Welcome to the blog of Dr. Lisa Burns' Media Studies senior capstone class (3:30 pm section) at Quinnipiac University. If you're looking for the latest on media industry trends and insightful media analysis, you've come to the right place!
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Media Consolidation & Multiple Platforms Blog 1, Question 1 (Jan. 30th)
Which major media
conglomerate is best positioned to succeed and which organization will face the
most challenges in 2018? Limit: 12 responses
I think Disney is positioned to have the most success this year. Disney just bought part of 21st Century Fox which according to Variety it is a huge deal because two of the most successful Hollywood companies have just combined (Littleton, Variety). Additionally, it seems like for 21st Century Fox share holders, they will also be adding an extremely small amount of Disney shares as well which looks nice to everyone (assuming the Disney stock doesn't plummet anytime soon). With two major studios merging together, it makes me wonder if other studios are going to look at that and think they should do the same thing to keep the competitive edge?
I think Netflix is going to have the most issues this coming year. They were a hot commodity for the last few years because there weren't that many streaming services out there. Now, however, you have HBO Go, Hulu, Xfinitiy on the go, and now Disney's new streaming service (which is due in 2019), and many more. With Disney's service in particular will mean that all of Disney's content will be pulled from Netflix, which will definitely put a damper on Netflix. Additionally, YouTube is jumping into the game and according to The Hollywood Reporter launched YouTube Red in 2017. YouTube Red is only 10 dollars a month (which will be cheaper than Netflix once their prices are raised). YouTube hasn't officially made it's big debut in the T.V. scene yet, but it's clear they're definitely ready to play ball (Jarvey, The Hollywood Reporter). Netflix needs to figure out how they can stay on top and have the best content if they don't want to lose customers.
Sources:
Littleton, Cynthia, and Brian Steinberg. “Disney to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets for $52.4 Billion in Historic Hollywood Merger.” Variety, 14 Dec. 2017, variety.com/2017/biz/news/disney-fox-merger-deal-52-4-billion-merger-1202631242/.
Jarvey, Natalie. “YouTube Grows Up: Inside the Plan to Take on Netflix and Hulu.” The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Oct. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/youtube-grows-up-inside-plan-take-netflix-hulu-1045443.
In my opinion, after reviewing the readings for this week, I’ve come to the conclusion that Disney will be the next major media conglomerate best positioned to succeed in 2018 and 2019. After buying 21st Century Fox’s assets, the Disney Company will take on “Fox’s 30% stake in Hulu, 50% share of Endemol Shine Group, the Star India satellite service, and Fox’s 39% interest in Euro satellite broadcaster Sky” (Littleton and Steinberg). On top of all that, Disney has previously announced they will be creating their own streaming service against top competitors such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and others. A quote from Wall Street by analyst Tim Nollen when referring to Disney’s stake in Hulu, stated that for Disney, “Owning a second major studio [after the Fox deal] could help Disney built out its OTT platform due to launch in 2019 with more content, and owning a majority stake in Hulu would give Disney control of this SVOD service as well as a potentially large virtual bundle to help offset cable sub declines” (Jarvey and Szalai). Disney’s main focus will be to keep Hulu a more adult-oriented platform while they build the new Disney OTT service to be geared more towards families. In contrast to Disney’s bright future, I think that the company who will face the most challenges will be Facebook. It is known for being a social media site, not a streaming service. However, they are trying to get into the competition by starting their own original content. Facebook has opened up a “Watch” tab for users, and gain revenue from their advertisers. However, its main competitors may not necessarily be Netflix or Hulu, but more along the lines of YouTube. Some may classify YouTube as a social website as well and they have started their own original content service known as YouTube Red. “While Facebook is becoming increasingly profitable, speculators believe YouTube is now barely breaking even on ad revenue, and Facebook is incentivizing advertisers to use their platform even more by promoting Facebook videos (those that have been directly uploaded) in its algorithm above all other content” (Gahan). Though Facebook is putting up a fight with other online websites, is it really where the competition is? In my opinion, more people like the convenience of having streaming services bounce from device to device. You can’t really use Facebook from a TV. That’s why I think Facebook may have the right idea in streaming original content, but I don’t think they have it quite down to the right streaming platform.
Gahan, Brendan. “Facebook Watch Will Overtake YouTube as the Biggest Video Platform. Here's Why.” Mashable, 5 Dec. 2017, mashable.com/2017/12/05/how-facebook-watch-will-overtake-youtube-as-biggest-video-platform/#ukjtdrbH_5q5.
I don’t think that there is one organization that is set to be in the best position for success and that is because the media continues to change and surprise the public. Sometimes it is likely that media conglomerates seem they will be successful but then it does not turn out that way. If I had to choose one media conglomerate that at this point in time seems will be most successful I would say Amazon. For me personally, when I started using Amazon I immediately recognized their excellent delivery times with the Amazon prime service that provides free shipping and free returns. Not only is Prime free shipping and free returns it is also free two-day shipping which is something that won me over personally. They also offer amazon prime free for students and also provide Hulu as a service for Amazon users as well, and it doesn’t stop there. I think Amazon is smart, effective and will only increase with success. According to one of the class readings, Amazon could beat the iPhone maker to the punch in the race to become the first $1 Trillion market cap company. Amazon makes the most of its money from retail and continues to grow more successful each year. According to Morgan Stanley, Amazon is broken down by the following, Retail: $600 billion, Amazon Web Services: $270 billion, Prime subscriptions: $70 billion, and Advertising: $55 billion which totals to $995 billion. At this rate if Amazon keeps up their business style it seems they will only be more successful and will not face a decline financially. I believe that Netflix will face the most challenges in 2018. Netflix was one of the most popular streaming services that was known to provide more than other streaming services. Netflix was also known for their reasonable subscription service prices. Now, one thing Netflix is doing that I think will result in negative feedback is their up charge in monthly subscriptions. “Netflix increased by $1 to $10.99 the cost of its most popular plan — two screens watching simultaneously — and by $2 to $13.99 for its premium plan, which lets you run Netflix on four screens and get 4K video. The $7.99 monthly price of the basic one-screen, standard definition-video plan remained the same.” I think that given this up charge they will lose many customers and although it won’t result in a huge financial upset I do think that this will be the start for the Netflix downfall of 2018. Netflix and Amazon are putting a greater emphasis on owning their scripted originals while Hulu continues to lean on the major studios. Although Netflix may think that they will have more financial success by keeping “Netflix Originals” I think this will end up hurting Netflix.
