The story appears on

Page A11

March 18, 2019

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » Business

Netflix facing a challenge from host of rivals

Some of the biggest names in media and tech are gearing up to move into streaming, in what could be a major challenge to market leader Netflix.

Apple is expected to make its move with an announcement on March 25 about its media plans, with a war chest estimated about US$1 billion and partners including stars such as Jennifer Aniston and director J.J. Abrams involved in content.

Walt Disney Co has announced its new streaming service, Disney+, will launch this year, as will another from WarnerMedia, the newly acquired media-entertainment division of AT&T.

The new entrants, with more expected, could launch a formidable challenge to Netflix, which has about 140 million paid subscribers in 190 markets, and to other services such as Amazon and Hulu.

“It’s really going to change the industry,” said Alan Wolk, co-founder of the consulting firm TVREV who follows the sector.

Wolk said he sees seven or eight powerful players in streaming which will lead to “huge competition for new shows and hit shows.”

These rivals are coming into the segment which has been transformed by the spectacular growth of Netflix and a growing movement by consumers to on-demand television delivered over Internet platforms.

In the US alone, an estimated 6 million consumers have dropped pay TV bundles since 2012, while on-demand services such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon have been surging, according to Leichtman Research.

But just as Netflix has disrupted traditional “linear” television, rivals are now moving to disrupt Netflix.

Netflix is likely to feel the pain, not only from the new rivals, but also from the loss of content from the big libraries of Disney and Time Warner.

These Hollywood firms “have big libraries, so the cost of their content is much lower than it will be for Netflix, which has to pay for all its content,” said Laura Martin, analyst with the research firm Needham & Co.

“Netflix will lose subscribers to these new entrants,” Martin said.

AT&T’s WarnerMedia will launch its service later this year that combines the content from its premium HBO channel (known for “Game of Thrones”) and the vast Time Warner library or films and shows.

Disney’s service will have its films and TV shows, along with the library it is acquiring from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, a deal closing in the coming days. That includes the “Star Wars” and Marvel superhero franchises and ABC television content.

JP Morgan analyst Alexia Quadrani predicts Disney will eventually scale up to become as big as Netflix, or even bigger by signing up 45 million US subscribers and 115 million internationally.

Quadrani cited Disney’s “unmatched brand recognition, extensive premium content, and unparalleled ecosystem to market the service,” adding Disney benefits from its global ecosystem that develops good customer relationships from its theme parks, hotels, cruises, and consumer products.




 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend