Before streaming, the movie/tv library itself was the key asset for a studio. When there's limited shelf space (only so many movie screens at a multiplex, only so many DVD/VHS boxes at a video rental store, only so many hours in a day of linear programming on a limited number of tv channels), the value is in the actual thing being produced (movies, tv shows) that audiences are willing to pay for.
For streamers, the algorithm has become the key asset when shelf space is technically infinite. Movies/series or "content" are the fuel for that algorithm. Because it's the algorithm now that is the key relationship between the streamer and the subscriber.
In the past, the goal was to get an audience member to buy a movie ticket to watch that one movie in the theater, or to rent that one movie at Blockbuster. Or to watch a TV show that has commercials.
Now, the goal is to keep us subscribed monthly.
That fundamentally changes the relationship between the audience and the story they're watching. And it fundamentally changes movies/tv from being a "product" that we buy, to being the "fuel" for a streamer's algorithm. The "product" is now the subscription service, and not the movie ticket.
As a result, movies/series have become devalued - from being a product (end in itself) to being a cost of sales (a means to an end). This frankly goes for other media as well, including music and books.
The key difference is this.
Before streaming, the movie/tv library itself was the key asset for a studio. When there's limited shelf space (only so many movie screens at a multiplex, only so many DVD/VHS boxes at a video rental store, only so many hours in a day of linear programming on a limited number of tv channels), the value is in the actual thing being produced (movies, tv shows) that audiences are willing to pay for.
For streamers, the algorithm has become the key asset when shelf space is technically infinite. Movies/series or "content" are the fuel for that algorithm. Because it's the algorithm now that is the key relationship between the streamer and the subscriber.
In the past, the goal was to get an audience member to buy a movie ticket to watch that one movie in the theater, or to rent that one movie at Blockbuster. Or to watch a TV show that has commercials.
Now, the goal is to keep us subscribed monthly.
That fundamentally changes the relationship between the audience and the story they're watching. And it fundamentally changes movies/tv from being a "product" that we buy, to being the "fuel" for a streamer's algorithm. The "product" is now the subscription service, and not the movie ticket.
As a result, movies/series have become devalued - from being a product (end in itself) to being a cost of sales (a means to an end). This frankly goes for other media as well, including music and books.