💵The Wall Streetification of Streaming 📺 📈

In the past we were inundated with new shows, new dynamics and new exciting worlds to explore, however recently and upcoming releases have focused around two distinct factors for the most part - Reboots like Harry Potter or spin offs like Star City or the Dutton Ranch. We see a significant expansion of the flagship shows universes from Game of Thrones - Knight of Seven Kingdoms, House of the Dragon to The Walking Dead with Fear the Walking Dead, Dead City amongst others. The big question which arises after the excitement derived from the revival of favorites and exploring new areas of the best loved worlds is - why focus less on new unexplored ideas?

The answer is simple - Original series still exist—From is a great example—but data-driven decision-making has encouraged studios to prioritise proven franchises over untested ideas like a blue chip stock that has proven to generate the best financials again and again. This new approach comes with distinct benefits and clear cons. We will see studios more willing to pour lucrative budgets into their IP which should drive star studded casts, talented teams and great sets which should hopefully mean these revivals like Harry Potter will be given the best chance of success. The real con of this approach is the lack of new projects being brought to life and the likelihood that few of these will be given the resources needed to strive.

Streaming platforms are increasingly behaving like publicly traded investment funds. Instead of asking "What's the most exciting story?", executives increasingly ask "What's the safest return on investment?" Familiar franchises reduce risk in the same way blue-chip stocks do for investors.

Whilst this brings confidence for the streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon it also harbours opportunities for the smaller upcoming platforms to move into the realm of telling new stories with less competition for unproven worlds. Ironically, the streaming giants' obsession with proven franchises may create the very opportunity that smaller platforms have been waiting for. If Netflix and Amazon become the home of established IP, the next generation of original storytelling may emerge somewhere else entirely. The next Stranger Things or Breaking Bad could come from the platform willing to take the biggest creative risk.