2: Buy More, Own Less: Subscriptions and Unending Consumption

From the French series Lupin to the Korean survival drama Squid Game, Netflix has changed the political economy of television series by making television production global. In fact, three of the top ten television shows on Netflix are non-English-speaking series: Money Heist, Lupin, and Squid Game. Coincidentally, all three shows are anti-capitalist and demonstrate the problems of our digital feudal moment. This represents the way over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms changed the way we think about television consumption. OTT refers to television distribution that occurs over the internet instead of via cable, satellite, or airwaves. The long-term goal for Netflix, and other OTT platforms, is to gain viewers for one show or movie and convince those viewers to maintain their subscriptions. Each platform has a slightly different plan. Smaller platforms like Apple's Apple TV+ use one show, that is, Ted Lasso, to attract viewers. While media giant Disney, uses popular franchises like Star Wars and Marvel to create television series for its Disney+ platform. Meanwhile platforms fight over streaming rights for shows like Friends. OTT platforms use successful shows to hook audiences into subscriptions, then audience members end up in what I describe here as “unending consumption.”