My partner Andy tweeted this yesterday and I replied:
@aweissman @diymanik @elidourado i wonder how much of that is delivery model, business model, and content quality?
— Fred Wilson (@fredwilson) January 4, 2016
Andy was referring to this tweet:
Netflix now produces 3 of the top 5 rated video series according to Rotten Tomatoes https://t.co/RvVTS16oOF And Amazon produces the other 2.
— Eli Dourado (@elidourado) January 4, 2016
I was looking for some thoughts on whether these Netflix and Amazon shows are really the best content on TV right now or whether it is the packaging that has caused them to top the rankings.
Peter Kafka rightly points out that those rankings are suspect since they don’t include Game Of Thrones and other HBO shows:
@aweissman @fredwilson @diymanik @elidourado start w/gut: Do you really a top 5 or 10 list that doesn’t have GoT on it reflects audience?
— Peter Kafka (@pkafka) January 4, 2016
But even if the list is suspect, I stick with the question. Do Amazon and Netflix greenlight better shows than their competitors or do they package them up better?
This response from Andy captures the answer that I believe to be true, the packaging matters a lot to the consumer and also impacts the creators and how they make the shows.
@fredwilson @diymanik @elidourado all-at-once release model maybe https://t.co/Sr8PCpE4yy pic.twitter.com/frYPeHt2Sd
— Andy Weissman (@aweissman) January 4, 2016
I also like this reply:
@fredwilson @aweissman @diymanik @elidourado Season long (vs episode long) story format + Binge watching + Co-viewing + NFLX Curation/Rec
— Mike Puangmalai (@NonGAAP) January 4, 2016
I’m not sure what “co-viewing” means but I get the rest and agree with it.
The high level point to me is that the packaging matters a lot. Over the top services, a direct relationship with the content producer, all at once release (promoting binge watching), and great content is the winning formula. Content quality alone is not enough.
