Netflix: The New Cable? How the Streamer is Morphing into Your Parents' Go-To Channel
Ah, Netflix. The streaming pioneer that made binge-watching a thing and dumped entire seasons in our laps without commercials or weekly waits. But lately, Netflix seems to be veering away from prestige originals into more, shall we say, predictable programming territory?
Between picking up WWE wrestling and always having a random Gerard Butler flick at the ready, Netflix's lineup is looking more cable-esque by the day. Pretty soon The Lake House will play on endless loop between Say Yes to The Dress marathons (hey, they have to fill air time somehow).
And with licensed shows like Suits and Young Sheldon joining the mix, Netflix appears one Steve Harvey talk show away from basically being TBS. Not that there's anything wrong with the cable favorites of yore! We could all use more mindless entertainment these days. But with rising subscription costs, one wonders if Netflix's grab-bag strategy might eventually lose out to more focused streamers catering to specific fandoms and tastes.
Still, as long as Netflix keeps pumping outbinge-worthy foreign reality shows, it can crank up the volume on Ridiculousness and queue up The Proposal to its heart's content! We'll just have to see if subscribers stick around for Netflix turning into their parents' favorite channel. At least until they add Matlock. Then all bets are off.