Is TikTok eating passive screen time?

Netflix reported a loss of 200,000 members in Q1-2022 and further predicted a loss of 2 million members in Q2. The massive drop in Netflix Stock price that immediately followed, sparked discussions on the reasons behind slowing growth of Netflix. While challenges pertaining to growing competition (HBO, Disney, Prime & Others), woke programming etc. are well founded, what's interesting is the hypothesis that Tiktok is eating Netflix (and other streaming services' lunch).

Netflix has to spend billions of dollars in creating original content and hope it is engaging enough for users to start/continue their monthly subscription. The content at Tiktok on the other hand is free, ever expanding, highly engaging and requires low commitment to consume. Though Tiktok and Netflix seem to be completely differentiated products, they are competing for the same 'Job to be done'. Netflix acknowledged the same in their July 16, 2020 letter to shareholders.

As of a recent survey over 52% users of TikTok now are over age 30. The time adults spend on Tiktok comes mostly at a cost of streaming companies & other social media platforms.

It'll be interesting to see how Netflix evolves in the face of these tail winds, some options that we can expect them explore/double down include

1. Advertising
2. Mobile Games
3. Live TV - Sports, News
4. Short Content, New Formats - Storytelling & Collaborations

Best of the Web 134

Articles:
1) Fuck You Money: What is the optimal amount of wealth?. Read here
2) The Dao of DAOs by Packy McCormick. Read here
3) '103 bits of advice I wish I had known' by Kevin Kelly. Read here
4) The Antilibrary: Why Unread Books Are The Most Important. Read here
5) Gratitude in Abundance. Read here
6) The Acceleration of Addictiveness by Paul Graham. Read here

Rewind (Best of newsletter #96)
1) Seeing through the fog by Fred Wilson. Read here
2) 100 Mental Models explained. Read here
3) E-commerce customer lifecycle management: Metrics & Goals. Read here

Twitter Thread of the Week:
20 ideas I can’t stop thinking about - Sahil Bloom. Read here

Video/Podcast of the Week:
Tyler Cowen and Russ Roberts discuss their reading habits and favourite books. Listen here

Book of the Week:
Well-Designed: How to Use Empathy to Create Products People Love. Find here

Links to Previous Newsletters
1. Best of the Web 13 3
2. Best of the Web 1 3 2

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