Is This The End Of The Netflix Dynasty In The Streaming Service?

Blog | September 15, 2019

screen grab of Netfix's sign-in page

Netflix currently holds the largest share in online streaming subscription, allowing it to build its own dynasty in the online streaming industry for several years now. There is no doubt that Netflix dominates the streaming of films, tv series and other media contents like docu series, anime and more. But this year, some of the world's biggest companies is going to challenge Netflix's dominance with the upcoming launch of their own apps that offer streaming services that will directly compete with Netflix.

The First Challenger: Disney Plus

One of the biggest challenger that will surely become a threat to Netflix's dominance this year is Walt Disney's very own streaming app called Disney Plus (Disney+). We already know how popular and well-loved Disney's contents are, not only in the Philippines but all over the world. With the rise of their new streaming service, I am pretty sure that more Netflix's subscribers will start shifting to Disney+. You might be asking why and here's my answer.

In this age of digital information, content is indeed king and Disney owns some, if not most, of the biggest and most popular entertainment contents in the world. Some of their best contents are in fact streaming in Netflix. But this will soon be removed from the service and transffered to Disney+.

Disney owns LucasFilm which subsequently owns and produces the Star Wars franchise. They also have Marvel Studios under their umbrella, which owns the most popular and blockbuster-magnet superhero characters and storylines like the Avengers.

Disney also owns Pixar, the creator of some of the worlds well-loved animated movies like Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. And not a long time ago, Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, the owner of the Avatar Franchise, X-Men and some other popular movie series. On top of that, they also own ESPN, ABC broadcast network and National Geographic which are some of the most trusted in the fields of sports, news and documentary series, respectively.

screen grab from Disney Plus website

Not only that, Disney's very own Animation Studios produces one of the world's most admired and kids-magnet stories like Cinderella, Snow White, Lion King, Aladin and Beauty and The Beast. All of these are being remade into live action movies and did well in the box office proving that people all around the world do really love Disney's contents even if they have already seen it or known the story.

Disney is also planning several original series and films that are going to be available exclusively in their Disney+ platform.

With all of these contents from Walt Disney's umbrella, Disney Plus will surely entices millions of people around the world to subscribe to their service. And most likely, some of these are subscribers of Netflix's streaming service.

But content is not the only factor that we can look at as the main reason for Netflix's subscribers to shift to Disney Plus. Another main factor to consider is the subscription price that Disney is going to offer. Disney Plus is reportedly going to be half the price than what Netflix is offering in the US. Hopefully, this would be the same scenario here in the Philippines.

Disney Plus subscription rate in the US is $7/month (more or less Php350). This comes with 4 screens and access to 4K resolution and Dolby Atmos contents. Rappler reported that Disney+ will launch in the Philippines this November.

The Second Challenger: Apple TV Plus (Apple TV+)

This really comes as a surprise to me. I really did not expect that Apple is going to enter the streaming market with their own Apple TV+. This might sound similar to ABS-CBN's TV Plus digital black box but Apple TV Plus is different. When I conducted additional research to this, I realized that Apple has really the potential in becoming a serious competitor to Disney+ and Netflix. How?

If you visit their website you can see some of the pilot contents that they are going to offer. These contents are already enticing as they are being marketed the Apple way.

Some of the contents they top-billed are: "See", starring Jason Momoa (Khal Drogo in HBO's Game of Thrones and Aquaman himself), "The Morning Show", "For All Mankind", "Snoopy in Space" and "The Elephant Queen".

Apple-original's highly anticipated film "See" starring Jason Momoa, screen grab from Apple TV plus website

Apple also state in their website that a new Apple-original content will be offered every month for their subscribers.

But what makes Apple TV Plus more enticing aside from highly anticipated original contents is the price. In the Philippines, it will be offered for only Php249/month with 7-days trial. That Php249/month will already include 6-family members and will allow offline downloading and 4K HDR resolution and atmos contents. What a great offer this is. Right?

Netflix's cheapest offer in the Philippines is I think the standard worth Php370/month for one person only.

Apple TV+ also offers 1-year free subscription when you purchase a new Apple products: iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Mac. Apple TV+ is set to launch in the Philippines (and in most part of the world) this November 1, 2019.

Other Challengers

Apple TV+ and Disney+ are the new upcoming challengers, but right now Netflix is already facing some tough challenges from Amazon with their Amazon Prime Videos, HBO's HBO Go, Hulu and Southeast Asia's iFlix. These companies are also boosting their contents in order to increase their share in the market.

Amazon Prime Video for example is already increasing their spendings for original contents. They have already acquired the rights for the highly anticipated series for "The Lord of the Rings". Amazon was reportedly spending huge amount of money for this.

HBO is also developing new prequel for the widely popular "Game of Thrones" series which most likely be offered in their streaming app. Locally, ABS-CBN is also boosting their contents for their iWant app. However, I did not see this to compete directly with Netflix or iFlix locally as this seems to be more of a contingency plan in case congress will not renew its franchise by 2020.

Netflix's Defense

In preparation for the upcoming threat Netflix is reportedly spending heavily on content development. Because of this they had recently raise subcription rate in the US in order to fund the production of more original contents. Luckily, the Philippines was not included in this price hike.

In the Philippines, you might already noticed that Netflix are now adding more local and regional contents. For instance, they have already added the widely popular primetime drama of ABS-CBN's "Ang Probinsyano" titled as "Brothers". More local independent films can now be streamed as well in the service. On top of that, more Korean dramas are also becoming evident in the service. Probably they have learned how fascinated the young Filipinos are to Korean tv series.

There maybe a threat to Netflix's dominance in the streaming service but this does not mean that they are going to give-up easily to competition. Netflix still have some cards to play against these upcoming competition. Contents like "Stranger Things" which generates some massive followers and the highly anticipated fantasy series called "The Witcher". They have also able to create original contents the drives millions of viewers like "Bright" starring Will Smith and "Bird Box" starring Sandra Bullock.

In conclusion, with the entry of tough competitors for Netflix this year, the Filipino people along with other races in the world, can surely benefit with this. Paying subcribers can have more options for quality contents at a cheaper and more affordable rates. So, let us see how the competition will go this November and enjoy having a lot options to choose from. Let us know your thoughts about this in the comment below.

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