Business assignment

Here are some of the most popular shows on Netflix — which may be leaving Netflix soon

Fortunately for the streaming giant, its own shows are popular too.

By Rani Molla@ranimolla Dec 21, 2018, 10:35am EST

Many of Netflix’s most popular shows are owned by companies that plan to compete with Netflix. Which means many of those shows may vanish from the streaming service in the next few years.

So if you like watching “The Office,” “Grey’s Anatomy” or “Gossip Girl” on Netflix, you should enjoy them while you can. More than half of the 50 most popular shows on Netflix are owned by companies planning to launch their own streaming services — Disney (and its to-be-acquired Fox), NBCUniversal* and WarnerMedia — according to data from analytics firm Jumpshot. Jumpshot measures online views of Netflix TV shows and movies by tracking the web pages its panel of users visit. The top 50 Netflix shows account for 42 percent of all Netflix views, according to Jumpshot.

But just because a Netflix competitor has a popular show on Netflix doesn’t mean they’ll take it away from Netflix: They could also charge Netflix a lot of money for it. Last month, for instance, Netflix shelled out $100 million to WarnerMedia for exclusive rights through 2019 to “Friends,” a show that first aired a quarter of a century ago.

That deal makes more sense when you learn that “Friends” is the second-most-watched show on all of Netflix, with about 4 percent of total views this year, according to Jumpshot. The most-watched show is NBCU-owned “The Office” (U.S. version), which accounts for about 7 percent of all views.

Note that Netflix itself owns a number of the most-popular shows, according to Jumpshot, including “Orange Is the New Black” and “BoJack Horseman.”

Jumpshot generates its data by looking at web browser activity on an anonymized global panel of 100 million web devices from which it sees billions of online actions each day. For this data set, every time a U.S.-based device went to a Netflix web page to play a TV episode or movie, that counts as a view.

Netflix has said in the past that the overwhelming majority of its views come from people watching on connected TVs, and Jumpshot’s data doesn’t measure that behavior. But it’s reasonable to assume that people who watch Netflix via browsers and people who watch on Rokus or Xboxes tend to watch the same stuff. Netflix declined to comment.

* NBCUniversal is a minority investor in Vox Media, which owns Recode.

HBO is readying a third streaming service in addition to HBO Now and HBO Go — here's how the three HBO services stack up

https://www.businessinsider.com/hbo-go-vs-hbo-now-vs-hbo-max-2019-7#the-addition-of-other-warnermedia- networks-content-to-hbos-existing-library-is-an-enticing-proposition-3

Ben Gilbert Jul 20, 2019, HBO has a new streaming service coming in 2020: HBO Max.

• HBO already operates two major streaming services, HBO Go and HBO Now. • So, what's the difference between the three different streaming services? A surprising amount of stuff — let's

dig in! • First, the bad news: "Friends" is leaving Netflix, and it's not coming back any time soon.

Turns out there's a good reason for that, as it's headed to HBO's new streaming service in 2020 alongside "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and a mess of other stuff. That new service is named "HBO Max," and it's intended as the most deluxe form of HBO's already existing streaming services.

But what's so different about HBO Max from HBO's current streaming options? Let's dig in.

What is HBO Max?

"Friends" is one marquee legacy TV series that's headed to HBO Max when it arrives in 2020. HBO Max is more similar to HBO Now than HBO Go, in that it's a standalone streaming service you don't need a cable subscription to use. For a monthly subscription fee that HBO has yet to disclose, you'll get access to a wide variety of programming that includes all of HBO's current digital lineup, plus a ton of new stuff from various WarnerMedia properties like CNN, TNT, TBS, and Cartoon Network.

Like Netflix, HBO Max will also produce new TV shows and movies.

"The new service will be 'Maximized' with an extensive collection of exclusive original programming (Max Originals) as well as WarnerMedia's portfolio of beloved brands and libraries," HBO's announcement says.

Though the price is unannounced, a Wall Street Journal report from June priced HBO Max in the $16 - $17/month range — a slight increase over the $15/month that HBO Now costs.

What makes it different from HBO Now and HBO Go? Additional content.

"The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" is another major legacy TV show that will be available on HBO Max. YouTube With HBO Go and HBO Now, the library of content is largely focused on HBO's originally produced TV shows and movies. But with HBO Max, you'll get all that content plus a ton of new stuff from a variety of WarnerMedia brands.

