Netflix’s new era – listen to the latest episode of TV Watch

The latest episode of Digital TV Europe’s podcast TV Watch is now available to stream wherever you get your podcasts.

In the latest episode, Tony Gunnarsson, principal analyst TV video and advertising at Omdia, joins host Jonathan Easton to discuss the impact of Netflix’s soon-to-launch advertising-supported tier and what it means for the wider streaming landscape..

Netflix has long been the barometer for the health of the streaming industry, and particularly SVOD. 

The streamer has gone from strength to strength over the past decade, and has evolved from a place to access films and shows from a range of distributors to one of the world’s premiere content producers of big-budget prestige television and award-winning movies.

2022 has not been so kind to the company however. 

The streamer has shed millions of subscribers this year and has been overtaken by Disney as the world’s largest streaming operator. Despite the success of shows like Stranger Things and The Sandman, the company has responded by going into something of a crisis mode by cutting jobs, easing back on content spend and – in a move which co-CEO Reed Hastings had previously said would never happen – introducing an ad-supported tier which will launch next month.

Research firm Omdia predicts that well over half of all Netflix subscribers will turn to the ad-supported version of the streamer within five years, with the launch representing a major seachange for the wider video streaming industry.

TV Watch can be streamed for free via Apple Podcasts and Spotify.