Cites: Ghosh, Shona. “Amazon Will Become a $1 Trillion Giant in 2018, Says Morgan Stanley.”Business Insider, Business Insider, 14 Nov. 2017
Palmer, Annie. “Why Amazon Could Soon Be Headed for a $1 Trillion Market Cap.”TheStreet, TheStreet, 10 Jan. 2018
Goldberg, Lesley. “Where Streamers Get Their Original Content: Comparing Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.” The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Oct. 2017
Snider, Mike. “Another Netflix Price Hike? Here Are the Reasons It Could Try Again.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 25 Jan. 2018
With the media industry now condensing into only a few organizations, the whole landscape of what consumers are viewing on their respective screens is changing. Every media company is trying to keep up with the changing landscape. However, it seems like this change is endorsing the survival of the fittest business model. Companies are beginning to merge into bigger conglomerates while leaving their legacies behind to disappear. A media landscape that once included so many companies has now dwindled down to at least six. A landscape that once had companies like 21st Century Fox, which was extremely feared is now no more because of the merger with Disney. This goes on to prove how Disney is best positioned Media Conglomerate in 2018 right now. Disney's Merger with 21st Century Fox is considered one of the biggest media mergers within the past decade. Walt Disney Co., which is already a big media company that has been around for almost a century goes on to merge with a company that was once seen as competition. Disney this year is set to be a major media conglomerate this year with due its major acquisitions last year. According to an article written by Natalie Jarvey & Georg Szalai for "The Hollywood Reporter", Disney has acquired Fox's stake in Hulu, which gives it "majority ownership of the streaming service, as part of the $52.4 billion purchase of the Rupert Murdoch-owned media company's assets."(As quoted in "How Disney Will Benefit from Becoming Hulu's Majority Owner Via Its Fox Deal") This gives Disney a major advantage in creating and distributing content at a greater pace than other media conglomerates. It evens goes as far as the company going to create its own streaming service and removing its content off of Netflix. Even though it does really pose as a threat to the streaming giant, it makes it more likely for a " consumer looking to avoid a cable bundle". ( As quoted by Myles Udland in "Disney's new streaming service shouldn't scare Netflix") Disney is pushing the frontier even further, by only providing their content by themselves and not using other SVOD services. One organization that will face a challenge is Apple, in my opinion. Apple has been a leading force in music streaming and technology. However, the company now venturing into original content might backfire. The reason because they don't have a clear plan to promote and effectively distribute the content.
Works Cited Udland , Myles. “Disney's New Streaming Service Shouldn't Scare Netflix.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo!, 10 Nov. 2017, finance.yahoo.com/news/disneys-new-streaming-service-shouldnt-scare-netflix-174745047.html. Szalai, Natalie JarveyGeorg. “How Disney Will Benefit From Becoming Hulu's Majority Owner Via Its Fox Deal.” The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Dec. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-disney-will-benefit-becoming-hulus-majority-owner-fox-deal-1067567.
Disney has always been a media giant since it was first started, but recently we have seen an uprising in Disney’s presence in almost every aspect of the media. For a while media conglomerates like 21st Century Fox, Time Warner, and CBS Corporation were the biggest media conglomerates in terms of revenue and their capability to serve a broader audience, unlike Disney who has a more selective audience of children and families. These conglomerates have been the driving force behind major moves in the entertainment industry, however Disney is taking giant strides in becoming a dominating force, and will continue to become the one of the biggest media conglomerates in 2018. Disney’s progression is definitely portrayed by their most recent deal with 21st Century Fox. This billon dollar deal not only is Disney acquiring 21st Century Fox, FX and the National Geographic channel but also Get Fox’s stakes in European pay-TV provider Sky and Hulu (Hadas, Riley 2017). The merging between 21st Century Fox and The Walt Disney Company will help to generate one of the biggest powerhouses in the industry.
Disney bought Pixar in 2006, Marvel in 2009 and LucasFlim in 2012 so it was oblivious that their next step was to broaden their empire by buying 21st Century Fox and increasing their presence in an ever-changing media environment filled with competitors like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. According to Steinberg and Littleton “Disney is betting on an ambitious purchase of a sizable chunk of 21st Century Fox, hoping that more cable networks, production studios and other properties will buoy it into the future as it dives into the direct-to-consumer streaming distribution business with sports and entertainment services planned to launch in 2018 and 2019, respectively”(2017). Disney is anticipating that this $52.4 Billion dollar purchase will help them progress towards a new form of media in regards to immediate access and streaming.
In addition to Disney’s groundbreaking purchase of 21st Century Fox, they also plan on taking their content off of other streaming sites and creating their own service. I believe this step will contribute to Netflix’s future challenges. In its own right, Netflix was one of the first services that laid the ground work for future streaming websites like Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO Go and all the other channels that now have apps for instant viewing. In recent weeks it was announced that Netflix would be raising their prices. This price hike will lead to more people to dropping Netflix and find another service that is cheaper. Although it went up only a dollar, people will not want to pay for it especially because Netflix always seems to have less of a selection than other services like Hulu (Lukerson 2018).
Gold, Hadas, and Charles Riley . “Disney Is Buying Most of 21st Century Fox for $52.4 Billion.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, 14 Dec. 2017, money.cnn.com/2017/12/14/media/disney-fox-deal/index.html.
Littleton , Cynthia, and Brian Steinberg. “Disney to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets for $52.4 Billion in Historic Hollywood Merger.” Variety, 14 Dec. 2017, variety.com/2017/biz/news/disney-fox-merger-deal-52-4-billion-merger-1202631242/.
Luckerson, Victor. “Hulu Is Hollywood's Last Line of Defense Against a Tech Takeover.” The Ringer, The Ringer, 12 Jan. 2018, www.theringer.com/tech/2018/1/12/16881390/hulu-netflix-amazon-ces-2018.
After reading up on the major media conglomerates I think that Disney is in the best position by far to succeed. With Disney just recently buying Rupert Murdoch’s 21 Century Fox as well as some of his other assets they have asserted themselves a top the food chain. As stated in the article, “Disney is betting on an ambitious purchase of a sizable chunk of 21st Century Fox, hoping that more cable networks, production studios and other properties will buoy it into the future as it dives into the direct-to-consumer streaming distribution business with sports and entertainment services planned to launch in 2018 and 2019, respectively.” With Disney’s new addition of popular cable networks such as FX, National Geographic, and 22 regional sports networks, they are starting to take control of the business from all sides. The reality of the matter is that Disney is more or less creating a monopoly over the whole industry because they own almost anything you can imagine now and the accusation of Fox only cements even more their control over everybody else. With this merger, Disney will also gain key access into the international market with Sky, which Fox owned a part of. This broadens Disney’s target audience significantly and solidifies them as a global powerhouse not just in the U.S. but also in the rest of the world slowly but surely as well. In this coming year Netflix may face the most challenges as a media conglomerate. With the most popular streaming service by far you would probably never believe that they would be the ones that have to face such big challenges, but I see a future where they do potentially. With Disney acquiring a huge portion of 21 Century Fox for 52.5 billion dollars and now getting into the streaming service late next year, they pose a threat to Netflix whom are the head honcho’s of the streaming world. “On Thursday, Disney CEO Bob Iger said it would price this service “substantially below” where Netflix (NFLX) is right now, which for its most popular plan is $11 per month.” This quote taken from the article posted on Yahoo Finance shows to me how real of a threat Disney could in fact be to Netflix. With such control of the market as a whole and a price that is lower than Netflix’s you can really start to see the landscape form of how Disney will actually be able to compete with Netflix. "We continue to do business with the Walt Disney Company globally on many fronts, including our ongoing relationship with Marvel TV," the company said.” This quote taken from a U.S.A Today article on Netflix and Disney talks about the two companies relationship and that down the road Disney will pull their movies from Netflix and make it that much harder for them. Disney and Netflix are two of the most lucrative companies out there and it will be interesting to see what direction each of them goes in the upcoming year.
