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Netflix vs. Disney vs. Apple, Oh My

By: Alex Curran With the impending release of Disney+ and Apple TV+ video streaming services, could Netflix meet its demise? The Walt Disney Company is releasing Disney+ later this year, which will feature new movies, as well as spinoff TV shows from its blockbuster “Star Wars” and “Avengers” franchises. Moreover, Disney+ is set to have an industry-low fee of $6.99 and plans to put more than 500 films on the service. Apple is also slated to release an extensive lineup of original shows and movies this year to Apple TV+. Although the technology giant has stayed quiet on some major details of the service, like its fees and how many programs will be available, it has hinted at collaborations with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. For instance, Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Anniston, JJ Abrams, Jason Momoa, and Steven Spielberg are all rumored to be working on projects with Apple. The primary concerns with these competitors, and especially with Disney+, is their entertainment breadth and experience.  Disney already owns programs such as ESPN, National Geographic, A&E, and most recently, 21st Century Fox. With the recent merger with Fox, Disney now controls 21 percent of Netflix’s current content and 60 percent of Hulu (Molnar, “Should Netflix be worried?”). Although Apple+ does not have any programs on Netflix, it is creating at least thirty original shows and is consistently on the edge of technological innovation. So, how will Netflix fend off these threats and maintain its customers and profits?  Netflix’s strategy has been to offer a linear streaming service featuring both original content and licensed shows from other programmers. The company is slated to spend up to $15 billion on content this year, far surpassing Disney+ and Apple TV+. Netflix is counting on its size to counteract these competitors. Moreover, it hopes that the competition will only fill niches, but will not replace Netflix. According to Netflix’s Q1 2019 shareholder letter, the company is not actually worried about Disney+ or Apple TV+. The document reads: “We don’t anticipate that these new entrants will materially affect outgrowth because the transition from linear to on-demand entertainment is so massive and because of the differing nature of our content offerings (Sherman, “Netflix says it’s not worried”). We will just have to wait and see how hard these services will hit Netflix and if they will be enough to finally slow down its seemingly endless growth. Sources:https://www.postbulletin.com/news/business/econometer-should-netflix-be-worried-about-disney/article_578c8473-7bcf-5e87-b3dd-87b1d032a643.htmlhttps://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/16/netflix-were-not-worried-about-disney-or-apple.htmlhttps://www.cnet.com/news/apple-tv-plus-streaming-service-release-date-price-shows-movies-to-expect/https://lamanzanamordida.net/netflix-competencia-apple-disney/