SkyShowtime’s landing with a respectable catalog and a very tight price has blown up the platform scene. Because it has joined Netflix’s decision not to allow account sharing, which, although it has not been implemented effectively, is a threat that floats in the air and will inevitably arrive in the coming weeks. And this is how the apocalypse of the streaming, No? Well, not exactly.
In the end the thing has been that many people have declared their intention (and many have done so effectively) to abandon their Netflix subscription in search of greener pastures. That is, cheaper subscriptions or more attractive catalogues. It is too soon to say if Netflix is noticing, although the platform itself is putting on the band-aid before the wound, and foresees a considerable drop in clients in view of its first quarter results (perhaps that is why they are waiting to execute the plans? , so that there is not an avalanche of dropouts, but a few now with the news and others with the ban becoming effective?).
The fact is that I myself have done the exercise of living without Netflix (something that I have not executed definitively because after all, I work on this), but yes I have decided to spend a couple of weeks without Netflix to experience what it feels like. Although at first I thought it was going to be like quitting smoking (or the equivalent for someone like me who has never smoked), the truth is that the procedure has been simple and painless. I haven’t been on Netflix for two weeks and I don’t miss it.
Catalog, there you stay
Needless to say, all that follows are personal impressions. Each one will have their own needs and their programs that they cannot do without, but I think we can draw some general lines. The first feeling after my departure was that I am not missing anything absolutely essential. The last Netflix series that I genuinely enjoyed was ‘Wednesday’, but…would I have suffered so much if I hadn’t been able to watch it?
Decidedly not, or at least not to the same extent that I would have had a bad time if I had not been able to watch the last seasons of ‘Only murders in the building’ or ‘Succession’, to say a couple of series to which the truth is Yes, I have been hooked. Again, It’s all a matter of taste, but I can’t find the necessary series in the Netflix catalog to continue. I do find series that I have enjoyed at the time and that I do not rule out wanting to review in the future, but not series that force me to stay on the channel, such as ‘Stranger Things’ or ‘The Witcher’. Personally, I’m indifferent to leaving them halfway.
As I say, there are Netflix series that I have been passionate about to the point that, in fact, I would like to buy them in physical format. They are series like ‘Dracula’, ‘Midnight Mass’, ‘File 81’, ‘Sweet Home’, ‘Love Death + Robots’, ‘Marianne’, ‘New Cherry Flavor’ and movies like ‘Oxygen’, ‘Diamonds in gross’, ‘The woman in the window’ or ‘Extraction’. That is to say, a few being generous, but a tiny amount compared to the extensive Netflix catalog.
They do not seem to me enough to justify a continued subscription. Especially considering that no one is tied hand and foot here. If I want to check something or suddenly they release a series or movie that I want to see, a momentary subscription solves everything. But overall, the catalog doesn’t offer me enough appeal to justify an ongoing subscription.
Is the competition providing better offers?
Without a doubt: I continue to consume streaming audiovisual products almost without rest and I literally have not noticed the lack of Netflix. To give some particular examples: I am reviewing the history of Spanish fantasy horror cinema on Flixolé, I continue to watch all kinds of classic and modern cinema on Filmin (and I am curiously hooked on its European whodunits), I use Prime to watch some exclusive series -it seems to me ‘Reacher’ had passed and I’ve dealt with it to great joy – but also to watch classics like ‘Parks and Recreation’ and ‘Colombo’.
HBO Max is, without a doubt, the platform that I use to see more exclusives: in general terms, it offers the same style of programs than Netflix (series of very diverse fur, documentaries, animation for adults, comedy), but of much higher quality. Recent exclusives that I’m enjoying, like ‘The Last of Us’ or ‘La Casa del Dragón’, have no equivalent on Netflix. And I’m not passionate about Disney+, its catalog, but it is true that I see non-stop things from its offer (‘Only murders in the building’, ‘Andor’, ‘The Bear’). I’m not subscribed to Movistar+ but I know there are series in their catalog (‘Yellowjackets’, ‘Evil’) that I would very gladly watch.
That is to say, it is no longer a matter of Netflix having a catalog lacking in news that I am passionate about. It is that the rest are pressing with things that they do. Of course, once again, likes: I know people hooked on international matchup reality shows on Netflix, like ‘Love Is Blind’, but that’s not my case. Netflix’s catalog isn’t too bad, but in my opinion, it pales in comparison to the quality of what is spent on other sites.
The key: it is now when everything takes its toll
And then comes SkyShowtime. As we have analyzed on other occasions, its landing has not been a revolution, beyond ringing the bell with a very low rate, but it adds fuel to the fire. In my case, I am not too interested in their most powerful proposals, but their catalog background is, its animation for all audiences and its repertoire of Paramount and Universal classics. Enough to pay the price, especially if at some point the promised ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘Senfield’, the aforementioned ‘Yellowjackets’ or the highly anticipated ‘Poker Face’ end up arriving.
It also coincides with Netflix’s notice that it will not allow account sharing, its great unofficial ally in order to maintain the gigantic number of default subscribers that they had up to now. In other words, the enjoyment of so many viewers is over because they are the most affordable option: now they have to defend the throne with facts. With good launches and great news. And in that sense, they still have a long way to go.
My disconnection from Netflix for two weeks helps me to put into perspective what the platform really offers and to assess what your competition offers. In my case it’s temporary: for work reasons I’m going back to Redily and I’ll keep up to date with its news, but… can Netflix afford a flock of customers who realize that those two weeks are just the beginning of another period? extensive?
