addition to production issues, Netflix’s algorithm and recommendation systems are faulty. Its algorithm tends to put the spotlight on Netflix originals pushing those shows and movies to the front. This is strategic for Netflix since it encourages more viewers to consume its content, but makes it difficult for viewers to find new content to watch that isn’t popular and might be more underrated. Although this practice is annoying, my main concern with the algorithm is that it’s bad at predicting what I want to watch, mainly due to the company’s shift away from user ratings back in 2018. The old system allowed thousands of people to rate shows on a 1-5 scale and leave comments giving their thoughts on a series. Although these ratings would not directly influence the Netflix recommendation engine, they were great for helping viewers decide what to watch next and get a sense of whether or not they would enjoy the show.
Finding shows on Netflix is even harder because of its out-of-date library. With the introduction of new streaming services, shows like “The Office” and Disney movies like “Ralph Breaks the Internet” will no longer be available on Netflix since they cannot buy rights to the content. Before streaming services like Disney+ and HBO grew in popularity, Netflix would have a variety of high-quality shows and movies that would appeal to large audiences. Regarding movies, Netflix is unable to acquire a lot of newer movies because buying film rights from studios has become more expensive as more streaming services enter the market. Beyond licensing problems, you’ll always be a season behind on a TV show unless it’s a Netflix original series since TV networks refuse to let Netflix stream the newest seasons. This is not a new concern since Netflix was always designed to function this way, but it’s still an important one considering you can get new shows and a larger variety of shows on other streaming platforms such as Hulu. Additionally, Netflix continues to hike prices up with the last one being in 2020. With each price increase, I find Netflix becoming less and less worth the money.
Overall, I find myself wanting to use Netflix less, but I can see the appeal in some of the original series. Since they aren’t available on other platforms and some of them are great, I get why users continuously come back. I think Netflix can capitalize on the success of their original series by developing existing storylines that were already strong and well-received. It should also follow through on more of their originals rather than just the ones that make it big on the internet. Furthermore, It should limit how much it pushes some of those originals and change their recommendation algorithm to prioritize the customer’s experience and preferences. If an original series is good and a user wants to watch it, the consumer will get to it on his or her own— it doesn’t need to be all over the home page. Also, I think Netflix should re-introduce the rating system or at least some version of one to help users better navigate the content. Although no streaming platform is perfect, Netflix has a lot of room for improvement before it returns to being a good service.
