A few tidbits from the streaming wars, just this week:

• It is now estimated that the major streamers – Netflix, Apple+, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO Max – will spend more than $30 Billion on content in 2020. This doesn’t even include Peacock, CBS All Access or the numerous other platforms. 
• And in the fight for eyeballs to watch that content, they’re pouring billions into advertising, making up for the decline in advertising from other sectors (see below);
• But less of that money is going into films, as more of it goes into episodic (tv) shows, originals and licensing of major library titles. Netflix’s film library has now dropped 40% since 2014, according to StreamingObserver. in 2014, Netflix had around 6,500 movies, and now it’s got 3,849. 
• Yet even with that drop, Netflix dominated the “indie” Gotham Awards – winning more than half the awards given this week.
• One could lament this fact, but let’s face it – one of those awards was for When They See Us, by Ava DuVernay (who was also honored), and while Netflix and other SVODs may be lessening their support for indie film overall, they are leading the way with diversity. This is no small matter. 
• And let’s face it – Netflix is also a data company. If there was a compelling case for investing in buying more films – especially indie/arthouse films – they would be doing it. The data is showing them that too few people watch these films. The StreamingObserver article above makes it seem like film is losing out due to original content spend, but it’s losing out because that’s what people want.
• Meanwhile, 3853 feature films were submitted to Sundance this year. Yes, that’s 4 more than Netflix offers. Let that sink in for awhile.