It seems Netflix is going to move to a weekly release schedule for its shows, which I think is absolutely the right move and is something I believed they should do since at least 2019.
Netflix is also adding a cheaper, ad supported plan. I don’t have as many thoughts about this in terms of strategy, but as an advertiser the audience I’d really want to reach would be the people willing to pay more money because they value their time more.
If I were Netflix I’d consider some of the following with movies:
Get out of the movie business entirely: I have a hard time seeing the logic in spending $75 to $150 million dollars for something that doesn’t keep subscribers coming back for more.
Re-name the Netflix studio something else entirely and release the movies in theaters and then video on demand and even allow the premium channels to bid on it. Why not take as many bites of the apple as possible when you have a winner? I’d rename the studio because for the most part Netflix has become synonymous with crap movies.
I’d also consider these ways to better monetize their catalog of older programs:
Create a cable channel
License shows to cable channels or even networks
There was a time when a show would gain a following on Netflix while new seasons were still airing on cable. This was good for both Netflix and the cable networks. There’s no reason Netflix shows wouldn’t have the same benefit to being on cable. I guarantee if Stranger Things season 1 was on a network TV channel at 10 PM during the slower summer months it would do as well as whatever reruns they are showing now.