Top 10 Reasons Why Netflix Has Gone Downhill
Man, I remember the first time me and my family got Netflix. Each of us watched a few shows and movies at our own time here and there in the past. But eventually, we got bored and had no time to stream Netflix, so we got rid of it, unfortunately. Although... considering what Netflix has become nowadays, I'd say it's rather more fortunate for me and my family. To think that one of the most revolutionary streaming services in the industry that helped changed the way audiences view televised content has now become a hollow shell of itself. Everywhere from how limited its content distribution is these days to how much of a drop in quality has been seen in most of its original content, Netflix has really made some poor business decisions on behalf of the streaming service itself. So I've decided to create a list detailing 10 reasons why Netflix has gone downhill. Most of these reasons may range from being majorly valid criticisms to perhaps a few minor but understandable nitpicks here and there hating on certain content they've given us. Anyways, feel free to vote, comment, remix, and add to this list. Thank you all and I hope you enjoy this list.If any of you have had Netflix at least once in your life, you've probably watched a show or movie on the platform that you absolutely loved. You might even watch it all over again if you could. Unfortunately, the freedom to watch that show or movie on Netflix is now just a bittersweet memory. Why? Because Netflix is removing much of its high-quality and popular content, only to replace it with subpar options.
For example, why would Netflix remove some of its iconic Cartoon Network classics and then, of all things, add lackluster shows like The Powerpuff Girls (2016) to its streaming lineup? I have two points to make here. First, I have no idea why they would do that. Second, Netflix is likely being managed by executives who have been influenced negatively by Christina Miller, affecting their business decisions.
Beyond that, it's incredibly frustrating to see that Netflix is removing content people actually want to watch and replacing it with content they have no interest in.
Yeah, I agree. Stranger Things and OITNB are the only two good Netflix originals, yet they have their flaws. First of all, Stranger Things started off strong, but the storyline became more choppy in season 3.
Secondly, despite the rave reviews for Orange Is the New Black, OITNB has prompted a divided response from parents. Some people believe OITNB has a lot of positive messages to offer, while others think it has gratuitous levels of pornography.
And don't get me started on 13 Reasons Why. The show has started a terrible downward trend when it comes to Netflix original series. Most Netflix originals today mainly exploit humanitarian issues such as suicide, racism, and religious discrimination just for money-grabbing purposes.
Netflix's plan to remove Friends and The Office from its streaming library only proves how egotistic they've become over the years. They have a lot of control to do whatever they want, without considering the user's feelings. Worst of all, Netflix released season 4 of 13RW in the midst of a pandemic. Big mistake, Netflix! Brian Yorkey must be fired from the television industry, as his titles never help anyone experiencing severe cases of anxiety and depression.
Adding to the previous item, this is another aspect of the issues Netflix is facing with its streaming content. Not only is good content being taken away and replaced by bad content, but content is also being removed at a faster pace than it is being added. I wouldn't go so far as to say that they will eventually have little to no shows and movies to watch on Netflix, but I don't see anything positive about this trend. It's absolutely detrimental to both the streaming service's quality and the consumer, as their range of accessible content is constantly being limited.
If Netflix doesn't address this problem, they'll eventually start lagging behind competitors like Hulu and Amazon.
Eh, this is a pretty broad topic, but it does apply to Netflix in many ways. Aside from all the new releases of "original content," Netflix hasn't been making much effort to acquire the most recent and current shows and movies. Building on what WholeGrainNeko said, lots of companies like Disney and Funimation are no longer allowing Netflix to acquire much of their content rights to make room for their own streaming services.
While it's not entirely Netflix's fault, they should at least try to acquire content from companies that are willing to let them stream their content. For instance, while Cartoon Network has a streaming service app and a cable feature called "on demand," Netflix should try to make the best use of what it can acquire that's the newest big thing out there. Otherwise, the service becomes stale and outdated if it can't keep up with all the latest popular and great shows and movies.
And now I think we've reached the area where this list goes into my nitpicks, or at least the nitpicks I've seen from what other people have conjured up. I don't know about you, but while I haven't used this new system, I can understand why others dislike it.