Works Cited –
Snider, M. (2017, August 08). Disney plans stand-alone streaming service, pulling films from Netflix in 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2018, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2017/08/08/disney-plans-stand-alone-streaming-service-pulling-films-netflix/547220001/
Steinberg, C. L., & Steinberg, C. L. (2017, December 14). Disney to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets for $52.4 Billion in Historic Hollywood Merger. Retrieved January 30, 2018, from http://variety.com/2017/biz/news/disney-fox-merger-deal-52-4-billion-merger-1202631242/
Disney's new streaming service shouldn't scare Netflix. (2017, November 10). Retrieved January 30, 2018, from https://finance.yahoo.com/news/disneys-new-streaming-service-shouldnt-scare-netflix-174745047.html
Disney is equipped for the most successful new year due to their new business goals including purchasing 21st Century Fox. This move to purchase Fox has fueled conglomeration even further, but will rapidly expand possibilities and competition between Disney and other corporations. An article on Variety by Cynthia Littleton and Brian Steinberg states that “Disney is betting on an ambitious purchase of a sizable chunk of 21st Century Fox, hoping that more cable networks, production studios and other properties will buoy it into the future as it dives into the direct-to-consumer streaming distribution business with sports and entertainment services planned to launch in 2018 and 2019, respectively.” (Littleton and Steinberg). A large stake in Hulu is likely the biggest acquisition in the streaming department of this merger. The reading continued by saying that “Fox’s 30% stake in Hulu, 50% share of Endemol Shine Group, the Star India satellite service, and Fox’s 39% interest in Euro satellite broadcaster Sky” (Littleton and Steinberg). Clearly, the Disney and fox merger broadens Disney’s scope of possibilities. According to the article by Littleton and Steinberg, the merger consisted of a 52.4 billion dollar payout by Disney. The article provides a number of important goals the Disney hopes to achieve through this deal. It states that “Disney expects to realize 2$ billion in cost savings from combining Disney and Fox;s overlapping businesses within two years of the deals closing. It also explains how Fox is going to have to handle some of the newer services that they recently established such as Fox Sports and a number of other Fox stations.
Disney Chairmen Bob Iger explained his expectations for the merger when it first happened, He said that “The acquisition of this stellar collection of businesses from 21st Century Fox reflects the increasing consumer demand for a rich diversity of entertainment experiences that are more compelling, accessible and convenient than ever before.” In an article by Hollywood reporter, more quotes by Disney Chairmen Bob Iger provide insight into Disney’s goals with its newly acquired Fox streaming service called Hulu. Iger says that “owning roughly a third of it was great, but having control of it will enable us to greatly accelerate Hulu into that space and become an even more viable competitor to those that are already out there.” Clearly, the acquisition of Hulu was one of Disney’s primary motivating factors behind the deal with organizations like Netflix and Amazon Prime having such successful business models. Iger continued his new vision for Hulu, saying they will make it “a little bit more clear, a little bit more efficient, and a little bit more effective with a controlling shareholder.” According to the article by Goerge Szalai, “The acquisition is expected to yield "at least" $2 billion in cost savings "from efficiencies realized through the combination of businesses, and to be accretive to earnings before the impact of purchase accounting for the second fiscal year after the close of the transaction."
On the other end of the spectrum, a company like Facebook is going to struggle in 2018. This is because Facebook has been struggling in recent years to stay relevant in the age where new services and forms of social media are being created on a rapid basis, Consumers move from one special media platform to another very quickly. While Facebook has done a good job of supplanting itself as a staple in the social media networks, it has clearly seen a decline in usage rates among younger audiences as time continues to pass and new forms of media are created. Facebook has attempted to stay relevant with the addition of new Facebook services such as the marketplace, Facebook Live, and many revamping’s of the site in general, I believe it will be difficult for Facebook to continue to stay relevant without a major revolutionary addition to the social media world that has not yet been recognized.
Littleton , Cynthia, and Brian Steinberg. “Disney to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets for $52.4 Billion in Historic Hollywood Merger.” Variety, 14 Dec. 2017, variety.com/2017/biz/news/disney-fox-merger-deal-52-4-billion-merger-1202631242/.
Szalai, Natalie JarveyGeorg. “How Disney Will Benefit From Becoming Hulu's Majority Owner Via Its Fox Deal.” The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Dec. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-disney-will-benefit-becoming-hulus-majority-owner-fox-deal-1067567.
Bond, Georg SzalaiPaul. “Disney to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets, Including Film Studio; Bob Iger Extends Through 2021.” The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Dec. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-buy-21st-century-fox-assets-including-film-studio-bob-iger-extends-2021-1065347.
After taking a closer look at the readings assigned for the week, I was able to get a better idea of which media conglomerate is the best positioned for success. As stated in the articles, Disney has just purchased and is beginning to merge with 21st Century Fox which is a major deal for both companies. As well as this, Disney will also benefit from “Fox’s 30% stake in Hulu, 50% share of Endemol Shine Group, the Star India satellite service, and Fox’s 39% interest in Euro satellite broadcaster Sky.” (Littleton and Steinberg.)
An organization that may be setting towards a decline in the media industry is Netflix. Netflix was one of the first streaming services to hit the market. In the beginning, netflix was limited to “DVD by mail” which essentially topped our previously famous blockbuster locations that were nestled into the corner of every town. In 2007, netflix introduced the streaming services portion of the company which was very new to the scene. Since then, a lot of companies like Hulu and Amazon video have duplicated those kinds of services and have been in constant competition. According to some, Netflix lacks the same kind of selection of its competitive counterparts and also has increased its prices after the long-time $7.99 per month price-point. While Netflix thrives on its original content, the success of Disney joining FOX may constitute a decrease in revenue for netflix because of their competition since Disney and other companies are grounding larger roots in the streaming industry. “A joint venture of Disney, Fox, Comcast and Time Warner, the platform has put a larger emphasis on spreading the wealth to its parent companies and establishing itself as a home for originals beyond library titles before it focuses on ownership.” (Goldberg.)
Goldberg, Lesley. “Where Streamers Get Their Original Content: Comparing Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.” The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Oct. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/streaming-services-get-original-tv-shows-movies-1045444.
Littleton, Cynthia, and Cynthia Steinberg. “Disney to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets for $52.4 Billion in Historic Hollywood Merger.” Variety, 14 Dec. 2017, variety.com/2017/biz/news/disney-fox-merger-deal-52-4-billion-merger-1202631242/.
A major media conglomerate that is best positioned to succeed in 2018 is Disney. Disney has been on the uprising buying 21st Century Fox. According to Variety, when the Disney company expands, another company will shrink (Littleton, Variety). Because of Disney becoming such a big company, 21st Century Fox will generate more revenue for the company. Disney will be able to gain more access to to overseas market with the Fox interest. Disney investing in Fox can also give them an opportunity to by Sky and gain a new settle in overseas division. Disney will also be able to benefit Hulu. Hulu’s company will grow dramatically because of the gain the company got from Disney. Also, Hulu will grow over Netflix because Disney is considering ending their license deal with Netflix.
A company that will face challenges in 2018 is Facebook. Facebook is starting to be on a downfall because of the other social media outlets that are on the up rise. Facebook has started to turn into a place that people go to watch videos and such and not a streaming service. Even though Facebook has acquired Instagram, they are facing challenges with staying relevant in today’s world while still trying to grow revenue. CNBC says that Facebook is struggling to get ride of “fake news” which has always been a big issue with social media platforms (Castillo, CNBC). Social media platforms have stepped up their way of people being able to communicate with other people. Where as Facebook has struggled with making it easier for people to communicate. In my opinion, Facebook isn’t as popular as other social media platforms. Every time I go on Facebook, all there is are videos rather than people posting about their day or other things like that. A lot of the videos tend to show fake news which people don’t like. Facebook will face challenges because of Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat becoming more popular everyday.
Sources: Littleton , Cynthia, and Brian Steinberg. “Disney to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets for $52.4 Billion in Historic Hollywood Merger.” Variety, 14 Dec. 2017, variety.com/2017/biz/news/disney-fox-merger-deal-52-4-billion-merger-1202631242/.
Szalai, Natalie JarveyGeorg. “How Disney Will Benefit From Becoming Hulu's Majority Owner Via Its Fox Deal.” The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Dec. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-disney-will-benefit-becoming-hulus-majority-owner-fox-deal-1067567.
Castillo, Michelle. “Mark Zuckerberg's Personal Challenge for 2018: Fix Facebook.” CNBC, www.cnbc.com/2018/01/04/mark-zuckerbergs-personal-challenge-for-2018-fix-facebook.html.
Based on the readings and what I learned from them the company that I think is poised to make a big push in 2018 is Disney. Disney is obviously a powerhouse brand in itself but more importantly the companies that Disney now has a controlling stake in. The one that I think is going to have the largest impact is Hulu. Netflix is pulling a lot of content to make room for Netflix originals and Hulu is grabbing that content. That is not the only thing that is positioning Disney to make a massive push in the New Year. The have a wide variety of media under their new umbrella. First they have the rights to massive cult following studios in Marvel and Star Wars, those movies will turn a profit no matter what you do because of the fan base. Disney also has cable television like ESPN and ABC, which are major players in the world of sports. I think the media group that is in the biggest trouble is Facebook. Facebook is relying on its website and selling information. Their recent push to get into the world of television and independent content through Facebook via Facebook watch seems like a step in the right direction but a late push. The only way Facebook will compete on the streaming level is if they stream dynamite content to their viewers. Facebook will always survive through the selling of information and advertising. But in the arms race of content, Facebook will be left in the wake of the media titans that are making major pushes.
Selyukh, Alina, et al. “Big Media Companies And Their Many Brands - In One Chart.” NPR, NPR, 28 Oct. 2016, www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/10/28/499495517/big-media-companies-and-their-many-brands-in-one-chart.
Goldberg, Lesley. “Where Streamers Get Their Original Content: Comparing Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.” The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Oct. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/streaming-services-get-original-tv-shows-movies-1045444.
Szalai, Natalie JarveyGeorg. “How Disney Will Benefit From Becoming Hulu's Majority Owner Via Its Fox Deal.” The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Dec. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-disney-will-benefit-becoming-hulus-majority-owner-fox-deal-1067567.
Media conglomeration is ever more prevalent in todays society. It seems that everyday a large company purchases a much smaller one for billions of dollars. With the current media landscape, I feel that Comcast Corp./NBCUniversal is the best positioned to succeed. The variety of their media companies will help them reach a broader audience. Walt Disney Co. will be one of the front-runners but eventually will lose out to Comcast. The companies that Comcast own range from sports, to film production, even infamous “telenovelas.” They also hold stake in many companies with engaging content located on YouTube and elsewhere on the Internet. Many of the companies listed on Alina Selyukh’s article: “Big Media Companies And Their Many Brands — In One Chart,” hold stake in Hulu. The battle between Hulu and Netflix has intensified in past years as Hulu picked up many of the shows Netflix dropped. Comcast has the edge over Disney because they hold stake in companies like VOX, Tastemade, and Buzzfeed. These companies have their own websites but primarily post content of YouTube. With the new Youtube Red, and Youtube TV subscriptions, these already popular content creators will gain more views. “But as Netflix and others look to own more of their shows, YouTube (and Apple) could get a boost. ‘Netflix wasn't even in the original programming game four years ago,’ says BTIG's Greenfield. ‘If Apple wants to be a major player, if Google wants to be a major player, this is the beginning’ (Jarvey). Netflix and Hulu have their own shows but the market is relatively new. If these companies can succeed on YouTube, Comcast will benefit. The relationship between Comcast and Netflix has been a tense one. With the removal of “net neutrality,” it stands to get worse. To boost their own streaming Comcast was slowing down Netflix speeds (Goldman). They are clearly not afraid to limit media consumption and the policy change will facilitate this. Although Disney has their parks and resorts, Comcast Corp./NBCUniversal own universal parks. This will keep both companies competitive in this realm. Disney’ streaming service is planned to launch in 2019. I feel that it will have initial success but eventually will die out in popularity when people see it for the gimmick it is. The novelty of Disney streaming will ultimately lose out the broad spectrum of companies contained within Comcast.
Jarvey, Natalie. “YouTube Grows Up: Inside the Plan to Take on Netflix and Hulu.” The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Oct. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/youtube-grows-up-inside-plan-take-netflix-hulu-1045443.
Selyukh, Alina, et al. “Big Media Companies And Their Many Brands - In One Chart.” NPR, NPR, 28 Oct. 2016, www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/10/28/499495517/big-media-companies-and-their-many-brands-in-one-chart.