In case you're unfamiliar, WarnerMedia is just the new name for "Time Warner" — which is to say that a ton of good stuff is coming to HBO Max.

"10,000 hours of premium content from HBO, Warner Bros., New Line, DC Entertainment, CNN, TNT, TBS, truTV, The CW, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth, Looney Tunes and more," is promised as coming to HBO Max.

Notably, this isn't a live TV service — you'll get streaming access to a library of content from those places, but won't be able to, say, watch CNN live on HBO Max.

And yes, you'll get all the content that's already available on HBO Go and HBO Now too.

The addition of other WarnerMedia networks' content to HBO's existing library is an enticing proposition.

Adding Adult Swim's content to HBO Max means adding "Rick & Morty." Adding CNN's content to HBO Max means adding "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown." Adding TBS' content to HBO Max means adding "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee" and "Conan."

All of which is to say that adding content from all these places adds up to a ton of really good stuff.

Looney Tunes cartoons! All the "Lord of the Rings" movies! There's a surprising amount of additional content in the HBO Max package.

What is HBO Go? And how is it different from HBO Now?

If you have a cable TV subscription that includes HBO, you can also use HBO Go — it's a freebie bonus for paying for an HBO cable subscription. Plug in your cable TV login details, and you've got access to a vast library of HBO content on demand. It costs nothing extra, and works on everything from your smartphone to your Apple TV/Roku/etc. to your computer.

HBO Now and HBO Go have the same content library: All of HBO's original programming, plus a rotating library of movies.

But HBO Now doesn't require a cable TV subscription — it's a standalone streaming service that costs $15/month. It functions nearly identically to HBO Go, and it's technically newer.

The major difference between the two services is how you pay for access. With HBO Go, you have to pay for cable TV. With HBO Now you just pay HBO directly, like Netflix or Hulu.

HBO Max is essentially the "big sister" of the three services. It offers the most content — and also will reportedly cost the most.

What else is coming to HBO Max? A bunch of new original content, including a show based on "Dune" and a new movie from the director of "Bird Box."

Here's everything that's announced for HBO Max thus far:

-"10,000 hours of premium content from HBO, Warner Bros., New Line, DC Entertainment, CNN, TNT, TBS, truTV, The CW, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth, Looney Tunes and more.

-The exclusive streaming rights at launch to all 236 episodes of 'Friends.'

-The exclusive streaming rights at launch to all episodes 'The Fresh Prince of Bel Air' and 'Pretty Little Liars.'

-The exclusive streaming home to a string of new Warner Bros.' produced dramas for The CW beginning with the fall 2019 season, including new DC Entertainment series 'Batwoman,' and 'Katy Keene' (spinoff of 'Riverdale').

-New exclusive movie production deals with Greg Berlanti and Reese Witherspoon ('Big Little Lies'). Berlanti will produce an initial four movies focused in the young adult space, while Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine will produce at least two films.

-'Dune: The Sisterhood,' an adaptation of Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson's book based in the world created by Frank Herbert's book 'Dune,' from director Denis Villeneuve.

-'Tokyo Vice,' based on Jake Adelstein's non-fiction first-hand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat, starring Ansel Elgort.

-'The Flight Attendant,' a one-hour thriller series based on the novel by Chris Bohjalian. Kaley Cuoco, executive producing alongside Greg Berlanti, will star.

-'Love Life,' a 10-episode half-hour romantic comedy anthology series starring Anna Kendrick, who will also executive produce alongside Paul Feig.

-'Station Eleven,' a postapocalyptic limited series based on Emily St. John Mandel's international bestseller, adapted by Patrick Somerville ('The Leftovers') and directed by Hiro Murai ('Barry').

-'Made for Love,' a 10-episode, half-hour, straight-to-series adaptation based on the tragicomic novel of the same name by Alissa Nutting, also from Patrick Somerville and directed by S.J. Clarkson.

-'Gremlins,' an animated series from Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment based on the original movie.

-Stephen King's 'The Outsider,' a dark mystery starring Ben Mendelsohn, produced and directed by Jason Bateman.

-'Lovecraft Country,' a unique horror series based on a novel by Matt Ruff, written and executive produced by Misha Green, and executive produced by Jordan Peele ('Us') and J.J. Abrams ('Westworld').

