Newsletter that applies statistical analysis to movies, TV, music and other entertainment and culture trends, with data-driven explainers.
HN commenters link it for context on trends in publishing and TV, such as romantasy books and the decline of prestige TV's golden age.
With this news, I have to wonder how much longer bluray will live.
Will we continue seeing new bluray releases of movies and TV shows for decades, or are their days numbered?
The loss of console gaming presumably removes a guaranteed revenue source that was keeping Bluray pressing plants alive.
Sales of DVDs and Bluray have been declining for years [1] [3]. Some people have been excited pushing the news that UHD bluray sales increased in 2025, [2] but that ignores the fact that the total optical sales still dropped.
[1] https://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1739948166
[2] https://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1772040307
[3] This article has a more complete graph: https://www.statsignificant.com/p/the-rise-fall-and-slight-rise-of-b06
https://www.statsignificant.com/p/the-rise-and-fall-of-tvs-golden-age
This is a pretty well known fact. Netflix is the best example. They created the prestige streaming market with House of Cards, and now they're primarily using algorithms to create low-cost reality shows and cheap disaster documentaries.
Context:
https://www.npr.org/2025/06/29/nx-s1-5428227/readers-flock-to-fantasy-and-dark-romance-love-stories
https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/culture/a61623350/smut-romantasy-books-trend/
https://www.statsignificant.com/p/how-romance-romantasy-and-smut-took
E.g., not child appropriate.