Memo #15: Streaming is the New Cable

A few years ago, Disney’s box office future looked shaky. The Snow White remake flopped, Marvel fatigue set in, and questions set in about how long Disney could coast on past IP. Fast forward to 2025: The Lilo and Stich live-action remake just grossed +$340 million globally in its first week¹. It’s a welcome hit, and one the Elevation Capital Global Shares Fund is happy to see. We currently hold a position in Disney and have been optimistic about a rebound².

But the bigger story isn’t theatrical – it’s streaming.

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The Great Consolidation

We’ve said it for a while now that consolidation in streaming media was inevitable. From 2022 to 2024, there’s been a 25% decline in original scripted series production across platforms like Netflix, Max and Disney+³. The content gold rush is over. Platforms are no longer competing to outspend each other with prestige series; now it’s about locking users into ecosystems through pricing tiers, password restrictions, and bundled offerings.

Take Paramount. The studio has spent the past year trying to finalise a sale to David Ellison (Son of Larry Ellison, the Samurai of Silicon Valley), in a saga that underscores how expensive and unsustainable current content production has become. Meanwhile, Sony is embracing its “arms dealer” role, producing content for whoever’s willing to pay.

The US is realistically down to about four dominant players: Netflix, Disney+, Hulu (Now mostly controlled by Disney), and Max. Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video are still in the mix, but more as tech-backed platforms than traditional media players. The trendline is clear: fewer platforms, more bundling, and pricing that increasingly resembles… cable.

And the most important point? Streaming is no longer a cheaper alternative to cable — it is the new cable.

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From Disruptor to Utility

When Netflix first launched its streaming-only plan in 2010, it cost $7.99/month. Today, the standard plan with ads is $6.99/month, but ad-free is now $15.49/month, and premium 4K is $22.99/month - with password sharing cracked down and family plans split across devices.

Now imagine subscribing to the “core four”: Netflix, Disney+, Max, and Hulu (no ads). That’s $68+/month before tax, and that’s without adding niche services like Criterion Channel, sports add-ons, or YouTube Premium. Add internet access, and you’re nearing $100–$150/month - the exact same price range cable once occupied⁴.

The irony? When Netflix started, it was the anti-cable, a way to unbundle. Today, we’ve simply re-bundled ourselves into a different walled garden. Only now, it’s distributed across multiple logins, inconsistent libraries, and rising prices. If you're watching live sports, news, or prestige dramas, you're likely paying for more than one service, and not paying isn’t really an option anymore.

Streaming, like cable in its heyday, has become a mandatory utility, priced into monthly budgets, required for pop culture fluency, and often shared between households like a power bill.