Series 4 of Stranger Things got its airing today and fans of the hugely popular Netflix drama are bracing for plenty of plot twists.
But there are more than just viewers on the edge of their seats, executives at the streaming giant will be desperate that the new show will at least halt the slide in its fortunes.
Over the past year, the Netflix share price has slumped 67% as it reported it first-ever drop in subscribers.
While a market valuation of US$78bn is still not to be sniffed at, its days as a proud member of the FAANG club alongside Amazon and Apple look a distant memory.
Its problems though are just symptoms of a wider malaise spreading in the streaming business – namely how to keep viewers engaged and coming back.
While that’s the holy grail of any content business, the idea that somehow streamers had cracked it is now looking flaky at best.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, noted today: “Netflix is still in a comfortable market situation expected to grow revenue by 9% in 2022, however, as the pressures grow on the streaming giant to produce bigger and better content away from their flagship shows such as Stranger Things, it presents a valuable opportunity for competitors to capitalise on dissatisfied customers.
“Beyond introducing ads to keep subscription prices down, Netflix bosses must think about the future and which avenues they could take to capture new audiences, with talks of video game streaming coming to the platform.
“In years to come, this stale feeling towards Netflix is likely to hit other streaming services as budgets and projections are tightened by demand.
“So, it may not be too long until the likes of Amazon, Apple TV and Disney+ find themselves following suit and exploring new realms to entertain their audiences.”
By not long, that means today as reports circulated that Amazon’s video arm has secured live broadcast rights in the UK for Champions League football games from 2024.
"Amazon is now establishing itself as a key provider of sports in the UK as it continues to steadily beef up its programming.
"This will help drive Prime subscriptions and sales even further with more live sport through the year," said analyst Paolo Pescatore at PP Foresight.
Analysts expect more sports deals as streamers (and private equity firms) wake up to the notion that sport delivers just the kind of audiences and ratings they will need going forward.
According to Conrad Wiacek, head of sports analysis at GlobalData, sport almost always offers a “guaranteed return on your money.”
Wiacek, for example, expects Qatar’s football World Cup to draw in over a billion viewers even with all of the brickbats and controversy.
It is an “audience that no other product can deliver,” he added.
The rise of streaming sites means practically everything is on-demand and very little remains as scheduled programming.
Sport is of course different. It starts at a set time and we mostly all watch at the same time.
In a fragmented media market, a major sporting event narrows an audience's focus upon a single place and time like few other assets can.
This is “exceedingly appealing” from an advertising point of view, Wiacek highlighted.
As advertising is one area Netflix has identified where it can boost its flagging revenues, surely it can only be a matter of time before it too dips its toes in the water of live sports.