The major media companies are dying.
As we discussed, there are a number of reasons for the downfall of these studios. Hollywood is being confronted by a multi-pronged attack from technology along with shooting itself in the foot.
We already covered how the Internet broke up the monopoly on content distribution. This is being coupled with the ability to create content getting easier, especially with AI tools.
These two factors are going to sink the industry. However, it did not serve itself with the switch to streaming.
We will take a look at this and what lessons can be learned.
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The Lesson From Streaming
Streaming was going to be the Golden Goose for Hollywood studios.
After the success of Netflix, major media companies could not resist the allure of those profits. moving away from the traditional model to a subscription based was going to be another windfall for them.
The problem is the lack of realization that the cable and satellite package was the greatest innovation in broadcast history. Instead of embracing that, it killed with a machete.
These entities dumped billions of dollars into their streaming services. The return has been horrific. Losses keep piling up, pushing many long time studios to the brink. Acquisitions are taking place as technology firms step in to scoop up the libraries.
Here is where the realization comes back to Earth.
Hollywood studios had a fortune in their content libraries. Their path was to license that out to Netflix, collecting money for basically doing nothing. In the meantime, it could have continues focusing upon other areas of operation, increasing profitability there.
As we know, this turned out poorly.
But why did this happen? Again there are a multitude of factors but we will focus upon one I think is at the top of the list.
Nickel and Diming Customers
These entities cannot help themselves.
Each company was looking to establish a stake in the game. The problem was everyone jumped in. They also received enormous competition from YouTube, which became the top streaming platform with regards to hours viewed. In other words, it got the eyeballs.
As losses mounted, the idea was to raise prices to help offset that. Here is where the multiplier effect takes place.
Everyone was doing that. For those who has 5 or 6 services, this started to add up. Customers already got resentful of what seemed like another price increase every couple months.
This is complimented by the fact that people had to search extensively to find what they wanted. Before, there was a wide array of programming on Netflix. Most were licensing to that company. People had a simple front end to go through and that was it.
No longer.
Today, when people decide what they want to view, it takes 15 minutes to find the channel.
The result is people are turning away.
The Lesson For Web 3.0
Platforms built within the Web 3.0 realm are going to have to keep this in mind.
Monetization is going to have to change. Following the same model is only going to cause similar problems.
People do not like to be hit with price increases each time they turn around. Also, with the idea of a digital network, having it all under one umbrella is helpful.
Here is where people can pay one price for much of what they want. This can be tied to a variety of services, built into the platform. The more that is incorporated, the better.
With AI coming onto the scene, we see the situation repeating itself. We have different companies such as Canva charging for more features. This is only going to keep expanding.
Can Web 3.0 solve this?
Tokenization offers many opportunities. When we look at the difference in structure, there is the potential to have this change.
The biggest key is users can be owners. Here is where providing tools to the ownership group is vital.
As we can see, this is a different mindset. Having a subscription cost is not a bad thing. However, the need to constantly extract more from the users is not necessary, especially if the majority of them are token owners.
This has the potential to provide a massive shift. It also can avoid the pitfalls of the streaming world.
Posted Using InLeo Alpha