Darcy DiModugno
ReplyDeleteI think Disney is positioned to have the most success this year. Disney just bought part of 21st Century Fox which according to Variety it is a huge deal because two of the most successful Hollywood companies have just combined (Littleton, Variety). Additionally, it seems like for 21st Century Fox share holders, they will also be adding an extremely small amount of Disney shares as well which looks nice to everyone (assuming the Disney stock doesn't plummet anytime soon). With two major studios merging together, it makes me wonder if other studios are going to look at that and think they should do the same thing to keep the competitive edge?
I think Netflix is going to have the most issues this coming year. They were a hot commodity for the last few years because there weren't that many streaming services out there. Now, however, you have HBO Go, Hulu, Xfinitiy on the go, and now Disney's new streaming service (which is due in 2019), and many more. With Disney's service in particular will mean that all of Disney's content will be pulled from Netflix, which will definitely put a damper on Netflix. Additionally, YouTube is jumping into the game and according to The Hollywood Reporter launched YouTube Red in 2017. YouTube Red is only 10 dollars a month (which will be cheaper than Netflix once their prices are raised). YouTube hasn't officially made it's big debut in the T.V. scene yet, but it's clear they're definitely ready to play ball (Jarvey, The Hollywood Reporter). Netflix needs to figure out how they can stay on top and have the best content if they don't want to lose customers.
Sources:
Littleton, Cynthia, and Brian Steinberg. “Disney to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets for $52.4 Billion in Historic Hollywood Merger.” Variety, 14 Dec. 2017, variety.com/2017/biz/news/disney-fox-merger-deal-52-4-billion-merger-1202631242/.
Jarvey, Natalie. “YouTube Grows Up: Inside the Plan to Take on Netflix and Hulu.” The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Oct. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/youtube-grows-up-inside-plan-take-netflix-hulu-1045443.
In my opinion, after reviewing the readings for this week, I’ve come to the conclusion that Disney will be the next major media conglomerate best positioned to succeed in 2018 and 2019. After buying 21st Century Fox’s assets, the Disney Company will take on “Fox’s 30% stake in Hulu, 50% share of Endemol Shine Group, the Star India satellite service, and Fox’s 39% interest in Euro satellite broadcaster Sky” (Littleton and Steinberg). On top of all that, Disney has previously announced they will be creating their own streaming service against top competitors such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and others. A quote from Wall Street by analyst Tim Nollen when referring to Disney’s stake in Hulu, stated that for Disney, “Owning a second major studio [after the Fox deal] could help Disney built out its OTT platform due to launch in 2019 with more content, and owning a majority stake in Hulu would give Disney control of this SVOD service as well as a potentially large virtual bundle to help offset cable sub declines” (Jarvey and Szalai). Disney’s main focus will be to keep Hulu a more adult-oriented platform while they build the new Disney OTT service to be geared more towards families.
ReplyDeleteIn contrast to Disney’s bright future, I think that the company who will face the most challenges will be Facebook. It is known for being a social media site, not a streaming service. However, they are trying to get into the competition by starting their own original content. Facebook has opened up a “Watch” tab for users, and gain revenue from their advertisers. However, its main competitors may not necessarily be Netflix or Hulu, but more along the lines of YouTube. Some may classify YouTube as a social website as well and they have started their own original content service known as YouTube Red. “While Facebook is becoming increasingly profitable, speculators believe YouTube is now barely breaking even on ad revenue, and Facebook is incentivizing advertisers to use their platform even more by promoting Facebook videos (those that have been directly uploaded) in its algorithm above all other content” (Gahan). Though Facebook is putting up a fight with other online websites, is it really where the competition is? In my opinion, more people like the convenience of having streaming services bounce from device to device. You can’t really use Facebook from a TV. That’s why I think Facebook may have the right idea in streaming original content, but I don’t think they have it quite down to the right streaming platform.
Gahan, Brendan. “Facebook Watch Will Overtake YouTube as the Biggest Video Platform. Here's Why.” Mashable, 5 Dec. 2017, mashable.com/2017/12/05/how-facebook-watch-will-overtake-youtube-as-biggest-video-platform/#ukjtdrbH_5q5.
I don’t think that there is one organization that is set to be in the best position for success and that is because the media continues to change and surprise the public. Sometimes it is likely that media conglomerates seem they will be successful but then it does not turn out that way. If I had to choose one media conglomerate that at this point in time seems will be most successful I would say Amazon. For me personally, when I started using Amazon I immediately recognized their excellent delivery times with the Amazon prime service that provides free shipping and free returns. Not only is Prime free shipping and free returns it is also free two-day shipping which is something that won me over personally. They also offer amazon prime free for students and also provide Hulu as a service for Amazon users as well, and it doesn’t stop there. I think Amazon is smart, effective and will only increase with success. According to one of the class readings, Amazon could beat the iPhone maker to the punch in the race to become the first $1 Trillion market cap company. Amazon makes the most of its money from retail and continues to grow more successful each year. According to Morgan Stanley, Amazon is broken down by the following, Retail: $600 billion, Amazon Web Services: $270 billion, Prime subscriptions: $70 billion, and Advertising: $55 billion which totals to $995 billion. At this rate if Amazon keeps up their business style it seems they will only be more successful and will not face a decline financially.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Netflix will face the most challenges in 2018. Netflix was one of the most popular streaming services that was known to provide more than other streaming services. Netflix was also known for their reasonable subscription service prices. Now, one thing Netflix is doing that I think will result in negative feedback is their up charge in monthly subscriptions.
“Netflix increased by $1 to $10.99 the cost of its most popular plan — two screens watching simultaneously — and by $2 to $13.99 for its premium plan, which lets you run Netflix on four screens and get 4K video. The $7.99 monthly price of the basic one-screen, standard definition-video plan remained the same.” I think that given this up charge they will lose many customers and although it won’t result in a huge financial upset I do think that this will be the start for the Netflix downfall of 2018.
Netflix and Amazon are putting a greater emphasis on owning their scripted originals while Hulu continues to lean on the major studios. Although Netflix may think that they will have more financial success by keeping “Netflix Originals” I think this will end up hurting Netflix.
Cites: Ghosh, Shona. “Amazon Will Become a $1 Trillion Giant in 2018, Says Morgan Stanley.”Business Insider, Business Insider, 14 Nov. 2017
Palmer, Annie. “Why Amazon Could Soon Be Headed for a $1 Trillion Market Cap.”TheStreet, TheStreet, 10 Jan. 2018
Goldberg, Lesley. “Where Streamers Get Their Original Content: Comparing Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.” The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Oct. 2017
Snider, Mike. “Another Netflix Price Hike? Here Are the Reasons It Could Try Again.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 25 Jan. 2018
With the media industry now condensing into only a few organizations, the whole landscape of what consumers are viewing on their respective screens is changing. Every media company is trying to keep up with the changing landscape. However, it seems like this change is endorsing the survival of the fittest business model. Companies are beginning to merge into bigger conglomerates while leaving their legacies behind to disappear. A media landscape that once included so many companies has now dwindled down to at least six. A landscape that once had companies like 21st Century Fox, which was extremely feared is now no more because of the merger with Disney. This goes on to prove how Disney is best positioned Media Conglomerate in 2018 right now.
