Netflix cannot continue 'business as usual' as they proposed in this article because that usual business was spending ungodly amounts of money on pretty much everything under the sun.
Programming, global studios, theaters, buildings and more. "We have SO MUCH MONEY, yes let's just spend it all on everything that sounds like a remotely good idea. The subscribers LOVE US! Yes, yes, YES!"
No business can sustain unlimited spending.
There seems to have been few checks and balances internally to justify the lavish spending. There was also no attempt to hide that lavish spending either, Netflix seemed rather proud to let the world know just how much money they were spending each year.
No, the subscribers don't love when the cost of that subscription keeps going up.
Especially when those cost hikes are self-inflicted. See "no business can sustain unlimited spending" above.
Subscribers want value for their money.
Netflix used to be curated entertainment. Now it's a few really good projects, but far too much painfully obvious 'filler.' The good projects can be watched in a few weeks, no need for a yearly subscription.
In other words, Netflix completely lost its way. It stopped providing value to the subscribers. They figured nobody would notice because they were spending SO MUCH MONEY!
Money spent without providing quality and value for the consumer is money burned. Then asking the consumer to make up for all that money you spent, and bragged out about, is going to lead to defection.
A good entrepreneur spends money to provide quality and value to their customers. A good entrepreneur understands holding the line on costs without sacrificing that quality.
Will Netflix survive as they once were? That depends on what leadership steps in to stop running the company like a Silicon Valley startup burning through cash. And starts running the company in a financially sound manner, with a laser focus on quality entertainment while providing true value to the customer.
