HBO is really, really hoping that you streamed House of the Dragon last night. And Amazon is desperate for you to do the same with its Lord of the Rings prequel, Rings of Power, in September. These shows cost tens of millions of dollars per episode, at a time when the future of streaming platforms has never been cloudier.

This year has seen layoffs, declining subscriber numbers for Netflix, a coming merger between HBOMax and Discovery+ and many other signs that after years of upward trends, the market is saturated. And what happens when the market saturates? Well, only the strongest survive.  It's a plot that wouldn't look out of place on HBO on Sunday nights.

GUEST: Brian Steinberg, Senior TV Editor, Variety

We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:

Through email at [email protected] 

Or @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky