By:
On:
In: Around the web
Tagged: , , , , , , ,
With: 0 Comments

Media companies have admitted they have a Netflix [stckqut]NFLX[/stckqut] problem. What isn’t clear yet is which one will be first to step forward with a solution.

Licensing content to Netflix and other streaming services such as Amazon.com’s [stckqut]AMZN[/stckqut] Prime Instant Video has become a fast-expanding, high-margin source of revenue for the biggest content owners, including Walt Disney [stckqut]DIS[/stckqut], Time Warner [stckqut]TWX[/stckqut], 21st Century Fox [stckqut]FOX[/stckqut], CBS [stckqut]CBS[/stckqut], Viacom [stckqut]VIA[/stckqut], Discovery Communications [stckqut]DISCK[/stckqut] and AMC Networks [stckqut]AMCX[/stckqut]. But it is clear the presence of their shows on these platforms is hurting traditional TV ratings, which drive ad revenue, and making it easier for pay-TV subscribers to quit.

While pulling content from Netflix may be the right thing to do for media companies, the situation poses a classic prisoner’s dilemma: Who will be first to forgo short-term profits for the good of the industry?

Time Warner suggested recently it may be a candidate, if only because it didn’t appear to be shying away from short-term pain. Its stock took a hit after the company lowered its outlook for 2016. It is also investing more aggressively in content, technology and the consumer experience to help better position it for the future.

Source: The Netflix Problem: Which Media Company Will Solve It?

By:
On:
In: Around the web
Tagged:
With: 0 Comments

Netflix [stckqut]NFLX[/stckqut], had a rough couple of days. The streaming media company met its projected third-quarter $0.07 earnings per share but missed on its projected revenue figures, generating $1.738 billion instead of the estimated $1.743 billion. After-hours trading was impacted negatively by the news, trading down 10% at one point, while investors had a mixed array of thoughts.

Netflix subscriber figures were not promising as well. Domestically, the company added only 880,000 new members, compared to the more promising international addition of 2.74 million. This comes to a total of 3.62 million new Netflix members, which is a marginal increase from the year-to-year figure of 3.02 million combined.

New US subscribers, however, have been on the decline since the company’s 2015 first-quarter and may very well plateau sooner than later, despite their projected 1.65 new members for the 2015 fourth-quarter.

Source: The Netflix Tipping Point

By:
On:
In: Around the web
Tagged:
With: 0 Comments

Netflix Inc. [stckqut]NFLX[/stckqut] reported disappointing U.S. subscriber growth for the third quarter, as net profit declined on higher costs for content and expansion.

The streaming-video provider added 880,000 domestic subscribers, below the 1.15 million subscribers it projected in July and a slowdown from the addition of 980,000 customers in the year-earlier quarter. Overseas, the company signed up more users than it expected, adding 2.74 million subscribers compared with a forecast of 2.4 million.

Netflix attributed the downshift in the U.S., in part, to involuntary service cancellations tied to the company’s inability to process payments from subscribers whose credit and debit cards were changed to chip-based technology.

U.S. banks are replacing hundreds of millions of credit cards and debit cards with new plastic that has a computer chip as well as a traditional magnetic strip on the back. The chip adds security by creating a unique code for each transaction.

Source: Netflix Subscriber Growth Disappoints in U.S.

By:
On:
In: Around the web
Tagged: , ,
With: 0 Comments

Apple [stckqut]AAPL[/stckqut] is planning to unveil its new Apple TV set top box in a little over a week, and it looks like the company may be considering funding its own TV shows to go with its big play to dominate the living room.

The iPhone maker has held preliminary conversations in recent weeks with executives in Hollywood to feel out interest in Apple spearheading efforts to produce original entertainment content, according to a new report that claims Apple is ready to take on Hulu, Netflix [stckqut]NFLX[/stckqut], and Amazon [stckqut]AMZN[/stckqut] Prime video.

Source: Apple wants to take on Netflix with its own original programming | Cult of Mac

By:
On:
In: Around the web
Tagged:
With: 0 Comments

Major Hollywood films like “Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and “World War Z” will be shifting from Netflix [stckqut]NFLX[/stckqut] to Hulu in coming weeks, as pay-TV channel Epix switches up its streaming partners.

The moves reflect a broader trend in the streaming-video business as Netflix Inc. continues to become pickier about paying for rights to TV shows and movies that can be found elsewhere. At the same time, a newly aggressive—yet, for content owners, more accommodating—Hulu is ramping up its content spending to challenge Netflix’s dominance.

Netflix said Sunday that it had allowed its deal with Epix to lapse at the end of September because the streaming-video company is trying to move away from nonexclusive content toward its own original programming and exclusive rights to movies.

Source: Netflix Ends Epix Cable Deal, Pulling High-Profile Films – WSJ