--- description: From Disney to Warner, executives facing huge losses now appear to be questioning everything they thought they knew about their business. title: The Streaming Wars Have Entered Their Chaos Era image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte3f391941a8e7582/698a3a3b09208f46e441a144/Streaming-Chaosfeatured.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Television](/tag/television/) ## Television Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Streaming Wars Have Entered Their Chaos Era Feb 9, 2023 8:26 PM CUT   by [Judy Berman](/author/judy-berman/)  ## Judy Berman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close TV Critic Feb 9, 2023 8:26 PM CUT A few days ago, I stumbled upon a news item that broke my brain. “[Disney Explores the Sale of More Films and TV Series to Rivals](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-03/disney-explores-the-sale-of-more-films-tv-series-to-rivals "undefined"),” Bloomberg reported on Feb. 3, citing anonymous sources who said that the entertainment monolith was considering licensing some of its original content to outside platforms “as pressure grows to curb the losses in its streaming TV business.” This might sound like a pretty quotidian showbiz story, but here’s the thing: Disney’s new thinking—which CEO Bob Iger [confirmed](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/disney-content-writedown-1235320727/ "undefined") in an earnings call on Wednesday—directly contradicts the longstanding industry consensus that the best way for a studio to monetize its content is to hoard it all on its own subscription streaming platform. This is, in fact, the conventional wisdom that begat our current [overabundance of subscription streaming platforms](https://time.com/6121212/tv-streaming-peak-redundancy/ "undefined"). Disney isn’t the first major entertainment company to challenge this basic assumption of the streaming wars in recent months. Warner Bros. Discovery executed the same kind of pivot in December, [pulling several titles off HBO Max](https://time.com/6240853/hbo-max-shows-leaving/ "undefined") with plans to license them to free, ad-supported TV (FAST) providers like Roku, Freevee, and Tubi. If the immediate effect of the latter decision was mass panic over the sudden disappearance of _Westworld_, then the more salient implication of the Warner and Disney stories—not just for the industry, but for viewers—is that executives facing huge losses now appear to be questioning everything they thought they knew about their business. In other words: the streaming wars have entered their chaos era. --- ### More from TIME --- Disney’s reversal on licensing is, after all, only the latest in an onslaught of puzzling and, at times, alarming news from the sector. Let’s review some of the biggest bafflers: The December HBO Max disappearances continued a rolling bloodbath at the [newly merged Warner Bros. Discovery](https://time.com/6203940/hbo-max-streaming-wars-future/ "undefined") that began over the summer, as the company’s new CEO, [David Zaslav](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2022/6177764/david-zaslav/ "undefined"), purged a [long list of originals](https://www.vulture.com/article/hbo-max-removing-shows-movies-list.html "undefined") from the platform and scrapped completed seasons of well-liked series including [TBS’s _Chad_](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/tbs-cancels-chad-season-2-may-run-elsewhere-1235178119/ "undefined") and [Max’s _Minx_](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/hbo-max-cancels-minx-undoing-season-2-renewal-1235280573/ "undefined"). (WBD also shelved movies like [_Batgirl_](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/batgirl-hbo-max-movie-dc-canceled-1235191932/ "undefined"), which was already in post-production at the time.) Both shows were soon salvaged by other streamers, with _Chad_’s second season [airing on the Roku Channel](https://deadline.com/2022/10/chad-roku-season-2-nasim-pedrad-1235154890/ "undefined") and [Starz picking up _Minx_](https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/minx-season-2-starz-hbo-max-1235487430/ "undefined"). Meanwhile, in November, Disney [brought in its former longtime leader Iger](https://time.com/5790677/bob-iger-successor-predictions-chapek-failures/ "undefined") to replace his own replacement, Bob Chapek. And just last week, Netflix unveiled its [plan to crack down on password sharing](https://time.com/6251148/netflix-password-sharing-crackdown-rules/ "undefined")—but then, amid swift subscriber backlash, the company [deleted](https://www.wired.com/story/netflix-password-sharing-crackdown-us-mistake/ "undefined") the most controversial details from its U.S. Help Center, claiming it had not intended to post them there. Then there are the more standard cancellations, which of course are nothing new for TV, but which were rarer in the early streaming era and now seem to be happening at a greater frequency than ever. HBO’s [_Los Espookys_](https://time.com/6224383/los-espookys-season-2-halloween-shows/ "undefined"), Amazon’s [_As We See It_](https://time.com/6142146/best-tv-shows-january-2022/ "undefined"), Showtime’s _Flatbush Misdemeanors_, Max’s [_Made for Love_](https://time.com/6235712/best-tv-shows-2022/ "undefined"), and AMC+’s [_Moonhaven_](https://time.com/6194202/moonhaven-review-amc-plus/ "undefined")are just a few of the standout shows that got slashed last year, just a season or two into their runs. And now, mere month into 2023, the axe has already fallen on several promising debut series, from FX’s long-awaited [Octavia E. Butler](https://time.com/6240459/octavia-butler-kindred-human-behavior/ "undefined") adaptation [_Kindred_](https://time.com/6238862/kindred-review-fx/ "undefined") to Hulu’s star-studded meta-sitcom [_Reboot_](https://time.com/6214822/reboot-hulu-nostalgia-family-sitcom/ "undefined") to [_The Chair_](https://time.com/6090110/the-chair-review-netflix/ "undefined"), a Netflix dramedy that put [Sandra Oh](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2019/5567697/sandra-oh/ "undefined") at the center of campus intrigue, along with inferior titles (HBO Max’s halfhearted [_Gossip Girl reboot_](https://time.com/6077228/gossip-girl-reboot-review-hbo-max/ "undefined"), Showtime’s ill-conceived [_American Gigolo_](https://time.com/6210248/american-gigolo-review-showtime/ "undefined")sequel). The cancellations of cult favorites like Amazon’s [_The Wilds_](https://www.thepinknews.com/2022/08/01/amazon-the-wilds-cancelled-save/ "undefined")and Netflix’s [_Warrior Nun_](https://time.com/6247849/warrior-nun-netflix-canceled/ "undefined")and [_First Kil_](https://time.com/6203263/first-kill-cancelled-netflix/ "undefined")_l—_all of which center young, queer women—have sparked fan outrage and pleas for other platforms to save the shows. At the same time, renewals of soulless reboots like [Netflix’s ](https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/that-90s-show-renewed-season-2-netflix-1235512056/ "undefined")_That ’90s Show_ and announcements of absurd-sounding franchises like [Showtime’s new _Billions_ universe](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/dexter-billions-spinoffs-showtime-franchises-paramount-merger-1235318737/ "undefined") (who’s excited for _Millions_ and _Trillions_?) don’t inspire much confidence that streamers remain invested in quality programming. Like just about every unpopular decision made by for-profit companies, the reasoning behind the vast majority of these moves surely comes down to money. Indeed, from a financial perspective, streaming is in an increasingly tough spot. As [Iger noted](https://variety.com/2023/film/news/disney-bob-iger-disney-streaming-espn-earnings-1235517437/#recipient%5Fhashed=3b97744c9bc8d1f40e513ca59576a7374f35aae59fb7d7c6b6f3b9c0a2eef562&recipient%5Fsalt=0273f8111d2408a22a6766c626497208aa66cbddbd25ecc2fbfa731e60e43191 "undefined") on Wednesday, amid news that Disney would [lay off 7,000 employees](https://time.com/6254169/disney-cuts-7000-jobs-bob-iger/ "undefined") despite beating revenue forecasts: “The streaming business … is not delivering basically the kind of profitability or bottom line results that the linear business delivered.” (AMC Networks chairman James Dolan [made a similar comment](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/amc-networks-ceo-exit-stock-analysts-1235271197/ "undefined") in a grim memo to staff this past November: “It was our belief that cord cutting losses would be offset by gains in streaming. This has not been the case.”) The [content arms race](https://time.com/5484106/too-much-netflix-content/ "undefined") that Netflix kicked off in the 2010s put enormous pressure on even the most prosperous corporate parents to launch in-house streaming platforms and grow their audiences through massive original-content spends. Streamers haven’t just been pumping out _more_ shows than linear could ever have supported; they’re also [dropping unprecedented sums](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-most-expensive-tv-shows-of-all-time-stranger-things-and-lord-of-the-rings-enter-pantheon-152120290.html "undefined") on individual titles designed to cut through the noise they created and attract new subscribers. But in a TV landscape no longer standardized by Nielsen ratings and the advertiser dollars they represent, where raw viewership numbers are only one piece of the metrics puzzle, it’s tougher than ever to judge any given title’s success. Did [Amazon’s billion-dollar _Lord of the Rings_ bet](https://time.com/6205837/the-rings-of-power-amazon-most-expensive/ "undefined") pay off? [It](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-10-13/lord-of-the-rings-rings-of-power-amazon-season-1-audience "undefined") [depends](https://www.indiewire.com/2022/10/lord-of-the-rings-series-hit-flop-ratings-explained-1234772703/ "undefined") [who](https://deadline.com/2022/12/lotr-the-rings-of-power-amazon-vernon-sanders-interview-investment-season-2-spoilers-pace-battles-season-3-renewal-1235201384/ "undefined") [you](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/10/does-house-of-the-dragon-or-rings-of-power-take-the-crown "undefined") [ask](https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/tv-reviews/will-the-lord-of-the-rings-the-rings-of-power-join-the-list-of-costly-tv-misfires-42078234.html "undefined"). One takeaway is certain: when it comes to streaming, [just about everyone who isn’t Netflix is in the red](https://www.vox.com/recode/2023/1/5/23539590/streaming-losses-netflix-hbo-peter-kafka-media-column "undefined"). And when the industry leader reported significant subscriber losses in the [first and second quarters of 2022](https://time.com/6198354/netflix-subscribers-loss-second-quarter-future/#:~:text=After%20losing%20200%2C000%20subscribers%20in,an%20additional%201%20million%20subscribers. "undefined"), Wall Street worried that the era of endless growth had in fact ended, Netflix’s stock plummeted, and a company that had long been determined to run solely on subscriptions introduced an [ad-supported tier](https://time.com/6227507/netflix-ad-tier-cost-launch/ "undefined") in November. A year of [layoffs](https://time.com/6234014/tech-layoffs-twitter-amazon-global-workers/ "undefined") and [losses](https://time.com/6226927/tech-stocks-slump-economy-forecast/ "undefined") in the adjacent tech sector, within a larger U.S. economy haunted by recession talk that was [likely just CEO fear-mongering](https://time.com/6252887/january-jobs-report-recession/ "undefined"), didn’t help matters. Listen: I’m not a business reporter or an industry analyst or an MBA. I’m a TV critic who follows and occasionally [reports on](https://time.com/6121212/tv-streaming-peak-redundancy/ "undefined") the streaming business out of personal and professional investment in television as an art form and societal barometer. Beyond hoping the industry remains sustainable enough to keep making shows I like, and to support the people who make them, corporate balance sheets are not my concern. But it seems obvious that when C-suites have revolving doors—Disney’s two Bobs and [Iger’s newly announced radical reorganization plan](https://deadline.com/2023/02/disney-reorganizes-three-segments-entertainment-espn-parks-1235253253/ "undefined") aside, the last year has seen leadership shakeups at [Netflix](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/netflix-shocker-reed-hastings-to-exit-co-ceo-role-will-remain-as-executive-chairman-1235304437/ "undefined"), [WBD](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/david-zaslav-warner-bros-discovery-executive-changes-1235129343/ "undefined"), [Paramount Global](https://www.thewrap.com/cbs-executive-shakeup-paramount-cost-cut-layoff/ "undefined"), [NBC Universal](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-01-11/noah-oppenheim-leaves-presidents-job-in-executive-shake-up-at-nbc-news "undefined"), [AMC Networks](https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/29/media/amc-networks-ceo-steps-down/index.html#:~:text=Spade%2C%20who%20was%20named%20CEO,assume%20the%20role%20of%20CEO. "undefined"), [Apple TV+](https://www.businessinsider.com/streamer-apple-tv-plus-new-oversight-vp-oliver-schusser-2023-1?utmSource=twitter&utmContent=referral&utmTerm=topbar&referrer=twitter&r=US&IR=T "undefined"), and in [Amazon’s media division](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-02/amazon-media-chief-jeff-blackburn-to-retire-in-division-shakeup#xj4y7vzkg "undefined")—while strong series get canned without having a chance to find their audiences and studios are incentivized to trash finished seasons for tax purposes or sell them to competitors instead of airing them, the conditions for creating great television aren’t optimal. ’Twas ever thus, perhaps. TV has always been first and foremost a business. Yet what feels noteworthy here is not the expediency of streaming executives’ decision making; on the contrary, it’s the randomness and uncertainty and outright flailing that seems to surround so many recent strategic shifts. Streaming services like Disney+ and HBO Max were supposed to be, unlike Netflix, permanent libraries for century-old studio archives; now, copyright ownership doesn’t guarantee even recent titles’ availability. For years, Netflix operated on the assumption that enough viewers would pay a premium for an ad-free experience, but then they needed to reach the ones who wouldn’t. Loose password-sharing policies were once thought to help [hook young people](https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/netflix-new-password-sharing-rules-household-op-ed "undefined") on services they’d pay for as adults; now, it’s time to crack down. Subscription fees were the only to effectively monetize programming… until licensing, and specifically FAST, apparently became a better option for some of it—which might make you suspect that streaming execs aren’t innovating so much as reverse-engineering the hybrid advertising-subscription model that predominated on cable-era linear, complete with a contemporary form of syndication. This is what chaos looks like. We don’t know yet which of streaming executives’ many recent, seemingly desperate pivots will be temporary and which we’ll look back on as turning points in the history of TV, for better or worse. But if you listen hard, you can hear echoes of a Y2K-era music industry whose leaders couldn’t wrap their minds around the internet and let upstarts from [Napster](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/may/31/napster-twenty-years-music-revolution "undefined") to [Apple](https://themusicnetwork.com/forget-napster-it-was-itunes-that-held-the-record-industry-to-ransom/ "undefined") erode their revenue streams—and of early-2010s [digital publishers ](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/theres-a-digital-media-crash-but-no-one-will-say-it "undefined")chasing Facebook-driven audience growth, who realized too late that Zuckerberg giveth and Zuckerberg taketh away. A decade or two post-cataclysm, these industries are still [playing financial catch-up](https://www.statista.com/chart/17244/us-music-revenue-by-format/ "undefined"), at the expense of some of their most ambitious voices and projects. While it remains to be seen whether streaming execs have a similarly ravenous [appetite for self-destruction,](https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Appetite-for-Self-Destruction/Steve-Knopper/9781416594550 "undefined") the confusion in the air sure does feel familiar. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6253697/streaming-wars-disney-chaos-era/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6253697/streaming-wars-disney-chaos-era/"},"headline":"The Streaming Wars Have Entered Their Chaos Era","datePublished":"2023-02-09T20:26:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T15:24:17.000Z","description":"From Disney to Netflix to Warner Bros. 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