Netflix Slams Rivals’ Bundling Plans, Blames Strikes For “Patchier” Programming

Last quarter, Netflix poured cold water on its rivals plans to put together streaming bundles and, three months on, it is going a step further.

The streamer has slammed the idea of streamer bundles after delivering its latest financial results, which saw it add 5.1M subscribers.

“Programming for such a large, engaged audience, with so much variety and great quality, is hard. It’s why streaming services which lack our breadth of content are increasingly looking to bundle their offerings (selling and discounting their services together, channel offerings, etc.). Netflix is already an extraordinary package of series and films (licensed and original), and increasingly games and live events — all in one place and for one price, easy to use and great value for money,” it noted in a letter to shareholders.

This comes as the likes of Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery unveiled plans to bundle Disney+, Hulu and Max, and Apple joined Amazon’s channels business.

But Netflix did admit that its own programming in 2024 was “patchier than normal” and blamed the writers and actors strikes for that.

Despite lamenting, Netflix highlighted some of the recent success of titles such as The Perfect Couple, starring Nicole Kidman and Liev Schreiber, Ryan Murphy’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and Nobody Wants This, starring Kristen Bell and Adam Brody as well as films such as Rebel Ridge and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.

It also noted that over the next three months, it will launch the second season of Squid Game as well as No Good Deed, starring Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano, Man on The Inside with Ted Danson and Black Doves, starring Keira Knightley. On the film side, it has Carry-On, an action thriller starring Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman, The Six Triple Eight, a Tyler Perry-directed war drama starring Kerry Washington, and Spellbound produced by John Lasseter coming up.