"A Happy Medium" is a series of short essays which looks at a trending topic. Each article looks at it from extreme liberal and conservative positions, then reconciles those into a happy medium of rationality.


A Happy Medium with Netflix's Binge-Watching Streaming Empire


So, what does it mean when Netflix becomes worth north of 100 billion dollars, as it has?


On the Left: "Too many people are binge-watching mind-numbing dramas and tasteless comedies! We need to give more market share to true indie producers with truly original ideas!"


On the Right: "Netflix has dominated the streaming market and are reaping the benefits. Now they can produce more original content than most movie studios put together!"




When you consider that Disney has a stock market cap of $160+ billion, this is obviously an incredible milestone for Netflix.


But is binge-watching becoming a real societal problem just as bad as being a "couch potato?"


And, is Netflix becoming so big that it will eventually truly rival Disney and start eating up studios at a record pace as Disney has?


These are a couple of interesting questions that are rattling around in my head. So, let's see if we can reach...


A Happy Medium:


"Netflix and chill" is a perfectly fine recreational activity... in moderation, of course. It's OK to binge-watch your favorite show on a day off. Netflix does create some solid original content. They also have a lot of some indie produced work. So, you could say Netflix is really good for independent films in that way.


But Netflix really pushes their original content extremely hard. Obviously, that makes sense, as this exclusive content is what keeps the subscriber base growing. And their DVD rental business is still there, which isn't nothing. But Netflix capital comes purely from subscribers and investment capital, and that's all funding the.streaming business.


Still, Amazon Prime is becoming a serious competitor with their own original content. Disney is about to go head to head with Netflix, too. Comcast and Viacom are in the game, too. Hulu still exists, as well. So we'll see how much longer Netflix remains the king of the hill in streaming.


However, Netflix and chill will probably be a weekend activity for a long time to come, no matter what the company's market share may be. The growing competition could even be a good thing. And yes, there's the concern that indie producers will be left in the dust with Netflix original content becoming such a priority. We shall see.


Now, my fair readers, here are a couple of questions for you to ponder:


What's your take on Netflix growing so quickly?


Do you think it's a good thing and will the growth continue?