Netflix Has Killed Traditional TV, Now It Wants to Resurrect It

Netflix is considering introducing always-on channels that would continuously broadcast selected movies and series without forcing users to search for what to watch. The internal discussions are reported by the Wall Street Journal, which states that the company is also exploring the sale of subscriptions to competing services directly from its app. The motivation behind both moves is a concerning trend: subscriber engagement is showing signs of decline.

The imagined channels would feature programs chosen or grouped by genre, in a seamless flow, and would appear as boxes on the main screen next to the on-demand catalog. This represents a return to the logic of old linear TV by the company that has pushed viewers to abandon it more than any other, closely resembling free platforms like Pluto TV and Tubi. The substantial difference in the model is that those services are free because they are entirely ad-supported.

A New Space for Advertising

Advertising is indeed one of the points of interest: a constantly flowing schedule opens up new space for ads that viewers cannot skip. Netflix's ad-supported plan, which is becoming increasingly widespread, currently costs €6.99 per month, and every additional advertising space is a revenue lever.

On the package front, the company has explored including third-party subscription services, such as Peacock from NBCUniversal, to be sold from its app as Amazon and Apple have been doing for a long time. This also marks a departure from the origins of a service that built its identity as a unique destination.

The Engagement Issue

Engagement, or how long viewers watch and how frequently they finish a movie or series, is currently the benchmark metric in Hollywood: a subscriber who consumes a lot is one who is unlikely to cancel. This is why its decline, which has emerged as a recurring theme in internal meetings, is pushing the company to seek countermeasures.

This situation connects to another challenge: Netflix is trying to understand why the second seasons of its series see significant drops in viewership. In the meantime, the catalog has expanded to include formats other than prestigious series, such as video podcasts and content produced by digital publishers like BuzzFeed and Condé Nast, designed to stay on in the background without demanding full attention. However, none of the ideas about channels and packages have been confirmed: for now, they remain internal discussions, and the company has not commented.