ReplyDeleteDisney's Merger with 21st Century Fox is considered one of the biggest media mergers within the past decade. Walt Disney Co., which is already a big media company that has been around for almost a century goes on to merge with a company that was once seen as competition.
Disney this year is set to be a major media conglomerate this year with due its major acquisitions last year. According to an article written by Natalie Jarvey & Georg Szalai for "The Hollywood Reporter", Disney has acquired Fox's stake in Hulu, which gives it "majority ownership of the streaming service, as part of the $52.4 billion purchase of the Rupert Murdoch-owned media company's assets."(As quoted in "How Disney Will Benefit from Becoming Hulu's Majority Owner Via Its Fox Deal")
This gives Disney a major advantage in creating and distributing content at a greater pace than other media conglomerates. It evens goes as far as the company going to create its own streaming service and removing its content off of Netflix. Even though it does really pose as a threat to the streaming giant, it makes it more likely for a " consumer looking to avoid a cable bundle". ( As quoted by Myles Udland in "Disney's new streaming service shouldn't scare Netflix") Disney is pushing the frontier even further, by only providing their content by themselves and not using other SVOD services.
One organization that will face a challenge is Apple, in my opinion. Apple has been a leading force in music streaming and technology. However, the company now venturing into original content might backfire. The reason because they don't have a clear plan to promote and effectively distribute the content.
Works Cited
DeleteUdland , Myles. “Disney's New Streaming Service Shouldn't Scare Netflix.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo!, 10 Nov. 2017, finance.yahoo.com/news/disneys-new-streaming-service-shouldnt-scare-netflix-174745047.html.
Szalai, Natalie JarveyGeorg. “How Disney Will Benefit From Becoming Hulu's Majority Owner Via Its Fox Deal.” The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Dec. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-disney-will-benefit-becoming-hulus-majority-owner-fox-deal-1067567.
Disney has always been a media giant since it was first started, but recently we have seen an uprising in Disney’s presence in almost every aspect of the media. For a while media conglomerates like 21st Century Fox, Time Warner, and CBS Corporation were the biggest media conglomerates in terms of revenue and their capability to serve a broader audience, unlike Disney who has a more selective audience of children and families. These conglomerates have been the driving force behind major moves in the entertainment industry, however Disney is taking giant strides in becoming a dominating force, and will continue to become the one of the biggest media conglomerates in 2018. Disney’s progression is definitely portrayed by their most recent deal with 21st Century Fox. This billon dollar deal not only is Disney acquiring 21st Century Fox, FX and the National Geographic channel but also
ReplyDeleteGet Fox’s stakes in European pay-TV provider Sky and Hulu (Hadas, Riley 2017).
The merging between 21st Century Fox and The Walt Disney Company will help to generate one of the biggest powerhouses in the industry.
Disney bought Pixar in 2006, Marvel in 2009 and LucasFlim in 2012 so it was oblivious that their next step was to broaden their empire by buying 21st Century Fox and increasing their presence in an ever-changing media environment filled with competitors like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. According to Steinberg and Littleton “Disney is betting on an ambitious purchase of a sizable chunk of 21st Century Fox, hoping that more cable networks, production studios and other properties will buoy it into the future as it dives into the direct-to-consumer streaming distribution business with sports and entertainment services planned to launch in 2018 and 2019, respectively”(2017). Disney is anticipating that this $52.4 Billion dollar purchase will help them progress towards a new form of media in regards to immediate access and streaming.
In addition to Disney’s groundbreaking purchase of 21st Century Fox, they also plan on taking their content off of other streaming sites and creating their own service. I believe this step will contribute to Netflix’s future challenges. In its own right, Netflix was one of the first services that laid the ground work for future streaming websites like Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO Go and all the other channels that now have apps for instant viewing. In recent weeks it was announced that Netflix would be raising their prices. This price hike will lead to more people to dropping Netflix and find another service that is cheaper. Although it went up only a dollar, people will not want to pay for it especially because Netflix always seems to have less of a selection than other services like Hulu (Lukerson 2018).
Gold, Hadas, and Charles Riley . “Disney Is Buying Most of 21st Century Fox for $52.4 Billion.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, 14 Dec. 2017, money.cnn.com/2017/12/14/media/disney-fox-deal/index.html.
Littleton , Cynthia, and Brian Steinberg. “Disney to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets for $52.4 Billion in Historic Hollywood Merger.” Variety, 14 Dec. 2017, variety.com/2017/biz/news/disney-fox-merger-deal-52-4-billion-merger-1202631242/.
Luckerson, Victor. “Hulu Is Hollywood's Last Line of Defense Against a Tech Takeover.” The Ringer, The Ringer, 12 Jan. 2018, www.theringer.com/tech/2018/1/12/16881390/hulu-netflix-amazon-ces-2018.
After reading up on the major media conglomerates I think that Disney is in the best position by far to succeed. With Disney just recently buying Rupert Murdoch’s 21 Century Fox as well as some of his other assets they have asserted themselves a top the food chain. As stated in the article, “Disney is betting on an ambitious purchase of a sizable chunk of 21st Century Fox, hoping that more cable networks, production studios and other properties will buoy it into the future as it dives into the direct-to-consumer streaming distribution business with sports and entertainment services planned to launch in 2018 and 2019, respectively.” With Disney’s new addition of popular cable networks such as FX, National Geographic, and 22 regional sports networks, they are starting to take control of the business from all sides. The reality of the matter is that Disney is more or less creating a monopoly over the whole industry because they own almost anything you can imagine now and the accusation of Fox only cements even more their control over everybody else. With this merger, Disney will also gain key access into the international market with Sky, which Fox owned a part of. This broadens Disney’s target audience significantly and solidifies them as a global powerhouse not just in the U.S. but also in the rest of the world slowly but surely as well.
ReplyDeleteIn this coming year Netflix may face the most challenges as a media conglomerate. With the most popular streaming service by far you would probably never believe that they would be the ones that have to face such big challenges, but I see a future where they do potentially. With Disney acquiring a huge portion of 21 Century Fox for 52.5 billion dollars and now getting into the streaming service late next year, they pose a threat to Netflix whom are the head honcho’s of the streaming world. “On Thursday, Disney CEO Bob Iger said it would price this service “substantially below” where Netflix (NFLX) is right now, which for its most popular plan is $11 per month.” This quote taken from the article posted on Yahoo Finance shows to me how real of a threat Disney could in fact be to Netflix. With such control of the market as a whole and a price that is lower than Netflix’s you can really start to see the landscape form of how Disney will actually be able to compete with Netflix. "We continue to do business with the Walt Disney Company globally on many fronts, including our ongoing relationship with Marvel TV," the company said.” This quote taken from a U.S.A Today article on Netflix and Disney talks about the two companies relationship and that down the road Disney will pull their movies from Netflix and make it that much harder for them. Disney and Netflix are two of the most lucrative companies out there and it will be interesting to see what direction each of them goes in the upcoming year.
