Why would consumers care about profit-more markets? Why would consumers care about sustainability? The fact of all the metric points you pointed out profit and sustainability kind of shows why you don’t understand nor will you ever understand half of the complaints.
Regular consumers are not on this forum and do not post here. However, the arguments about profitability is that it does not matter if someone how big someone’s market share is if they cannot make money with it. As a customer, if I am going to invest (money, time, mental energy) in an ecosystem, I want to know that it will last. With respect to NetFlix, if they cannot build a sustainably profitable business, they will not be around long term. As a consumer, I am not sure I care whether NetFlix, Disney+, HBO Max, CBS All Access, TV+,
etc. remain in existence. It does not take much to switch to a different app to watch shows and Apple’s TV app means I do not even need to know which service carries a show.
However, for people on here arguing about whether a service, whose details have not been announced, can be successful, understanding NetFlix’s financials makes sense. If their model works, then emulating its best parts and improving on its weaknesses makes sense. If it does not, then one needs to understand why it does not work to build a service that would work financially.
On the topic of Apple TV+, they can easily burn thru a large chunk of their cash and not have much to show from it. It’s why there is much skepticism about this service.
Six billion is not that large a chunk of their cash. If the service is successful, and/or has a positive effect on Apple’s ecosystem it will be great. If it fails to deliver, but the shows they produce are good, there will be residual value (they can be sold or licensed to one of the remaining players). Having worked on the technical side of the content industry for years, I cannot begin to guess which shows will hit or miss (nor for that matter, can anyone else, hence:
Lonestar, Public Morals and
Turn On). However, there is skepticism on here about every new product or service Apple introduces. There is rarely a connection between the skepticism and the success or failure of the products (go back and read the threads on the iPod, Apple Stores, iTunes Music/Movie stores, Apple Watch,
etc.).
I have no idea if Apple will be able to make a compelling service at a compelling price, as I have heard no details about what it will be, how much it will cost and how it will be offered. I do know that it is not a big risk to the company to try it.
