by Riley Cook
As a millennial, let me preface this by saying, “You’re doing great, sweetie.”
Image Credit: Peter "Hopper" Stone | Getty Images
Lately, we’ve seen an uptick in Gen Z sparking conversations surrounding the low-quality writing and shorter series episodes in TV shows today. Examples include “Insecure”—where this conversation really began—to “Stranger Things” and “Euphoria,” the two shows that simply blew the lid wide open on this topic of concern. So what is it? Why are shows shorter, canceled, or just low quality overall? The answer is simple: streaming.
Unlike traditional cable, which could afford to keep shows running longer for years at a time, streaming seems to be running into one common issue: money. In the early 2000s, actors and actresses could expect smaller payments up front with royalties on the backend. Now, since royalties are pretty much nonexistent in the streaming world, larger payments are demanded up front, and these payments only increase each season.
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For example, if an actress starts season one earning $100 per episode and the show is a hit, she will now expect a significant increase to return for subsequent seasons. By season 3 or 4, this actress could be earning well over $100,000 per season. This is a problem for streaming platforms because they do not have ad support. Ads are the backbone of cable TV and now streaming. Ad revenue means platforms can successfully pay their talent more for longer seasons, but the customers get the short end of the stick because they feel lied to and duped.
If more people continue to opt for ad-free streaming, the platforms are going to continue to raise prices in hopes of getting more people on the ad-supported plan. Ad support means contracts with advertisers that span upwards of 5-10 years of guaranteed revenue. When you see ads, the companies pay more, and thus you’ll get longer shows with better-quality writing. But the problem is people are now experiencing ad fatigue, so they’re more likely to cough up the extra money for no ads.
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Now you may be wondering, “Well, Riley, now that I’m paying more for no ads, why am I still seeing all of these low-quality shows?” The truth is the company has to keep in mind that they can be here today and gone tomorrow—your dollars as a viewer are not guaranteed income. Depending on their goals at the time, they can take your money and either apply it to new shows for the platform, UI, UX, or just toss it into reserves. Each quarter these companies have to decide on a goal.