Netflix CEO: Cable TV Has Had A Good Run

During a financial call held on Wednesday, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings laid his claim that “linear” TV is done. As the chief of a company that’s in direct competition with TV subscription services, it’s no surprise that he’d downplay those offerings, but, at this point, it’s hard to disagree.

Of course, this thought is far from new. In fact, I coincidentally posted something about it one year ago, minus a day. When services like Netflix offer a huge catalog that can be viewed anywhere and anytime, it’s hard, at least for me, to see appeal in a subscription TV service that I’m at the mercy of.

I am not even a big content watcher, but I resubscribed to Netflix last month and now couldn’t imagine not having it. For the moment when I do want to watch something, the level of convenience just sucks me right in. It’s of course not only Netflix that offers such products; there are a bunch of pre-established ones, and new ones popping up all the time. HBO, for example, just launched a $15/mo service to partake in all of its programming. I don’t think that would have happened if not for the fact that a lot of people are cutting their cords, and in fact, I am a little surprised it took HBO this long to cut down on its TV exclusivity.

For some services, it’s not enough to just stream licensed content. Like Netflix and HBO, quality content has to be homebrewed to help convince people to sign-up for that $10 or $15/mo. Netflix has thus far had incredible luck with some of its IP, like House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black, and things should only get better as its budgets get better.

It’s also worth noting that new sports streaming options are popping-up on occasion, but in my opinion, they are not releasing fast enough. And, there’s been a problem of the ones that are available having a number of caveats that decreases the overall value (I’m looking at you, NFL GamePass). But, I feel confident enough to believe this will all have to improve at some point, because where sports are concerned, most people are not going to want to pay $50+ for their cable subscription only for that. More people are going to cut the cord, and so changes are going to have to be made.