Content Purges and Password Sharing Crackdown: Streaming Self-Sabotage

The Streaming Market has recently seen two major changes. There are streaming services like Disney and Warner Brothers removing large amounts of their exclusive content. Or in some cases don’t even release it, i.e. Batgirl. Whilst Netflix has moved ahead with its plans to crack down on password sharing. There has been a negative reaction to both these actions by commenters online and there’s the potential for there to be corporate self-harm.

Audiences and consumers have become accustomed to streaming services rotating their content. It’s common for films and TV shows to leave a streaming service and be found another service. But usually, this was third-party content, not exclusives made for the services. Disney made a point when it didn’t extend its license with Netflix so it could bring back most of its content for the launch of Disney+.

Audiences assumed that streaming services would be filled with their company’s own content, for example, Disney+ would have Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, and Disney animated classics, or HBO Max having DC films, Harry Potter, and Game of Thrones. This illusion was shattered in August 2022 when Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed that they were cancelling the releases of Batgirl and a sequel to Scoob. This was despite both films which were made as HBO Max exclusives and nearly completed. The official reason for Batgirl’s cancellation was due to ‘poor quality.’ There might be some truth in the reasoning since Warner Bros. is rebooting the DC Cinematic Universe. The upcoming reboot has affected the release of recent theatrical DCEU films. However, the more likely reason was financial. Warner Bros. can write off the cost.

The theory that Warner Bros. cancelled these films was a financial decision which was due to HBO Max and Discovery+ merging into one streaming service. HBO Max has dropped 87 titles from their service, and this includes some major titles like Westward, Steven Moffatt’s adaptation of The Time Traveller’s Wife, and the animated series Close Enough. The most infamous was Warner Bros. Discovery’s unceremonial dumping of Final Space, a critically praised animated series that gained a cult audience. As well as removing the series from HBO Max, Warner Bros. stopped the digital and physical copies, people who had brought the series digitally have found their copies removed, and once Netflix’s international license expires the show will be gone for honest viewers. Final Space’s creator, Olan Rogers, tweeted his fury about the decision since all that hard work has just disappeared.

Whilst HBO Max didn’t take off as Warner Bros. had hoped, the same can’t be said about Disney+. Disney+ is the second most popular streaming service and in the second quarter of 2023, they had 157.8 million subscribers worldwide. However, Disney announced in May 2023 they were going to remove 50 titles by 26th May, only giving audiences a week to catch up on shows and films they might have wanted to watch. The biggest casualty was Willow, a continuation of the cult fantasy film of the same name. Willow was only on Disney+ for six months. Other titles Disney removed included Y: The Last Man, Pistol, and The World According to Jeff Goldblum. Films like The Princess and Rosaline weren’t even on Hulu/Disney+ for a year before they were put into the digital dustbin. None of these titles were older than three years and they were also released as streaming exclusives. There was no way to purchase them and they are now locked in the Disney vault.

Disney’s argument was that these titles had low traffic numbers and they needed to make room for other content. Disney supporters have argued that it was just a business decision and some argued that they were bad shows and films so no one would care. However, many of these projects had positive Rotten Tomatoes scores, some were made by big-name directors like Danny Boyle and Kenneth Branagh and starred recognisable actors. Internet traffic can be predictable: a film, TV show, article, or Youtube video knows the bulk of the views come during the initial publication, then it stabilises. In a world where new streaming content comes out on a regular basis, it is hard for any film or show to maintain popularity.

The steaming purge will result in a break of trust between streaming services and their creators and consumers. Filmmakers, showrunners, writers, and producers are going to be less willing to make a deal with a streaming service, especially Disney or Warner Bros. Why work for someone if there’s a real risk that the film or show you painstakingly make could be pulled from a service at a moment’s notice? Why work for a company that could screw you when paying residuals? Warner Bros. already lost Christopher Nolan because of their 2021 debacle to simultaneously release films in theatres and on HBO Max. Bryan Cranston shared an Instagram post urging his followers to watch the film before it was taken down. The only creators who would end up working for Disney+ or Max would be the most desperate, mercenary, or creatively bankrupt.

Consumers now realise they are completely at the whims of major corporations when it comes to media consumption. They would have believed that if a show or film was made as an exclusive for a streaming service then it would stay on that streaming service. I made that assumption. Now audiences have little or no warning that content is being removed. Disney only gave audiences a week’s notice about their content purge. Most people are in full-time employment or education so it would be difficult to watch all they planned to and the tight back dateline makes watching these films and TV shows feel like a chore.

The content purge shows these streaming companies have a short-term mindset. When Warner Bros. Discovery removed its content, it saved $3 billion dollars, but it wiped out $20 billion of the company’s value. Whilst Disney+ purge has resulted in a $1.5 billion write-off for the parent company. Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery also gave piracy a moral victory. They committed an act of cultural vandalism and pirating sites end up being the only way to watch these films and shows. They’ve become unofficial achievers. The objection to piracy was it robbed creators of getting paid but they can’t be paid now anyway. Mike Flanagan, the director of Oculus and Doctor Sleep argued in a Tumblr post that the risk of content purges makes piracy a more justifiable option.

Piracy has been increasing. Muso reports that there had been a 38.6% rise in film piracy and 8.8% in TV piracy from 2021 to 2022. It will only get worse due to the rising cost of streaming services, the cost-of-living crisis, and being the only way to obtain certain content. Companies should know making content more easily available is a better way to drive up revenue since most people want to be honest consumers.

The other issue affecting the streaming market is password sharing. Netflix has stated they would crack down on password sharing and they are finally acting on it. This has brought the ire of online commenters. People have stated on social media that they are going to cancel Netflix and some websites, like IGN, have published clickbait articles about cancelling the service. The password crackdown does show a reversal in Netflix’s relaxed position on password sharing. They even tweeted in 2017 ‘Love is sharing a password.

I am personally a little more sympathetic to Netflix’s position than Disney+ and Warner Bros. Discovery’s disregard for their content. From a business standpoint, it can be suspicious if an account is being used in multiple locations at the same time and being used beyond a household. However, Netflix is forcing extra charges on service users and tying it to a location. It punishes anyone who travels or has a big family. When I travelled abroad, I found seeing what’s available on Netflix interesting. A fairer system would be some sort of verification system, like an email with a one-time code. It would ensure genuine service users can use Netflix in another location, and make it less likely for people to piggyback off someone else’s account.

Netflix has claimed that 100 million households have given their passwords to other people. This number seems extraordinarily high. If people do share passwords, it’s often with direct family members, like children who go to university. It’s only with people they are close to. This feels like a case of corporate guilt where Netflix is making a mountain out of a molehill and trying to squeeze a little more money out of their consumers which is amazing considering Netflix is one of the most expensive streaming services. Considering the rising prices and number of streaming services families share passwords because they are sharing the costs.

The streaming market has been blighted by short-term thinking. Companies like Netflix and Disney have had a rapid growth model with little consideration for sustainability. Other companies have set up streaming services because they saw the success of Netflix without thinking about why they were successful. Now we are seeing the consequences of these actions and the consumer is set to suffer. If streaming services don’t change their course, there is going to be a cycle of distrust and falling revenue.