Works Cited –
Snider, M. (2017, August 08). Disney plans stand-alone streaming service, pulling films from Netflix in 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2018, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2017/08/08/disney-plans-stand-alone-streaming-service-pulling-films-netflix/547220001/
Steinberg, C. L., & Steinberg, C. L. (2017, December 14). Disney to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets for $52.4 Billion in Historic Hollywood Merger. Retrieved January 30, 2018, from http://variety.com/2017/biz/news/disney-fox-merger-deal-52-4-billion-merger-1202631242/
Disney's new streaming service shouldn't scare Netflix. (2017, November 10). Retrieved January 30, 2018, from https://finance.yahoo.com/news/disneys-new-streaming-service-shouldnt-scare-netflix-174745047.html
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDisney is equipped for the most successful new year due to their new business goals including purchasing 21st Century Fox. This move to purchase Fox has fueled conglomeration even further, but will rapidly expand possibilities and competition between Disney and other corporations. An article on Variety by Cynthia Littleton and Brian Steinberg states that “Disney is betting on an ambitious purchase of a sizable chunk of 21st Century Fox, hoping that more cable networks, production studios and other properties will buoy it into the future as it dives into the direct-to-consumer streaming distribution business with sports and entertainment services planned to launch in 2018 and 2019, respectively.” (Littleton and Steinberg). A large stake in Hulu is likely the biggest acquisition in the streaming department of this merger. The reading continued by saying that “Fox’s 30% stake in Hulu, 50% share of Endemol Shine Group, the Star India satellite service, and Fox’s 39% interest in Euro satellite broadcaster Sky” (Littleton and Steinberg). Clearly, the Disney and fox merger broadens Disney’s scope of possibilities. According to the article by Littleton and Steinberg, the merger consisted of a 52.4 billion dollar payout by Disney. The article provides a number of important goals the Disney hopes to achieve through this deal. It states that “Disney expects to realize 2$ billion in cost savings from combining Disney and Fox;s overlapping businesses within two years of the deals closing. It also explains how Fox is going to have to handle some of the newer services that they recently established such as Fox Sports and a number of other Fox stations.
ReplyDeleteDisney Chairmen Bob Iger explained his expectations for the merger when it first happened, He said that “The acquisition of this stellar collection of businesses from 21st Century Fox reflects the increasing consumer demand for a rich diversity of entertainment experiences that are more compelling, accessible and convenient than ever before.” In an article by Hollywood reporter, more quotes by Disney Chairmen Bob Iger provide insight into Disney’s goals with its newly acquired Fox streaming service called Hulu. Iger says that “owning roughly a third of it was great, but having control of it will enable us to greatly accelerate Hulu into that space and become an even more viable competitor to those that are already out there.” Clearly, the acquisition of Hulu was one of Disney’s primary motivating factors behind the deal with organizations like Netflix and Amazon Prime having such successful business models. Iger continued his new vision for Hulu, saying they will make it “a little bit more clear, a little bit more efficient, and a little bit more effective with a controlling shareholder.” According to the article by Goerge Szalai, “The acquisition is expected to yield "at least" $2 billion in cost savings "from efficiencies realized through the combination of businesses, and to be accretive to earnings before the impact of purchase accounting for the second fiscal year after the close of the transaction."
On the other end of the spectrum, a company like Facebook is going to struggle in 2018. This is because Facebook has been struggling in recent years to stay relevant in the age where new services and forms of social media are being created on a rapid basis, Consumers move from one special media platform to another very quickly. While Facebook has done a good job of supplanting itself as a staple in the social media networks, it has clearly seen a decline in usage rates among younger audiences as time continues to pass and new forms of media are created. Facebook has attempted to stay relevant with the addition of new Facebook services such as the marketplace, Facebook Live, and many revamping’s of the site in general, I believe it will be difficult for Facebook to continue to stay relevant without a major revolutionary addition to the social media world that has not yet been recognized.
Littleton , Cynthia, and Brian Steinberg. “Disney to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets for $52.4 Billion in Historic Hollywood Merger.” Variety, 14 Dec. 2017, variety.com/2017/biz/news/disney-fox-merger-deal-52-4-billion-merger-1202631242/.
DeleteSzalai, Natalie JarveyGeorg. “How Disney Will Benefit From Becoming Hulu's Majority Owner Via Its Fox Deal.” The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Dec. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-disney-will-benefit-becoming-hulus-majority-owner-fox-deal-1067567.
Bond, Georg SzalaiPaul. “Disney to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets, Including Film Studio; Bob Iger Extends Through 2021.” The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Dec. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-buy-21st-century-fox-assets-including-film-studio-bob-iger-extends-2021-1065347.
After taking a closer look at the readings assigned for the week, I was able to get a better idea of which media conglomerate is the best positioned for success. As stated in the articles, Disney has just purchased and is beginning to merge with 21st Century Fox which is a major deal for both companies. As well as this, Disney will also benefit from “Fox’s 30% stake in Hulu, 50% share of Endemol Shine Group, the Star India satellite service, and Fox’s 39% interest in Euro satellite broadcaster Sky.” (Littleton and Steinberg.)
ReplyDeleteAn organization that may be setting towards a decline in the media industry is Netflix. Netflix was one of the first streaming services to hit the market. In the beginning, netflix was limited to “DVD by mail” which essentially topped our previously famous blockbuster locations that were nestled into the corner of every town. In 2007, netflix introduced the streaming services portion of the company which was very new to the scene. Since then, a lot of companies like Hulu and Amazon video have duplicated those kinds of services and have been in constant competition. According to some, Netflix lacks the same kind of selection of its competitive counterparts and also has increased its prices after the long-time $7.99 per month price-point. While Netflix thrives on its original content, the success of Disney joining FOX may constitute a decrease in revenue for netflix because of their competition since Disney and other companies are grounding larger roots in the streaming industry. “A joint venture of Disney, Fox, Comcast and Time Warner, the platform has put a larger emphasis on spreading the wealth to its parent companies and establishing itself as a home for originals beyond library titles before it focuses on ownership.” (Goldberg.)
Goldberg, Lesley. “Where Streamers Get Their Original Content: Comparing Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.” The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Oct. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/streaming-services-get-original-tv-shows-movies-1045444.
