Netflix Streaming 'Titanic' Following OceanGate Tragedy Is Just A Coincidence
Titanic is among a list of new titles arriving on Netflix on July 1.
The inclusion of the film has drawn the ire of social media users. Just last week, five people died amid the implosion of a Titan submersible en route to visit the wreckage of the Titanic
The Hollywood Reporter compiled a list of complaints, most of which accuse the streamer of capitalizing on tragedy:
“The timing is so wrong,” wrote one user of Titanic returning. “Netflix just couldn’t help themselves,” wrote another. “Netflix is overstepping the boundaries of decency on this timing,” wrote a third. “People died in a tragic accident at the Titanic site and now to capitalize on the moment to garner viewers is beyond distasteful.” Yet another: “Netflix marketing director: ‘You know how we could really capitalize on the tragic deaths of those people? Put the Titanic on Netflix for some easy cash because $31.6 billion a year in revenue isn’t enough.’ How broken and sick does your brain have to be to think this way?”
Undoubtedly, the intrigue around the OceanGate tragedy will see a spike in interest in the film.
Perhaps streaming the 1997 classic less than two weeks after the Titanic returned to the news will drive new subscriptions to Netflix.
In fact, we anticipate it will.
However, the addition of the film is not part of an opportunist strategy to capitalize on the implosion of the Titan.
Unbeknownst to the outrage crowd, Netflix listed Titanic as part of its July arrivals before the events of OceanGate.
Here's a listing of the film under "coming in July" on June 6, 2023.
See, it takes months for a streamer to agree to a licensing deal with a film studio. Netflix likely struck an agreement to air Titanic in the first quarter of the year.
Titanic has been streaming on Prime Video, where it will likely depart upon arriving on Netflix.
Plus, even if a streamer did add the Titanic to capitalize on the news, would it be any worse than news networks deploying an updating "oxygen remaining” countdown clock as a ticker for the channel, one counting down the minutes until the riders' deaths?
Check the bottom corner:
https://twitter.com/NewsNation/status/1671728026235830275?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1671728026235830275%7Ctwgr%5E231863bf90d1c23e8d4f6f7729fa63c85ebcf705%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdeadline.com%2F2023%2F06%2Fmissing-sub-news-nation-oxygen-remaining-countdown-clock-1235422766%2F
Netflix, or another streamer, doing so certainly wouldn't have been as bad as MSNBC turning the tragedy into a race issue.
Or Barack Obama citing the event as proof of a double standard in the United States because it received more attention as a sinking migrant boat in Greece.
Media and entertainment aren't exactly industries of morals.
And, to be honest, the news has me wanting to revisit the Titanic film in hopes the final scenes are less emotional upon yet another watch.