-'The Nevers,' Joss Whedon's new science fiction series starring Laura Donnelly.

-'The Gilded Age,' set the opulent world of 1885 New York from 'Downton Abbey's' Julian Fellowes.

-'Avenue 5,' a high satire aboard a space-bound cruise ship from Armando Iannucci ('Veep') starring Hugh Laurie and Josh Gad.

-'The Undoing,' a psychological thriller from David E. Kelley ('Big Little Lies'), directed by Susanne Bier ('Bird Box') starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant.

-'The Plot Against America,' reimagined history based on Phillip Roth's novel written and executive produced by David Simon and Ed Burns, starring Winona Ryder and John Turturro.

-'Perry Mason', the classic legal drama for a new generation, executive produced by Robert Downey, Jr. and Susan Downey, with Matthew Rhys in the title role.

-'I Know This Much Is True,' a complex family drama starring Mark Ruffalo playing twin brothers, one of whom has schizophrenia. Based on the best-selling novel by Wally Lamb, written and directed by Derek Cianfrance."

Is Netflix’s Competitive Advantage Eroding? Strong contenders are ready to disrupt its business.

Prosper Junior Bakiny (TMFPBakiny)

Oct 27, 2019 at 12:20PM

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) has been at the center of the streaming media revolution. The company led the switch from DVD rentals to the more convenient alternative we are now accustomed to, kicking companies that couldn't keep up to the curb. But it did more than offer a convenient way to watch existing shows and movies -- it started creating original content.

This strategy has been one of the factors behind Netflix's success, as its original series have racked up dozens of nominations for prestigious awards. It had 117 nominations for this year's Emmys, more than any of its direct competitors. That being said, with the likes of Apple and Walt Disney about to launch their own streaming services, it may be increasingly harder to attract consumers, either with its original content or by other means.

An increasingly competitive landscape Earlier this year, Disney announced that it would launch its own streaming service, Disney+, in November. Despite being a bit late to this lucrative opportunity, Disney's latest initiative could be a hit for two major reasons. First, the service has a lower price than Netflix. For $6.99 a month, you get access to Disney's content. The company does offer other price specials as well. For those who pay up front for three years of service, pre-ordering a subscription to the platform would save them $40. Netflix's cheapest monthly plan -- which doesn't come with HD capabilities but offers a wide selection of content -- costs $8.99 per month.

Perhaps more importantly, Disney will offer a plethora of shows and movies from franchises that have built a loyal following over the years. These include many of Marvel's much anticipated spinoffs, such as Captain America: The Winter Soldier and others.

Many of Marvel's most successful movies will make the cut, including several of the Avengers films, Captain Marvel, and more. The lineup of blockbusters on Disney+ will also include some movies from the Star Wars franchise, as well as many of Disney's own animated movies. Most of these titles hardly need advertising, making Disney+ an attractive option for millions worldwide.

Apple is also dipping its toes in these waters with its own streaming service, Apple TV+, for $4.99 a month. But the company is offering the service free for a year to those who buy some of its devices. With only nine titles at the outset, Apple's streaming service won't offer the type (or volume) of content that will rival Disney+, at least not initially. But the tech company is investing heavily in original projects featuring some well-known Hollywood celebrities. For instance, Apple announced a series called The Morning Show that will be available on its streaming platform and will feature stars like Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell.

Netflix shows it can weather the storm It's important to remember that Netflix has survived competition from the likes of Hulu and others before. Its recently released third-quarter earnings report didn't show any strong warning signs of the company being in trouble. Total paid net additions increased by 12% year over year to 6.8 million subscribers. Although that number was slightly below the company's own guidance, it was the highest it had ever been in any of Netflix's third quarters. The company expects 7.6 million net additions during the fourth quarter. That would represent a 14% decline compared with last year's fourth

quarter, but it is nothing to panic about. Netflix also expressed optimism in the face of competition. As the company's letter to shareholders said:

The launch of these new services will be noisy. There may be some modest headwind to our near- term growth, and we have tried to factor that into our guidance. In the long-term, though, we expect we'll continue to grow nicely given the strength of our service and the large market opportunity.

Netflix also noted that streaming video services tend to offer different libraries of content, which distinguishes them from one another. The big loser, in its view, will likely be cable TV, and not the company itself. If this is right, Netflix is far from being dead in the water.