As ominous earnings roll in for the last financial quarter, the players who run some of Hollywood’s big streaming services are flashing warning signs that content spending might be reined in fairly soon. Amid decades-high inflation and a looming recession that have severely curtailed what advertisers are willing to spend, big media companies on Thursday reported little-to-no gains in paid subscribers to platforms from Roku and NBCUniversal’s Peacock.
Which means those big-budget scripts sitting in the bottom drawer might need to be sold fast, before the funding goes away.
This is a vicious cycle: Studios are looking to save money without sacrificing quality or surefire hits.