The new rating system is more inept at giving people good recommendations for shows and movies they can check out based on what they watch and how much they like a certain show or movie. It's kind of like how people miss the five-star rating system for YouTube.
I'm all for change, but while this isn't the worst change out there, it's understandable why people don't like this change at all. If the new rating system can't tweak the best recommendations for you, they might as well bring back the old one.
I wish they would try harder to acquire other shows. I was so happy to see Inuyasha and Bleach come onto Netflix! I've rewatched those series plenty of times on Netflix. However, if they don't secure the rights to shows and movies and just try to produce their own content, I'm not sure how willing I would be to stay.
How does a streaming service go from offering lots of streaming to little or no streaming? Well, I'd say Netflix is a prime example of that scenario. I understand from a business perspective that creating original content is cheaper and easier to produce. This is much like how live-action sitcoms on the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and CN Real shows on Cartoon Network were made. However, this approach doesn't necessarily yield a good movie or TV show.
Netflix was arguably the pinnacle of online streaming in its prime. But now, they have shifted their focus for the worse. They are trying to give us more original content rather than acquiring the rights to movies and shows that people actually want to watch. This has become more or less a distant memory and further emphasizes how far Netflix has fallen from what it initially set out to do.
If Netflix can't focus primarily on streaming rather than producing original content, why even call it a streaming service to begin with?
That's not good. I canceled my subscription almost a year ago because it isn't as good anymore.
Pretty much what WholeGrainNeko said about other companies splitting off from their streaming services. To reiterate what she said, Disney is now parting ways with Netflix to create its own streaming service for its shows and movies. The new streaming service from Disney is called Disney+ (correct me if I'm wrong). I'm torn on whether I should be directing my animosity towards Netflix or Disney for this. Perhaps it's mostly Disney, but I have my own reasons to be dissatisfied with both. Regardless, this move is detrimental to Netflix's library of shows and movies.
At this rate, other companies like Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon might start pulling their content from Netflix and doing the same thing Disney is doing. It's a sad cycle, I tell you. If this trend continues, the way Netflix replaced Blockbuster could end up backfiring on them. Other streaming services might push Netflix aside, leading to a decline in its quality for good.
Before, I'm pretty sure many people preferred Netflix over cable because the former was cheaper and offered better value than the latter. While this may still be true today, Netflix now seems more overpriced compared to its competitors like Hulu and Amazon. Just last year, Netflix significantly increased its streaming service price, making it even more expensive than Amazon's streaming service. Moreover, Hulu is cheaper than Netflix these days. Hulu's max price of $7.99 after the first year of subscription actually matches Netflix's price for its basic plan. That's right, basic! If Netflix can't offer competitive prices, even for its basic package, it needs to lower its prices and improve its content quality to stay competitive.
Okay, now I officially think Christina Miller is a bad influence on the executives at Netflix. Netflix somehow thought it was a good idea to create a cheaply-animated reboot of a beloved educational kids' show. While the reboot may not lack educational value, it certainly doesn't do justice to the original show and books. Not only is the Flash animation bland and generic, but the characters are also really hard to get attached to. Introducing Ms. Frizzle's "twin sister" as the main female lead instead of her predecessor was an absolute disgrace.
The new theme song sung by Lin-Manuel Miranda is one of the only saving graces of the show. The Magic School Bus Rides Again feels more like a desperate cash grab aimed at appealing to fans nostalgic for the original show. In all honesty, it's no better than other awful reboots like Teen Titans Go!, The Powerpuff Girls (2016), and Ben 10 (2016).
Great. Now it looks like Fate/Extra Last Encore is going to be a Netflix-exclusive series too. Can the Fate series just stop being exclusive to Netflix? Again, I would have preferred for it to air on Crunchyroll. At least there they would have simulcast it, instead of waiting months for Japan to finish its initial broadcasts.
Yes, I've noticed this too. Some studios seem to be solely involved, and not all are. For instance, Trigger Studios has Little Witch Academia and Kill la Kill. Or even worse, when they don't add all the seasons of an anime, like with Naruto.
Absolutely agree. Way too much Indian programming. For a while there, I thought someone in India had bought out Netflix.
