Risk-Taking in the Modern Age: Streaming Versus Television

The modern age of media consumption consists of streaming, the number of streaming services such as Netflix can be overwhelming (and costly) to think about but appears to be the way in which consumers are happy to watch content now compared to the traditional television. Netflix itself has continued to grow its revenue reaching USD$9.8 billion in Q3 2024 compared to USD$8.5 billion in Q3 2023 (Netflix 2024) with their net income jumping from USD$1.6 billion in Q3 2023 to USD$2.3 billion in Q3 2024 (Netflix 2024). As streaming continues to bring in money and viewership, conversations about the state of the television scene get louder year by year (Sweney 2024). Why is this though? Why is an industry that has been running for as long as it has been, now struggling? One big reason: the fear to take risks.

Television has been the standard for consuming content since the 1950s the industry created a formula to maintain viewers. Looking at the remit for one of the biggest British television channels, BBC One has a mission to be the “most popular mixed-genre television service across the UK” (BBC 2016). As television looks to maintain its viewership with an audience that is now being raised on streaming services (Ofcom 2024), the shows commissioned now are looking to attract attention back to television and hook audiences resulting in a decline in new experimental shows and instead attempting to capitalise on current viewing trends.

Taking this to the documentary genre and the situation becomes more dire. Sophie Fiennes, a well accomplished filmmaker with numerous awards and nominations, talked to the Guardian’s Dalya Alberge about the state of documentaries. In the article, Sophie says “it quickly becomes clear that it [documentaries] is an extremely precarious proposition” with Alberge beforehand saying, “Part of the problem is that commissioners find it easier to rely on fame, celebrity and tried-and-tested approaches” (Alberge 2023). The latter quote can be evidenced throughout the industry through the number of biopics being commissioned into films using big-name actors as an example of this shift in documentary mindset.

I discuss this in a previous blog about the dramatisation of documentaries in films as well as television. I discussed how the blurring of fiction and non-fiction has been getting the attention of audiences and how this can be seen in the last few years. Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), Baby Reindeer (2024), Oppenheimer (2023), and A Complete Unknown (2024) are a few of the large stand out biopics released that have had issues with being somewhat factual but deviating from the truth to keep engagement from the drama. James Mangold (director of the Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, admitting in The Guardian “‘It’s full of things that didn’t happen – but it feels right!’” (Petridis 2024). It has become concerning in the industry to see the panic to get large actors to fill roles to ensure revenue for films compared to allowing independent filmmakers to create more challenging art like Sophie Fiennes talked about.

Taking a different perspective though, there has been new emerging opportunities for filmmakers with the rise of streaming services. The amount of content that these services are desiring has allowed for risks to be taken. An example of this is Squid Game, the huge 2021 hit for Netflix that remains as the most-watched show on the platform. The show was written in 2009 but was only picked up by Netflix in 2019 as part of an idea to get more foreign content onto the platform – a gamble that could not have gone better. This is a perfect example of risks being taken by streaming platforms to challenge television. Furthermore, Jacqui Morris mentions in The Guardian, “On the one hand, streamers seemed to be the saviour of documentaries. But now all they’re after really is sensationalist productions about serial killers.” (Alberge 2023). This positive look at the potential for streaming is admirable, however there has been a joke about the format and style of documentaries on streaming services and how they can be recognisable from their editing and appearance. Sophie Fiennes attacked this saying, “they create ‘cookie-cutter’ formulae, which means they don’t have to worry about a singular vision of a filmmaker who is creative”. This double-sided statement can really summarise the situation for documentary filmmakers at the moment.

Kevin Macdonald, OSCAR and BAFTA winner, gave his thoughts on televisions documentary crisis to The Guardian as well, adding “there are fewer options now for independent one-off documentaries that aren’t super commercial – not true crime or celeb – because the traditional broadcasters have less money than they did.” (Alberge 2024). This backs up Fiennes point with broadcasters giving up on any risks that they feel won’t make a return on investment and why commissioners are either commissioning biopics and docudramas to use large names or alternatively creating these “cookie-cutter” documentaries. As a result, it can be disappointing to see platforms give opportunities for shows to be different and experiment whilst not giving other genres the same treatment.

Applying this to my own documentary, looking at physical music collection and the human connection people have to music, it was important to take into consideration the message we wanted to put out by considering which platform we are targeting at. It was vital that we were not creating a documentary about how vinyl records work but instead solely focus on creating an emotive documentary instead. The narrative of the documentary was not the science of music but the people who consume it. Thinking of state of documentaries, it was an ambition for us to create something that stands out and doesn’t have a “cookie-cutter” formula.

When thinking back to Bill Nichols’ documentary types, it was important for us that we did not have an expository voice guiding you but instead use the people we interviewed for a more abstract approach. This helps to provide a more open narrative – we are not telling you what to think as we want the audience to connect to what the people are saying instead and not use them as a vehicle for our own narrative. Thinking back to Carl Plantinga and his concept of documentaries as assertion (DA) and documentaries as indexical records (DIR), Plantinga says how DIR documentaries look at how audiences watching documentaries take the narrative as the truth – “the audience presumes that it is to entertain the propositions as asserted” (Plantinga 2015). We did not want to assert a viewpoint on our audience but provide stories instead.

I stumbled across a quote describing what a documentary is: “an art form that demands both honesty and manipulation: honesty through its humanity and manipulation through its craft.” (Kamerman 2011). This quote summarises my findings of creating a documentary, creating something artistic and using people to tell your ‘truth’. Documentaries should be creatively fulfilling and connect to people and audiences. However, as Sophie Fiennes and the rest of the Guardian article discuss, this unfortunately is not happening recently and the craft Kamerman mentions is being mass produced for engagement.

I feel that creativity being limited as a result of media prioritising profits and viewership is harmful to aspiring filmmakers or even successful filmmakers such as Sophie Fiennes, Kevin Macdonald, or Jacqui Morris. Unfortunately though, commissioning in television is looking scary from the loss of revenue and the consequential loss of jobs in addition. Hopefully, the television industry can bounce back and give new opportunities to independent filmmakers. Failing this, it is important to look at the potential opportunities that streaming platforms can provide for filmmakers. However, it is important that these opportunities are not theoretical and can be put into practice.

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