Re:Netflix is creating a problem by cancelling TV shows too ...
by joosters on Wednesday October 14, 2020 @11:03AM
(#24777283)
If a show takes a few seasons to hit its stride, there's no way I'm going to start watching it and dedicate hours of my life just waiting for it to become good. Netflix + others are trying to bankroll TV series that will have a long lifetime in their archives, and a slow-opening series would work against that. Better to reap them sooner and spend the money elsewhere.
I'm arguing that isn't always true. Yes, some shows knock it out of the park in season 1. Other shows take a few seasons to really hit their stride.
It appears Netflix is taking a SV/VC approach to shows. Spend big, fail fast, and count on a small number of massive hits to succeed. While this may pad revenue in the short term, I'm not convinced it's the best long-term play. If subscribers get annoyed at short production runs and inconsistent programming, they leave and go to Disney or Hulu or Amazon.
Of course, I'm not in the industry at all, so I could be wrong. But, as a consumer, it is annoying to have Netflix push a few shows really hard, only to have them cancelled after 8 episodes.