Streamlining the downfall of Netflix

Art by Maddy Mercado

Jasneh Sasan

Generational shifts among consumers have led streaming mogul Netflix to further tailor their platform to its younger audiences. By entirely shifting their marketing strategy to display itself as the purveyor of diversity and torchholder for prevalent socio-political issues, Netflix has entirely dedicated itself to reflecting the sentiments of Gen-Z.

Despite mirroring this generation’s passion for social justice, Netflix seems to be falling short. The platform recently self-reported an unprecedented loss of over 1.2 million subscribers and a $60 billion slash in market value in the second quarter of 2022, and has experienced a marked decline since.

This leaves audiences wondering why Netflix, a company that works tirelessly to meet the demands of consumers, is expeditiously losing viewership.

The answer lies in Netflix’s constant worship of woke audiences and a notable lack of quality productions. The over-politicization of Netflix content has cost the company its audiences, with more and more people opting to leave the platform.

Previously, Netflix had essentially monopolized the streaming industry because audiences were addicted to Netflix’s stellar productions: ranging from feel-good comedies to toecurling thrillers, entertaining familywatches to relatable young adult content, Netflix never seemed to miss. Since the platform had a large pool of money to spend on projects, it could invested heavily on quality productions for all types of audiences.

With the global economy’s stark decline, Netflix lost a large chunk of revenue due to uncertain market conditions. Additionally, the introduction of rival platforms like Hulu, HBO+, and Peacock caused Netflix’s streaming monopoly to die out, further cutting away from its revenues. The resulting expense cuts have led to the cancellation of popular productions such as The Office, Patriot Act, F.R.I.E.N.D.S., and more.

The main problem, however, is that Netflix didn’t adequately replace these hit series. Instead of revolutionary productions like the ‘House of Cards’ and ‘Orange is the New Black,’ viewers will now find shows like ‘Dear White People,’ which alienate a large portion of Netflix’s audiences.

The platform has attempted to diversify classics like the ‘Vikings Valhalla,’ which race-swaps and gender-swaps historical Viking characters to appeal to feminists and race activists.

Likewise, Netflix adapted the existing, extremely successful franchise of The Witcher and adopted it into a T.V. series. Despite the franchise being based on Polishlore, the series was adapted with many ethnically diversified characters and plotlines, thus straying from the originals.

An important point is that Netflix was popularized for streaming the biggest names in comedy: Dave Chapelle, Joe Rogan, and other hilarious comedians were magnets for much of Netflix’s older audiences.

However, to appeal to woke crowds, Netflix invested in comedy specials like Amy Schumer’s “The Leather Special” with a 4% Rotten Tomatoes approval score, and Chelsea Handler’s “Hello, Privilege. It’s me, Chelsea” with a whopping 11% approval rating. These specials, though geared towards woke audiences, garner phenomenally low approval ratings amongst the general public.

There are many factors playing an active role, but checking the woke checkbox may be the most significant aspect of Netflix's downward trajectory. Netflix is still bravely trudging along, but it is clear that the platform will become another prime example of the popular saying, “get woke and go broke.” Art by Alice Lan