Netflix isn’t fazed by the arrival of Disney and Apple to TV streaming
The biggest name in TV streaming, Netflix, either isn’t concerned by the imminent arrival of Apple and Disney to the space, or is putting a brave face on it. Either way it’s working for now: a letter to shareholders sent shares up over 10% in after hours trading, CNBC reports.
While a higher than expected earnings per share of $1.47 was clearly the main driver here, the company was also optimistic in the face of increased upcoming competition from both Disney Plus and Apple TV Plus.
“The upcoming arrival of services like Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, HBO Max, and Peacock is increased competition, but we are all small compared to linear TV,” the company explained. “While the new competitors have some great titles (especially catalogue titles), none have the variety, diversity, and quality of new original programming that we are producing around the world.”
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While anticipating some “modest headwind” in the near future, the company should “grow nicely” in the longer term, Netflix reckons.
“We believe this is due to the big factor of streaming growing into linear TV plus the fact that streaming video services have mostly exclusive content libraries that make them highly differentiated from one another,” the note continues. “In our view, the likely outcome from the launch of these new services will be to accelerate the shift from linear TV to on demand consumption of entertainment.”
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In other words, while plenty of people now subscribe to multiple TV packages, Netflix ultimately believes those people will just switch their money to an all-streaming package. And the company’s large library and growing set of quality originals should see it in prime position to be part of that mix.
Is the company right? It’s just too early to tell, but being first out the door is certainly a big help. Apple TV Plus launches on November 1 in 100 countries, with Disney Plus following on November 12 in the US, Canada and the Netherlands. No UK date has been revealed for the latter, alas.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
