Netflix, HBO, Disney profits show streaming boom is over

This is a standard streaming TV joke/complaint. There are so many different services that someone could put them all together and for all he would only have to pay one monthly fee. Just like cable TV!

Hohoho.

The problem is that most of the people who run streaming TV services don’t think there will be a lot of TV services in the future. They believe they will eventually be integrated into some big companies.

That’s why Warner Bros. Discovery is preparing to launch an unnamed service that mashes up HBO Max and Discovery Plus. white lotus When Doctor Pimple Popper on a monthly bill. Be careful what you want!

In the meantime, check out Wall Street’s earnings reports and you’ll get a clear picture of why conventional industry wisdom, at least when it comes to providers, is shrinking. at the start.

If you don’t want to dig into official documents, don’t worry. This is just a quick snapshot of the money Netflix has made in the first nine months of 2022, and the money much of it has lost.

There are some caveats here, including the fact that different streamers use slightly different definitions of profit and loss. Additionally, the fact that Warner Bros. Discovery’s total is lower than it should be is because there are only two quarters of his data available for this chart.

But the big picture is a lot of red ink, 1) going back even further as some of these services continue to lose money over the years, 2) Apple’s P&L and Amazon’s streaming are burning a ton of money, but so big that it doesn’t matter (for now) to them or their investors.

This graph also explains why shows you like (but others don’t) are more likely to disappear than before. , not a loss. Last year, for Netflix and everyone else, that changed. Today, Netflix founder Reed Hastings preaches operating margin benefits, while competitors talk about streamlining costs.

Streaming won’t go away. Data firm Ampere Analysis predicts that global content spending this year will reach $243 billion. This is him up 2%, well down from his 6% growth in 2022. You will still have many options for a long time to come.