Some experts predict that the “golden age” of streaming, during which customers have benefited from an almost limitless supply of ad-free content at a reasonable price, is coming to an end. They forecast that as studios try to balance their budgets, streaming will grow more expensive and more frequently interrupted by advertising, a trend that has already begun. Cost-cutting pressures may also result in a sharp decline in the number of shows that are released in a given year, leaving fewer opportunities for the production of ambitious ventures that have recently dazzled viewers.
Consolidation, in the opinion of many industry analysts, is streaming’s next significant step.