The Collapse at Netflix Signals the End of Audience Capture
The most popular strategy in the tech world has stopped working. That's good news for all of us.
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A few weeks ago, I warned about problems brewing at Netflix (and other streaming platforms). In just the last few days, these problems have gotten worse, much worse—and the situation has reached crisis proportions.
Even more revealing—the crisis is now spreading through the tech world like a wildfire. It’s no exaggeration to say that Netflix dragged down the entire NASDAQ today, after the release of its disappointing quarterly results.
That’s because savvy investors on Wall Street now grasp what’s really going on. They fear that the root cause of Netflix’s woes portends the collapse of the dominant business strategy in tech today.
This is hugely important—and not just for investors or technocrats. All of us will be impacted by how this plays out. And I have a strong hunch that what is bad for Netflix might just be good for you and me.
That’s because Netflix’s failed strategy is audience capture. And you and I are part of the audience it wants to keep in captivity.
More on that below—but let’s start by looking at the damage done to Netflix’s stock. When I warned about it in June, the price had already dropped 45%.
But today, shareholders woke up to this.
After today’s debacle, Netflix will have wiped out the entire last two years of stock price gains.
This is usually where I take a victory lap, and point out that I warned of the danger three weeks ago. But there’s a bigger story here that must be told.