Is it already the end of the state of grace for Netflix, Prime Video, Disney + and other Salto?

Here, the cinemas welcome again the public. Without it being the rush yet, sanitary conditions require, attendance for the first week showed that the French were eager, after six months of weaning, to find dark rooms. During this time, streaming platforms took advantage of the pandemic to settle a little more into our habits.

Netflix is ​​multiplying the boxes (and it will continue with a sequel of Lupine and the end of La Casa de papel), Prime Video settled in comfortably, Disney + surprised its world with the quality of series like The Mandalorian and WandaVision. Even Salto was able to find his place thanks to a few nice shots. Obtain the broadcast of the special episode, Friends, the reunionn, is the latest.

And yet the readers of 20 minutes testify to a form of weariness in the face of the era of all streaming. Should we expect an end of the state of grace for platforms?

Streaming aficionados

For many, streaming remains an El Dorado of content, a small revolution in the way we consume audiovisual content. “I live very well this transition to streaming. I find this new way of being able to consume content in perfect harmony with current uses and life. Especially for a year, ”explains Christophe (48). Clémence (18) also says “appreciates streaming platforms. They allow me to watch something that really interests me and that allows me to learn something, compared to TV. I can also choose to watch programs on subjects that few people talk about, subjects little covered or subjects considered “taboo” ”.

And then, “we can change the program. Recreating with a little nostalgia for the 1990s, the saturday night trilogy for example… ”says Fabien (33 years old). The choice of content but also the freedom to choose the medium and the temporal organization are undeniable assets. In addition, Kevin (25) notes that, for his part, he already consumed “a lot of streaming content many years before the health situation”. The young man explains that “even if it is true that the successive confinements and the restrictions have accentuated the phenomenon, they have not changed much for me”.

“Streaming being the only alternative, it’s the one I use”

However, a little air of déjà vu begins to be felt. Kevin also explains having “the impression of having done the trick. Too often I have trouble finding what I might like, ”he adds. The famous “Netflix evening” that we loved so much a year ago has lost its splendor to become… a simple habit, a little bland. Eliott (22) tells us that he has less and less desire to watch movies or series in streaming: “I’m tired of being in front of my computer, as always”. Claire (22) also hopes that “it will only be temporary”. Both regret that alternatives, such as the drive-in, were not really developed during the confinements.

Joanie (35) explains to us that she “no longer enjoys watching a film, choosing it, knowing that it is at home”. For Vanessa (38), the same weariness: “At the beginning I used a lot of different platforms but I got bored. I find that the productions of these platforms are uniform, all look a bit alike, with some exceptions, of course ”.

The platform jungle

In addition to this weariness, linked for many to the context of the pandemic, the first difficulties begin with the choice of the subscription. For everyone, the best strategy is to carefully select the platforms based on different criteria. For example, Kevin (25) explains: “I choose platforms and content like everything else, especially television, according to my affinities: an actor or actress that I like, a franchise / saga, or a genre. Then comes the dubbing, only in VOSTFR ”. To compose his own “bouquet”, Jérôme (36 years old) opted for “OCS, Netflix, Salto, Disney +, MyCanal, Starzplay, SFR Play, Arte”, thus offering himself a sufficiently large offer. Fabien (33) explains that with his partner and their children, they favored a more limited and more family-oriented ensemble with “Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney +”. As Olivier (45) remarks, “we ‘have to’ juggle between platforms to find the content you want. So we are increasing the number of subscriptions. “.

Some, however, seem to have found the shoe to their feet, in particular with the French Molotov platform, acclaimed many times in the testimonies collected by 20 minutes. Allowing you to choose a range of SVOD subscriptions but also to access programs broadcast live or in replay, the hybrid Molotov platform is attractive. Vanessa (38) testifies to her experience: “I find my VOD subscriptions there (OCS and STARZPLAY and Ciné +) but also access to television channels, all on the same platform, which is very practical. “

“Too much choice kills choice”

Once the platforms have been chosen comes the question of choosing the content to watch – a thorny question for everyone, streaming aficionados or not, alone or with others. Olivier (45 years old) recounts this “overflow of content created a difficulty of choice, as in front of a kind of buffet All you can eat. Sometimes, with my wife, we spend 30 minutes browsing the Netflix or Amazon catalog to try to find content that suits both of us in order to avoid having to do a separate screen ”. For Micky (46) same problem “when it comes to watching something other than an episode of the series that we have in progress, my partner and I spend several looooongues minutes before we can make up our minds”. Kevin (25 years old) or Clémence (18 years old) admits to being also sometimes drowned under a “too much choice”. The young girl explains that she takes “an average of 15 to 20 minutes to make up her mind. “

On the strategy side, there are those who have developed a plan, and those who let themselves go. Estelle (30 years old) says with humor: “Over the months, I improved my technique, but it ended up being the same 8 times out of 10. So one, I choose the style of movie / series. Two, I look in all the catalogs I subscribe to (especially new ones). Three, I watch the same film / series 10 millionth times ”. Nicelilas (63) sometimes explains that he just trusted Justwatch (an application for recommending personalized content from the catalogs of around thirty streaming platforms) to find his way around the catalogs of his seven subscriptions.

Jérôme (36 years old) is developing a whole strategy to choose what he will watch: “I admit that it has become an organization to have a quality program and to my liking (before seeing the pilot, I look at the opinions on the Net, 2 positive and 2 if possible negative for opinion). At the beginning of the month, I select the series, which I keep on my diary and which reminds me of the dates as well as the broadcast of the episodes ”. Despite all the recommendation algorithms, he is not the only one to have recourse to criticism and the opinions of Internet users to be sure to find content that he likes. Everyone develops specific selection strategies to navigate this jungle of streaming, with enthusiasm or pragmatism.