Major platforms announce dramatic content cuts, signaling end of streaming gold rush
NEW YORK 다크걸 – The era of $200 million streaming series has officially ended as major platforms announce production budget cuts averaging 70% for 2025, marking what industry insiders call “the streaming winter”—a dramatic contraction that will eliminate thousands of shows and reshape entertainment permanently.
Internal documents from Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon reveal coordinated budget slashing that ends the free-spending era that defined streaming’s rise. Shows previously greenlit at $15 million per episode face mandated cuts to $4 million. Marvel’s Disney+ series, once budgeted at $250 million per season, now capped at $75 million.
“The party’s over. The hangover begins now,” said former 다크걸 HBO executive Jennifer Walsh. “We spent like drunken sailors assuming infinite growth. Reality arrived.”
The numbers paint a stark picture:
- Netflix cutting content spending from $17 billion to $6 billion
- Disney+ eliminating 80% of scripted programming
- Amazon Prime canceling 147 projects mid-production
- Apple TV+ reducing originals by 65%
- Paramount+ considering complete shutdown of originals
Wall Street triggered the collapse by demanding profitability over growth. Platforms burning $50 billion annually on content faced ultimatum: profits or bankruptcy.
“We created 600 다크걸 shows nobody watched,” admitted anonymous Netflix executive. “Peacock spent $4 billion reaching 12 million viewers. The math never worked.”
The human impact devastates Hollywood:
- 75,000 production jobs eliminated
- Writer rooms shrinking from 12 to 3 people
- Actor salaries cut 80%
- Below-the-line crews facing unemployment crisis
- Production facilities closing nationwide
Creative compromises already surface. Scripts rewritten for bottle episodes. International locations replaced with green screens. CGI budgets slashed, returning to practical effects. One showrunner revealed: “My space opera became a chamber drama. Same story, 90% less budget.”
The “prestige TV” era that produced Succession, Stranger Things, and The Mandalorian dies as platforms pivot to reality TV, game shows, and user-generated content—cheap alternatives to scripted entertainment.
“We’re witnessing the controlled demolition of Peak TV,” concluded entertainment analyst Dr. Michael Chen. “The streaming winter isn’t coming—it’s here. Television will never be the same.”
Industry veterans predict only 20% of current scripted shows survive 2025’s budget apocalypse.
