Food Network stars Giada de Laurentiis and Bobby Flay. Image source: Scripps Networks Interactive.
Media companies have long complained about the impact of Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) on their ratings and revenue. But on an individual basis, they’re each caught in a prisoner’s dilemma. If one doesn’t license content to Netflix, but others do, the first one misses out on valuable licensing revenue and still takes a hit on ratings.