It was not that long ago that if you had a streaming idea for cord cutters, investors would throw money at you. Now investors and streaming services are cutting budgets and investments as they look for ways to make a profit.
It may surprise many to find out that many streaming services, even large ones like Disney+, are not profitable. Most are propped up by investors, and others by large companies who are backing them, like Parmount+.
Recently though, the so-called era of dumb money where everyone just wanted to get in on cord-cutting at any price. Now companies are cutting back, staff is getting let go, and streaming services are merging.
Cord cutting is larger than ever, as it has been reported that more than half of Americans no longer pay for cable TV. The problem for many streaming services is that cord cutters are not picking up their service as they had expected.
Many TV companies expected to be able to replace lost cable TV revenue by adding streaming revenue. 2022 showed, though, that most cord cutters are being picky and not subscribing to as many services as the likes of AMC, A&E, NBCUniversal, and more would have liked.
So as 2023 started, many streaming services are facing the very real need to become profitable. No longer are investors willing to wait for a far-out distant day to become profitable.
Several sources have told Cord Cutters News that the number of investors willing to back new cord cutting services is shrinking. There are still investors wanting in on cord cutting, but they are being pickier about who they back. Increasingly investors are wondering if there are just too many streaming services for all of them to be successful.
Increasingly it is being reported that multiple streaming services are facing a real need to become profitable or face shutting down. The days of just getting a new round of investors may be coming to an end.
So what does this mean for cord cutting? For now, nothing, but we are likely to see a number of streaming services merge or shut down in the future. There are currently hundreds of free and paid services. Clearly, not all of them will make it.