Too much Indian, Asian, Turkish content and a very low number of blockbusters.
Way too many Asian and foreign-language shows on American Netflix.
Thought Ghost in the Shell (2017) was bad? Death Note (2017) takes it up a notch. Apparently, Netflix thought it was a good idea to throw their hat into the ring in an attempt to make a successful live-action adaptation of a manga and anime franchise.
Considering we've gotten horrible live-action adaptations such as Dragonball: Evolution and Avatar: The Last Airbender (yes, I know that is not based on an anime, but it suffers the same problems live-action anime adaptations do), it was no surprise that Death Note fans were appalled to see their favorite anime become whitewashed and turned into trash through blatant Americanization, a huge disregard for the source material, and overall poor execution.
With one of the only good things being the casting of Ryuk, while the other actors and actresses were disappointing, Death Note (2017) certifies itself as yet another god-awful live-action adaptation of a beloved anime.
The UK isn't the only country that suffers from this issue, but many international platforms for the Netflix streaming service are severely limited. Especially in the UK, while it does have some American Netflix content, it only has about half of what the American Netflix streaming service offers in the US.
This is really unfair since UK consumers have to pay more just to access the same content that Americans have on Netflix. Or worse, they're stuck with only 50% of American content at the same price that American consumers pay for the full package. Netflix is facing not just a domestic decline, but an international issue as well.
I feel that this is partially a reiteration of my previous reasons on this list, but in a way, it's also a different aspect on its own. I'm pretty sure Netflix initially streamed both movies and TV shows during its debut and prime. As for the shift in demographic focus, that's quite understandable.
I wouldn't say it's as noticeable a problem as others on this list, but I can see that much of the content Netflix produces these days is aimed primarily at younger demographics. They seem less focused on impressing a broad audience, including mature adults. To be honest, I don't fully grasp the concept of this reason, but if we're talking solely about demographics, then I might be on board with understanding the decline in Netflix's age scope.
Family Guy, Futurama, Bob's Burgers, American Dad, Phineas and Ferb, Adventure Time, and Regular Show were all removed. I've heard they might remove Attack on Titan too.
They removed Dexter's Lab and the Powerpuff Girls. The former isn't even on Hulu anymore.
Not only have they gone downhill, but they also give us garbage stuff to watch nowadays!
I search for "Spongebob," and the first result is a Puss in Boots rip-off.
Even worse, they have episodes like One Course Meal, A Pal For Gary, and The Splinter.
Didn't they remove the show long before this list was made?
I don't remember any more SpongeBob being on here after they removed it a few years back.
I saw this on Netflix and, out of curiosity, watched it. After the first episode, I was completely baffled by what happened. Then I read some information about how it was supposed to be a parody anime. With that in mind, I watched the rest. Boy, does it fail at being a parody anime. Gintama and Hetalia do a much better job at parodying anime.
This anime just felt lazy, similar to Vampire Sucks, Meet the Spartans, and Haunted House 2. Just because it's a parody doesn't give it an excuse to be lazy, and this is no different. When you elicit no reaction from someone who is supposed to be laughing, you've messed up.
There are adult cartoons out there like South Park, Rick and Morty, and BoJack Horseman that use their profanity to tackle major adult issues and make you think about important topics. On the other hand, there are adult cartoons like Big Mouth that just use shock value and nothing else. I hate shows like this because they put a bad stigma on adult animation as a whole.
There are tons of talented, creative writers out there who put loads of effort into their shows. Then you have effortless crap like this that lowers the reputation of the entire medium.
As long as DreamWorks keeps their bad cartoons off Cartoon Network, I'll be fine. I don't want a Shrek cartoon making Cartoon Network even worse than it is.
It's not just that, but they also turn mediocre DreamWorks movies into utter crap!
The only good DreamWorks show on Netflix is She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
I got more out of Netflix when I could explore international catalogs and find titles I actually wanted to watch, titles that weren't available on American Netflix.
VPNs still work for me. I use a VPN to watch The Backyardigans on Korean Netflix sometimes.
Imagine if it were Dear Black People.