If you have been following the news over the last year or so, you may have heard of the term ‘streaming wars.’ We’ve touched upon this in some of our other articles but this article discusses all aspects of the ‘streaming war.’ From what it is and why it’s happening to the impact that it could have on future shows and the future of streaming – we have everything covered in this post!
At The Aerial Man, we are the leading supplier of TV Aerials in Swindon and the surrounding areas. We are able to install your aerial and we can support you with many issues relating to TV picture quality. Get in touch with a member of our team today to find out more about our products and services.
What is the ‘Streaming War?’
For years, many would hail Netflix as being the king of streaming. Netflix dominated the market, had the best and latest shows as well as featured classic shows from the past. Many if not all of the more recent highest-rated and streamed shows were available there with the only other major competitor being Amazon Prime Video. The VHS & DVD rental model before streaming became the norm was where Netflix started but when Netflix confirmed that they would be shutting down their DVD rental service for good – it accounted for just 0.5% of total revenue.
More prominent players have now of course entered the arena in recent years – all with huge budgets and set to take control of Netflix’s market share. This saturates the market which is great for those who want various shows to be produced but the cost of living has made people reduce subscriptions to all major streaming providers. But who is now fighting against Netflix & Amazon to secure these precious subscribers?
Disney Has Made Huge Moves to Aquire Major Franchises
Disney’s models of returning revenue go far beyond the figures from streaming subscriptions. Take Disney’s purchasing of Star Wars for example, the average revenue that a new Star Wars film generates for Disney in merchandise sales is $5-7b in the year of the film’s release. Star Wars is the most successful merchandise franchise of all time so Disney has made a massive play by buying this franchise alone. Disney also purchased Marvel Entertainment – so effectively owns many of the most well-known and profitable franchises in the world. This puts huge pressure on Netflix and other streaming providers.
Variety of Content & Additional Offerings From Streaming
Smaller providers such as Discovery+ aim to provide a different type of programme to appeal to viewers and also offer a wide range of sports options on the highest level of subscription. Amazon Prime also has held rights to Premier League Football games. These streamers offer other varieties of content to try and appeal to their subscribers. Companies are spending small fortunes on production to try and attract new and poach existing subscribers so it’s always going to be turbulent.
But who is winning? As of writing, Netflix is in front by 32.5m subscribers compared to Amazon at 232.5m vs 200m. Disney is in third at 157.8m. It’s clearly going to be a battle between these front-runners with Tencent Video and iQIYI potentially approaching 124 & 106m monthly subscribers respectively. It’s exciting for those who love a variety of content but with rising costs in general – it can also be frustrating to own multiple subscriptions. Perhaps alliances between these giants to combine subscriptions are on the cards?
At The Aerial Man, we are the leading supplier of TV Aerials in Swindon and the surrounding areas. We are able to install your aerial and we can support you with many issues relating to TV picture quality. Get in touch with a member of our team today to find out more about our products and services.
