For many years, Netflix has been expressing to investors its great excitement about entering the video game business.

More recently, it has also begun to talk about entering the podcast industry.

However, when releasing its third-quarter financial report on Tuesday, the streaming company did not mention either of these two businesses.

What does this mean? Netflix doesn't say. But the author reaches a conclusion with considerable certainty: Netflix believes that, at least in the near future, neither games nor podcasts will bring much help to their business.

This judgment also echoes the latest report from The Wall Street Journal, which states that Netflix has recently “stopped promoting games and podcasts to focus more on its core film and television business.”

However, at least in terms of public statements, this represents a clear shift.

Since launching its gaming business in 2021, Netflix has continuously emphasized this direction. In 2022, co-founder Reed Hastings predicted that Netflix would ultimately "become an important leader in the gaming industry." The company also frequently mentions its ambitions to investors in its quarterly updates.

For example, last quarter, the company highlighted a new World Cup game and a children's gaming app, stating that it "is becoming increasingly confident that we are laying the foundation for exciting future growth potential."

In the past two quarters, Netflix has also been emphasizing its entry into the podcast industry. In April, the company described podcasts as “potential opportunities for incremental engagement.” Three months later, it told investors that podcasts are valuable because they provide listeners with more reasons to use the service during the day—rather than at night, when half of their viewership occurs—and on mobile devices.

But on Tuesday, aside from a legal phrase regarding forward-looking statements, the company didn't say much about either of these two categories. However, it did mention other people's video games: the company stated that the highly anticipated 27-minute trailer for Take-Two's GTA 6 was very popular during the 6-hour window of its exclusive showcase.

Theoretically, both games and podcasts make sense for Netflix. The company often mentions that games are important competitors in competing for users' time. So, why not try to draw some of that attention towards themselves? And video podcasts are essentially just another form of "low-cost talk show" – so why not offer those to the audience as well?

Maybe one day these two categories will bring meaningful business to Netflix. But it seems that the company is indicating that this won't happen in the short term.

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