Streaming executives believe the future of television closely resembles its past

We’re in a transitional moment in the streaming industry – user growth is slowing, and so are the major players they need to consolidatebut the long-promised dream of profitability is finally emerging in range (especially should you are Netflix).

Perfect time for The New York Times, then. interview many of the industry’s big names – including Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Amazon Prime Video chief Mike Hopkins and IAC president Barry Diller – on what they think will occur next.

There appeared to be broad agreement on most major topics: more promoting, higher prices and fewer big swings in prestige television. All these changes have in common a shift towards profitability relatively than growth in any respect costs. If the initial prices of many streaming services seemed unsustainably low at launch, it seems that was actually the case – prices have continued to rise, and streamers have also introduced cheaper subscription tiers for viewers willing to look at ads.

In fact, some executives told The Times that streamers will proceed to boost prices for ad-free tiers to encourage more customers to join ad-supported subscriptions.

The rise of ad-supported streaming could also impact the type of movies and shows produced, as advertisers generally want to achieve mass audiences – think of the glory days of ad-supported network television, with its countless doctor and cop shows, in comparison with the more ambitious fare of HBO subscription.

This change is already happening in streaming, although executives insist they should not giving up hope of finding the next “Sopranos” or “House of Cards.” Sarandos (which was already there retreating (e.g., from his boast a decade ago that he wanted Netflix “to become HBO before HBO could become us”), he stated that Netflix could “create prestige television at scale,” but added: “We don’t just provide prestige.”

Similarly, Hopkins said that at Prime Video, “procedures and other proven formats are working for us, but we also need big changes that make customers say, ‘Wow, I can’t believe that just happened,’ and make them people will tell their friends.'”

Other not-so-surprising predictions include greater investment in live sports (“the simplest and most interesting thing,” in keeping with Warner Bros. Discovery executive John Malone), more bundling of services, and the closure or merger of some existing services. There was apparently a consensus amongst executives that streamers needed no less than 200 million subscribers to be “big enough to compete,” as former Disney CEO Bob Chapek put it.

Some of these changes can be welcome, but they reinforce the feeling that streaming – no less than in the vision of current executives – won’t be much different from the old cable ecosystem. Some things will probably be higher (on-demand viewing), some things will probably be worse (salaries for writers, actors and other talent), and there could also be different players at the top. But in some ways it is going to feel like the standard TV.