The streaming model has failed to replace cable and satellite revenue

Evidence

In 2022, amid macroeconomic headwinds (a market correction, interest rates rising, and Wall Street investors demanding profits), the media business had its worst year in three decades. Shares in the largest U.S. media companies fell by more than 50 percent over the year, led by Warner Bros. Discovery’s 61 percent drop and Netflix’s 58 percent fall. The broader market has not fallen as deep; industry analysts suggest investors are finally doubting that the rise of streaming will replace the decline of cable and satellite TV. … James Dolan, executive chairman of AMC Networks, upon announcing large-scale layoffs in late 2022, offered this blunt assessment: “It was our belief that cord-cutting losses would be offset by gains in streaming. This has not been the case … [and] the mechanisms for the monetization of content are in disarray.” — Andrew deWaard, Derivative Media, 317

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s knowledge of the 2022 media crash and the subsequent industry-wide ‘cost discipline’ rhetoric.