Netflix's biggest rival doesn't produce any TV shows

Netflix has lost roughly $300 billion in market value since its 2025 peak, but its biggest competitor may no longer be Disney+ or Paramount+.

It could be the growing number of young viewers who'd rather watch a 30-second video than a 30-minute TV show.

Changing generational habits

John Arnold, co-chair of the philanthropic Arnold Ventures, believes Netflix is competing with an entirely different form of entertainment.

"People are losing the attention span to even watch 30-minute TV shows as short-form video eats the world," he wrote, likely referring to the growing popularity of platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

There's some data to support his argument.

Deloitte research from 2025 found that half of Gen Z prefer social media videos over streaming services. A separate 2026 Bango survey found that 43% of Gen Z would rather watch highlights than full TV episodes.

Engagement is stalling

Despite spending roughly $20 billion annually on programming, Netflix reported that viewing time increased by just 2% in the first half of 2026.

Meanwhile, its internal "qualified play days" metric, which measures how frequently subscribers watch Netflix, has been declining, according to the Financial Times.

Netflix no longer publishes quarterly subscriber figures, but analytics platform Antenna estimates that the company added no net new U.S. subscribers during the first nine months of 2026.

This partly explains the stock's nearly 40% plunge over the past 12 months.

📌 Bottom line: Netflix can keep cranking out blockbusters all it wants, but that won't necessarily translate into more viewing time if short-form video keeps taking a larger share of younger audiences' attention.