Notice, though, the trouble this Internet reality presents to Netflix: if content is abundant and attention is scarce, it’s easier to sell attention than content; Netflix’s business model, though, is the exact opposite.

Netflix brought in a chief content officer like Bela Bajaria (with a history in network) because the company wanted more hits to drive subscriptions. Programs like WWE Raw bring in a number of locked in, live viewers that advertisers can choose to target. Critically, as analysts have pointed out over the last few years, Netflix has started to... See more