Littleton, Cynthia, and Cynthia Steinberg. “Disney to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets for $52.4 Billion in Historic Hollywood Merger.” Variety, 14 Dec. 2017, variety.com/2017/biz/news/disney-fox-merger-deal-52-4-billion-merger-1202631242/.
A major media conglomerate that is best positioned to succeed in 2018 is Disney. Disney has been on the uprising buying 21st Century Fox. According to Variety, when the Disney company expands, another company will shrink (Littleton, Variety). Because of Disney becoming such a big company, 21st Century Fox will generate more revenue for the company. Disney will be able to gain more access to to overseas market with the Fox interest. Disney investing in Fox can also give them an opportunity to by Sky and gain a new settle in overseas division. Disney will also be able to benefit Hulu. Hulu’s company will grow dramatically because of the gain the company got from Disney. Also, Hulu will grow over Netflix because Disney is considering ending their license deal with Netflix.
ReplyDeleteA company that will face challenges in 2018 is Facebook. Facebook is starting to be on a downfall because of the other social media outlets that are on the up rise. Facebook has started to turn into a place that people go to watch videos and such and not a streaming service. Even though Facebook has acquired Instagram, they are facing challenges with staying relevant in today’s world while still trying to grow revenue. CNBC says that Facebook is struggling to get ride of “fake news” which has always been a big issue with social media platforms (Castillo, CNBC). Social media platforms have stepped up their way of people being able to communicate with other people. Where as Facebook has struggled with making it easier for people to communicate. In my opinion, Facebook isn’t as popular as other social media platforms. Every time I go on Facebook, all there is are videos rather than people posting about their day or other things like that. A lot of the videos tend to show fake news which people don’t like. Facebook will face challenges because of Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat becoming more popular everyday.
Sources:
Littleton , Cynthia, and Brian Steinberg. “Disney to Buy 21st Century Fox Assets for $52.4 Billion in Historic Hollywood Merger.” Variety, 14 Dec. 2017, variety.com/2017/biz/news/disney-fox-merger-deal-52-4-billion-merger-1202631242/.
Szalai, Natalie JarveyGeorg. “How Disney Will Benefit From Becoming Hulu's Majority Owner Via Its Fox Deal.” The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Dec. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-disney-will-benefit-becoming-hulus-majority-owner-fox-deal-1067567.
Castillo, Michelle. “Mark Zuckerberg's Personal Challenge for 2018: Fix Facebook.” CNBC, www.cnbc.com/2018/01/04/mark-zuckerbergs-personal-challenge-for-2018-fix-facebook.html.
Joseph Murphy
ReplyDeleteBased on the readings and what I learned from them the company that I think is poised to make a big push in 2018 is Disney. Disney is obviously a powerhouse brand in itself but more importantly the companies that Disney now has a controlling stake in. The one that I think is going to have the largest impact is Hulu. Netflix is pulling a lot of content to make room for Netflix originals and Hulu is grabbing that content. That is not the only thing that is positioning Disney to make a massive push in the New Year. The have a wide variety of media under their new umbrella. First they have the rights to massive cult following studios in Marvel and Star Wars, those movies will turn a profit no matter what you do because of the fan base. Disney also has cable television like ESPN and ABC, which are major players in the world of sports.
I think the media group that is in the biggest trouble is Facebook. Facebook is relying on its website and selling information. Their recent push to get into the world of television and independent content through Facebook via Facebook watch seems like a step in the right direction but a late push. The only way Facebook will compete on the streaming level is if they stream dynamite content to their viewers. Facebook will always survive through the selling of information and advertising. But in the arms race of content, Facebook will be left in the wake of the media titans that are making major pushes.
Selyukh, Alina, et al. “Big Media Companies And Their Many Brands - In One Chart.” NPR, NPR, 28 Oct. 2016, www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/10/28/499495517/big-media-companies-and-their-many-brands-in-one-chart.
Goldberg, Lesley. “Where Streamers Get Their Original Content: Comparing Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.” The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Oct. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/streaming-services-get-original-tv-shows-movies-1045444.
Szalai, Natalie JarveyGeorg. “How Disney Will Benefit From Becoming Hulu's Majority Owner Via Its Fox Deal.” The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Dec. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-disney-will-benefit-becoming-hulus-majority-owner-fox-deal-1067567.
Media conglomeration is ever more prevalent in todays society. It seems that everyday a large company purchases a much smaller one for billions of dollars. With the current media landscape, I feel that Comcast Corp./NBCUniversal is the best positioned to succeed. The variety of their media companies will help them reach a broader audience. Walt Disney Co. will be one of the front-runners but eventually will lose out to Comcast. The companies that Comcast own range from sports, to film production, even infamous “telenovelas.” They also hold stake in many companies with engaging content located on YouTube and elsewhere on the Internet. Many of the companies listed on Alina Selyukh’s article: “Big Media Companies And Their Many Brands — In One Chart,” hold stake in Hulu. The battle between Hulu and Netflix has intensified in past years as Hulu picked up many of the shows Netflix dropped. Comcast has the edge over Disney because they hold stake in companies like VOX, Tastemade, and Buzzfeed. These companies have their own websites but primarily post content of YouTube. With the new Youtube Red, and Youtube TV subscriptions, these already popular content creators will gain more views. “But as Netflix and others look to own more of their shows, YouTube (and Apple) could get a boost. ‘Netflix wasn't even in the original programming game four years ago,’ says BTIG's Greenfield. ‘If Apple wants to be a major player, if Google wants to be a major player, this is the beginning’ (Jarvey). Netflix and Hulu have their own shows but the market is relatively new. If these companies can succeed on YouTube, Comcast will benefit. The relationship between Comcast and Netflix has been a tense one. With the removal of “net neutrality,” it stands to get worse. To boost their own streaming Comcast was slowing down Netflix speeds (Goldman). They are clearly not afraid to limit media consumption and the policy change will facilitate this. Although Disney has their parks and resorts, Comcast Corp./NBCUniversal own universal parks. This will keep both companies competitive in this realm. Disney’ streaming service is planned to launch in 2019. I feel that it will have initial success but eventually will die out in popularity when people see it for the gimmick it is. The novelty of Disney streaming will ultimately lose out the broad spectrum of companies contained within Comcast.
ReplyDeleteJarvey, Natalie. “YouTube Grows Up: Inside the Plan to Take on Netflix and Hulu.” The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Oct. 2017, www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/youtube-grows-up-inside-plan-take-netflix-hulu-1045443.
Selyukh, Alina, et al. “Big Media Companies And Their Many Brands - In One Chart.” NPR, NPR, 28 Oct. 2016, www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/10/28/499495517/big-media-companies-and-their-many-brands-in-one-chart.
Goldman, David,“Slow Comcast speeds were costing Netflix customers.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, money.cnn.com/2014/08/29/technology/netflix-comcast/index.html.