Disney+ and HBOMax: The Streaming War is Declared!

Disney and AT&T officially and finally announced the names of their future streaming services, Disney+ and HBOMax respectively. This officially marks the entry of the two giants into the streaming market, at the detriment of Netflix. The long-lasting monopoly of Netflix on the streaming market may come to an end, as Disney and AT&T are adding to the competition. A competition that already existed with Amazon Prime Video and Hulu, but which only gave Netflix minor scratches. The strategy of both Disney and AT&T is not far fetched but will blow a hit on Netflix, which will have to find new ways to remain relevant on the market.

As described in this previous blog post, Netflix has snatched a lot of customers from Disney and AT&T, as 35 million Americans have quit cable for online streaming in the past decade (a phenomenon referred to as cord-cutting). Disney and AT&T through their subsidiaries are among the most influential broadcasting network companies in the US and are billions worth, which has made Netflix claims the bulk left behind through cord-cutting. Hence with Disney+ and HBOMax, Disney and AT&T are intending to take back what has been lost, in addition to some sweet bonuses.

Disney+

Announced for November 12, 2019, Disney+ seems very promising (the streaming platform is projected to register 13 million subscribers at the end of 2020 according to some analysts). Charged at $7/months, the service will feature the whole of Disney’s catalog, both the old and new releases. Bear in mind that Disney owns Marvel Entertainment, Pixar Animations, Star Wars, ESPN, National Geographic, ABC, and Fox - a very juicy catalog in perspective. Among the new movie release announced for Disney+ are Frozen 2, Toy Story 4, Star Wars: Episode IX -- The Rise of Skywalker, and The Lion King. Also, some movies from the Newly announced phase four of Marvel movies have been confirmed to be the exclusivity of Disney+. Among them we have The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, WandaVision, Loki, What If…?, and Hawkeye.

HBOMax

The streaming platform owned by AT&T will also be another fearsome competitor. AT&T exploits Warner Media, which in turn owns HBO Movies, New Line Cinema, Warner Bros, DC Entertainment and Turner Broadcasting. The totality of their contents have already been confirmed to be available on HBOMax, in addition to those from CNN, TNT, TBS, truTV, The CW, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth, Looney Tunes, hence an incredible library of movies, TV shows and many more are to be expected. Just to put you in perspective, among the contents you will find in HBOMax are Game of Thrones, Shazam, Crazy Rich Asians, and Fantastic Beasts just to name a few. No dates as its launch are concerned to have been given yet, but nothing is to be expected before mid-2020. However, one big flaw of the platform is its price. Confirmed to be available at no less than $16/months, HBOMax does not come cheap but seeing what it has to offer content-wise, it rather remains interesting.

What Does it Mean For Netflix?
Netflix will have done better without those two showing the tip of their nose in the streaming market. Netflix is sure to suffer a hard blow with competition getting coarse, and it shows. Indeed, the company reported having lost 126,000 US subscribers last quarter over 3 months -- a first for the company. A day later, the company saw its stocks dropped by more than 10%. Without the official release of Disney+ and HBOMax, things are already becoming scary for the yet streaming giant. This has me asking whether Netflix will be able to hold up after its official release? Not only do Disney+ and HBOMax have very sexy libraries, but Disney and AT&T are also pulling their contents from Netflix, offering more values to their platforms. This has already become the case for Friends (which has been Netflix's most popular show for 2018-2019), The Office, and Marvel Comics. And despite Netflix having a larger library (eight-time that of Disney+ at launch), quality wins over quantity, and when it comes to quality content, the choice is rapidly made.

This graph accurately depicts the trend in Netflix's subscribers count over the years.

What Can Netflix Do?
With the US market becoming oversaturated with streaming services, Netflix is clearly understanding that investing more in the international market is it only way to survive. The company is especially looking forward to India as five new originals will be launched there. Netflix’s growth has been relatively healthy in India, as the market is pretty unsaturated
. “How To Sell Drugs” and “The Rain” which are from Germany and Denmark respectively have boasts between 12 and 15 million viewers each, and have been very popular outside their respective countries. However, with Americans accounting for 42% of Netflix's total subscribers, the priority is still on the American market. That’s why subscribers in America are starting to see shows from Denmark or Spain promoted on their front page. People will start to see more Japanese anime and Indian originals, too according to The Verge.

The issue however here is whether or not Netflix can still make a profit. In other to fight the upcoming competition, Netflix has been on a spending spree to create new originals. The company is even in talks to buy a movie theater in Los Angeles. They reportedly spend up to $12 billion last year, out of which $10.4 billion where borrowed. This could explain, the recent rise in its prices, but which has, unfortunately, backfired as seen above. The profit Netflix can make is determined by its subscriber growth, which Netflix is struggling to handle. And with the arrival of new competitors, the future is uncertain for the hyponymous red N.

However, if you reside in Cameroon, sad news, Disney+ may not be available in the country at launch.

[Brief]To The Downfall of Netflix?

Netflix, the indisputable leader in online streaming may no longer be that indisputable. Since its creation in 1997, and the introduction of its online streaming service in 2007, the streaming service has faced little to no competition. The service proposed an incredible library of original contents and blockbusters that inevitably changed how we watch TV. Read more...