8 Developments That Will Change Streaming Forever
5. Content Libraries
Imagine if Netflix’s content library was populated purely with Netflix originals? Or Amazon Prime only offered films from Amazon studios...
There’s a reason Netflix has spent $8 billion on content in 2018 alone, and that’s because if its competitors pull the plug on their library sharing, Netflix will be left very much in the lurch. Disney and Warners have been producing content since the 1920s, so while they may appear late to the streaming party, they’re the ones bringing all the alcohol, to use a very non-Disney metaphor.
Netflix have done well to develop some addictive pieces of serialised television like Stranger Things and The Crown in recent years. It ponied up the cash for artistic indulgences from filmmakers like Alfonso Cuaron, who has rewarded the streamer with a string of awards nominations and more than likely its first ever Academy Awards recognition this year. That’s the kind of quality library content they’re going to need in their database if they’re going to stick around.
Amazon too have had a great year at the movies, crafting critical hits from Beautiful Boy and Suspiria among others - they’re both doing as much as they possibly can to stay relevant. That’s understandable, because the Marvel TV show cancellations may be the canary in the coal mine for the future of licensed content, as each studio develops a direct to consumer platform to sell from.
It could be a great time for cinephiles though as we move towards a comprehensive, Spotify-like online database, one where audiences can access any film in history at the click of a button. From the filmographies of Akira Kurosawa and Alfred Hitchcock, to Spike Lee and the Coen Brothers, the possibilities are endless. The recent high-profile closure of Filmstuck, which specialised in rare, classic and art house cinema was a blow to film aficionados, but expect its library to remerge in the future as part of a broader offering.