How Much is Netflix Going To Change?
Netflix Things & Platform Creativity
I have had a smattering of thoughts about Netflix of late, and today I decided to thread them together into some sort of coherent mess. The kind that makes for a great debate over a tipple.
I have some juicy visual goodness too, from the BBC and Spotify.
Hello again, and thanks for having The Colour Bar in your inbox, or feed, or both.
Cheers,
Shakey
Netflix Things: How much is it prepared to change?
Curated/Cut: What use is the Beeb anyway?!
Curated/Cuts: Spotify Reserved for fans, and a fine closing montage.
➕ · Youtube viewing in Japan · AI biographies · Jiostar’s ecomm ideas · Suno’s hack ·
1. Netflix Things
Many a Netflix thing has flitted in & out of my mind the last couple of months. Here’s a little hop-skip around them.
* Netflix once wanted to be HBO. Then it kinda became HBO (some will debate this). Today, it is decidedly not HBO^.
Take away the HBO literality ; I think Netflix does not occupy the premium space the way it did a few years ago. This is not a slip in standard, it is intentional. There is a distinct move to more ‘massy’ titles, more ‘female-focussed’ content, and fewer high brow, award-chasing series. While complaints abound about it becoming more like ‘broadcastTV’, It can be argued this approach has been, all told, a good thing for them. In gathering engagement, they want members to think (and most users do feel) that “I’ll find something on Netflix.”
But ‘something’ could also slowly become ‘anything’?
Which brings us to some new content on the platform, because:
* At another end of the spectrum, Netflix has just acquired short form content, ranging from 2-3min to 20+min . This is easy viewing from the likes of Conde Nast, People and Buzz Feed- lifestyle, celebrities, some how-tos.
This comes in the wake of significantly ramped-up efforts at working with creators like Ms Rachel and Mark Grober (creators =Youtube creators). Which in turn brings us to:
* The narrative everyone loves right now- Netflix and Youtube are the real competitors and one keeps the other up at night. This is both (a) true at some fundamental level, and (b) not as meaningful at a practical level- unless Netflix makes it.
It is true in the same way Reed Hastings once said Netflix competes with sleep, or Fortnite. All media companies want to command our free / entertainment/ information time, slip into every crack in our attention. It is also true because Youtube is the clear leader in the wider ‘content’ space, and across devices; Netflix is pretty much the clear leader in subscription streaming, or just ‘TV’. They are at the very least adjacent, and sometimes overlapping.
It is not as relevant when trying to lure eyeballs from Youtube to Netflix- especially those whose viewing is passive (music! background pods!) or educational (DIY!!). Which prompts the idea that Netflix wants to become more ‘on in the background’, much like traditional daytime TV used to be. See above short content to support this view.
“These partnerships help us deepen fandom and create more ways for members to carry those stories with them throughout their day.” _John Derderian, Netflix VP on the recent ‘digital’ shorts.
The comparison is also less apt when comparing the feed-based/ serendipitous nature of Youtube consumption versus the curated, controlled Netflix offering. Which brings us neatly to what is being done:
The renewed chatter around Netflix looking to set up linear TV channel style feeds on the platform.
The take that doubling down on the ad tier will be the way to regain growth/investor faith, which has faded despite some decent Q2 results. Ads + this content experiment are the closest it is to trying to ‘do a Youtube’.
The continuing questions around what exactly they are trying to achieve with podcasts.
The data that some of the creator content is doing well- Ms Rachel was #9 on Netflix’s 2026 charts and top of their kid content.
A lot of this sounds less like Netflix wanting to be Youtube, more like them wanting to be Netflix with an added Youtube flavour. A bit like having their cake and eating it too, though I am yet to meet someone who procures a cake without some intention of it being eaten. The new short form stuff is framed as a way to “watch some of your favorite videos from around the Internet without having to leave Netflix to find them.“ Sounds exactly like luring eyeballs from Youtube.
Yet, that appears the most well-rounded game, if indeed that game is being played. I think Netflix trying to transform into something it has never been, is to potentially slip into a sea of sameness. And if there is one one thing Netflix has been, it is assured of who/what it is. It must continue to compete on its own terms.
There’s a difference between killing time and spending time. So we’re in the… how you spend time business.” _Ted Sarandos in 2025 throwing shade to Youtube.
But this approach does come with the classic ‘quantity vs quality’ tussle. You can’t really gun for both, yet separating them and having each bucket work in different ways is quite the tough- and tasty- nut to crack. Which brings me to:
* Integration: What I think will be very interesting is how they actually start to integrate these offerings onto the platform. The podcasts have just…been there. I would love to see how they leverage a thus-far industry leading UI, to now shape my viewing habits in a different way. They have been so good (some feel less so now) at leading me down a carousel- but with short form, disposable content and podcasts they must not just curate my taste, but manage my time, let me sink into a couch of always-on comfort.
