Prime to Peacock: The Right Next Genre for Every Streamer
Netflix isn’t doing this. Disney+ used to. HBO Max forgot how. Here’s what each platform should pursue now to grow
Credit where credit is due, you can’t say that Warner Bros. Discovery won’t pivot quickly if something’s not working. Just a couple of years after saying they want to compete aggressively with the top streamers by cramming all their content onto one streamer (Hulu and Disney+? Meet HBO Max and Discovery+), they’ve already pivoted into saying, “better is more” and plan to trim down their streaming offerings to focus more on their core brands.
Essentially, they’re saying that instead of competing to be “all of TV” as, say, Netflix and Prime Video are doing, they’re fine with serving a core demographic and serving it well.
It makes sense, especially if you’re a company super-focused on investor metrics, like return on investment.
That said, if this choice limits Warner Bros. Discovery’s future ambitions, I’d be disappointed. It’s one thing to not compete everywhere for every customer— just phrasing it like that sounds like spreading yourself too thin, which is a hallmark of bad strategy! — but it’s another to not have a plan to expand and grow.
Which is what I’d recommend WBD do after it achieves even greater profitability in 2025 and beyond. And I’d recommend the same thing to Disney. And Paramount. And Peacock. And heck, Netflix, Apple and Amazon. If you serve one demographic of customers well, find the next group and then woo them into using your streamer. And so on and so on. Sure, that’s not as sexy as deficit-financed blitzscaling, but it’s sound strategy.
As someone who spends each week looking at what does and doesn’t work on streaming, and studies each streamer’s hits and misses, I’ve developed some thoughts on where the streamers could move next. So today I have one recommendation of either a type of content, genre or set of rights each streamer should focus on, trying to leverage each company’s or streamer’s given strengths to either woo new customers or increase their lead over competitors.
In other words:
🚨 Streamers, Listen Up: One Genre Could Change Everything
You’ve tried prestige, superheroes, unscripted, and sports. But there are still big audience gaps — and bigger strategic ones. In this piece, I lay out the one genre each major streamer should add next, tailored to their brand, audience and ambitions:
The genre Netflix isn’t doing (but should be — and it’s not sports)
Why Disney+ needs to revive its 2000s secret weapon
The simple licensing move that could bring HBO back to “Home Box Office” glory
How Paramount+ could quietly win the kids market
Apple TV+’s prestige hole — and how to fix it for cheap
The rights deal Peacock should chase now, before ESPN or Amazon gets there
The smart, low-risk way every streamer can grow without deficit spending or losing focus