@swohler
That's likely due to Sony Pictures getting removed from Netflix's library until they can resolve a fee dispute with Liberty Media/Starz (who holds the streaming rights for both Sony and Disney). Basically, Starz sold its streaming rights for the Sony Pictures library to Netflix instead of starting up its own streaming platform. Starz's contract had a subscriber cap, and once Netflix went over that cap, then the agreement was void. Starz is purportedly asking for $300+ million a year, while Netflix has said they're willing to offer up $200 million (they had been paying less than $50 million a year for the Sony streaming rights).
Frankly, consumers were never "promised" anything. Netflix grew because it's cheap, its app is supported by nearly every major set-top platform (gaming consoles make up more than 50% of Netflix viewership), and there are minimal barriers to adoption. In the grand scheme of things, $8/month is not going to buy a lot, and Netflix has been getting by on offering up older movies and less in-demand TV shows. They made a fortune because their last streaming rights deals were negotiated when their streaming subscriptions were a statistical blip.
Now, those earlier agreements have started expiring, and the renegotiated fees with the studios have resulted in upwards of tenfold increases in fees. Netflix's content costs are growing much faster than their subscriptions.
Yet, Netflix is trying to obtain rights to more recent movies, and they've begun producing original programs. Just this week, they secured exclusive streaming rights to Dreamworks Animation titles. Shortened release windows, original productions, and exclusivity all cost money -- a lot of money. That's why I think it will soon be way too cost prohibitive for streaming providers to try and carry everything from every major studio.
With their recently announced pricing changes, they're holding the pricing line on their $8/month streaming-only plan by implementing a huge price hike on those consumers that also use the DVD mailers. This is only the beginning.
The direction that these streaming services are going is similar to how the dust settled on the premium cable channels -- with all of the major premium channels producing their own original programs, and staking out exclusivity with specific studios (i.e., HBO with Warner, Showtime with Paramount, Starz with Sony and Disney).
I think the future will be a fragmented collection of different streaming providers offering up different libraries of content. As evidenced by Netflix paying extra for exclusivity to Dreamworks Animation titles, the temptation is too strong for these providers to strengthen their own streaming library (and kneecap the competition) by shelling out more for exclusive rights. Anyone who wants access to everything right away will need to subscribe to multiple providers. Sure, there will be free ad-supported options out there, but if you want the good stuff sooner than later, you'll need to pay more for the privilege.
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