* Binge It! A tangential but related point is my long-held belief that Netflix has clung on to its binge model too strictly, for too long. They have had some exceptions, but those have not only proven the rule, but also given a glimpse of how staggered episode releases offer the chance for prolonged engagement, buzz and chatter. With tighter content spends and our odd world of less premium content and way too much content, I do think that the idea of extending shelf-life shouldn’t be ignored. The unequivocal value of the ‘yay, we can binge-watch!” excitement is a thing of the past, IMHO.
^ Apple is closer to HBO now, though its low volume, lack of penetration and unfathomable promotion does not help.
Some other takes:
- Lucas Shaw feels this whole Youtube thing can be called a “battle over creators’.
- Over at the Vulture they even want to question if there is panic at the disco Netflix, given it has been some time since they have had a real breakout hit.
- Podcasts on Netflix- some earlier takes.
- Samir of ‘Colin & Samir’ is happy to even call it a ‘Youtubification of Netflix’, wondering with Colin Rosenblum (also of ‘Colin & Samir’), if Netflix will head to UGC next. Now that would surprise me. A lot. A LOT.
2. Curated/Cuts
What Has the BBC Ever Done For Me?
This spot dropped in the World Cup Final half time in the UK (does it get bigger in terms of placement?). With a sceptical Romesh Ranganathan in tow, the BBC embarks on an ambitious, grand, nostalgic, slightly cheeky, supremely confident ode to its very existence. Romesh’s persistent prodding takes us on a whirlwind of BBC content, achievements, and yes- contributions.
I don’t live in the UK, but the prickly debate around the TV license and BBC’s ‘worth’ has been swirlingly familiar for years now. “Why should we have to pay a licence! Let them figure their own business model! If its so good, let people choose to pay for it!”
Of course, the institution’s place in (their) culture is more than these reductive questions. So I reckon it’s pretty fine how the BBC chose to take it all head-on, and have some fun with it.
“This Is Our BBC” is directed by Dougal Wilson- you have most likely seen his wonderful works, say the ‘Superhumans’ spot for Ch 4 / Paralympics, or the Jon Lewis spots, and last year’s superb oner ‘School’s Back’.
BBC: Director of Creative Justin Bairamian · ECD Dave Monk · Writers Paul Bailey · Russell Hendrie ·
DOP Joost Van Gelder · Production: Blink · EP Paul Weston · Editor Joe Guest · VFX Untold ·
Full credits here.
* I was also reminded that it is a callout itself to the John Cleese spot from the 80s- this is a grander, more musical version but the idea is much the same- What Has The BBC Ever Given Us?
Reserved for Fans
Some time back, Spotify announced a program for super fans to access Live concerts. They have now dropped a wonderfully animated spot for Spotify Reserved, imagining the extremes that real fans would go to, just to get concert tickets.
“Every single frame is drawn by hand”
The visualisation and animation is great to watch, though is it me or is the voice work pretty ordinary?
If you’re curious (or sceptical) of how the Reserved programme actually works, head over here for Spotify’s own guide. There is some inevitable spiel, and it’s not all transparent (how could it be), and no I don’t see Spotify really getting me’ even after all these years…. but this is a cool idea nonetheless.
Spotify: Marie Ronn Group CD · Jeremy Wirth
Remembers Studio · Animator Jocelyn Charles ·
Music by Citizen Music
End Montage FTW
Sports series/tournament closing montages can be so so good if given the love, and it’s disappointing when they aren’t. But here’s a pretty fine one from the BBC and Alex Ewing + Dominic Robson Smith
3. Youtube in Japan
AMPD Analytics published the first behavioural read on YouTube in Japan. Some key insights:
- Japan watched 2.8 billion hours of YouTube in a single month. Significantly, this means one single platform accounts for more than 65% of all digital VOD viewing in the country.
- Wide viewership: 72 million monthly viewers, watching on average 38.5 hours each, split almost evenly by gender. spanning every age band- 18M viewers aged 10–29, 13M aged 60+.
- Long-form remains the leader, accounting for 70% of all hours watched.
ampd analytics promise to roll out similar data on Southeast Asia shortly, which I will be most keen to see. I expect some similar shapes, but also different specifics, and likely a different story for the premium tier.
➕Quick Hits
A journalist found her biography on Amazon and stumbled onto the world of AI generated biographies churned out for ‘easy money’. Yay, AI is democratising… something?
Indian steamer JioStar wants to tap conversational AI for shopping on the app, or “content commerce.”
AI music generator Suno was hacked. 404 Media saw the source code; the company has scraped YouTube Music, Deezer, and Genius- decades worth of music from the internet. Just gen AI doing gen AI stuff- nothing of note to see here, then.
Till next week, go watch some Netflix. Or Youtube. Or Youtube on Netflix. Or something.