Turki Al-Sheikh announces major development for Kingdom Arena    Commerce Ministry refers company director to public prosecution for suspected financial fraud    Death toll from Israeli attack on central Gaza jumps to 210    Torrential rain, dam overflow trigger flash flooding in Sydney    Former Apollo 8 astronaut dies in plane crash near Seattle    Mahd Sports Academy appoints Mike Puig as Deputy CEO for Sports    220 Saudi Girl Scouts to assist pilgrims in Makkah    Al-Jubeir leads Saudi delegation at high-level ocean action event in Costa Rica    Makkah deputy emir inspects Hajj terminals at Jeddah airport    227,000 rooms licensed in Makkah hospitality facilities, announces Tourism Ministry    Saudi Aramco announces final offer price for secondary public offering at SR27.25 per share    Saudi national football team wins 3-0 against Pakistan in World Cup qualifiers    Saudi Film Nights to be held in Sydney and Melbourne    Saudi Arabia sets up National Semiconductor Hub to attract SR1 billion investment    Eleven tons of rubbish taken off Himalayan peaks    Embracing change: A journey towards inner peace    Saudi Arabia plans to boost oil production capacity to 12.3 million bpd by 2028    Mohammed Al-Turki steps down as CEO of Red Sea Film Foundation    Cristiano Ronaldo hails 2023-24 RSL season as 'one of the best' of his career    Germany's head coach blasts public broadcaster for 'racist' survey    Climate protester sticks poster over Monet painting at Paris museum    JK Rowling in 'arrest me' challenge over hate crime law    Trump's Bible endorsement raises concern in Christian religious circles    Hollywood icon Will Smith shares his profound admiration for Holy Qur'an    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Apple may steal Netflix streaming crown, but only for a year
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 11 - 09 - 2019

Apple Inc's move to offer a free TV+ subscription for a year with every new device may briefly crown the iPhone maker as the biggest streaming service by user numbers, leapfrogging Netflix Inc.
But it doesn't mean Apple will keep the lead.
Under the company's plans announced on Tuesday, any purchaser of an iPhone, Macbook, iPad, or iPod Touch will now get the Apple TV+ streaming service free and will be charged $5 a month only if they decide to continue after the year is over.
Given Wall Street expects Apple to sell at least 130 million iPhones outside of China in the next 12 months, and that last year it sold more than 60 million Macbooks and iPads, that should allow TV+ to easily top Netflix's almost 160 million users.
Thereafter, however, all bets will be off, with Apple facing the same need for fresh shows to make subscribers pay, which drove Netflix to sink a reported $12 billion into new programming last year.
While the company has spent months assembling a roster of Hollywood talent and planned shows, analysts say the $2 billion Apple plans to spend this year is a long way from a guarantee of the hits it would need to pull in viewers, regardless of the cheaper $5 per month price tag for TV+.
"We believe Netflix's 10-year head start, scale, breath of content and customer engagement is unlikely to be dented by an Apple TV+ subscription service with a relatively light content slate and no library content," Credit Suisse analysts said.
The video streaming market is on the verge of becoming a very crowded space, with the new services from Apple and Walt Disney set to compete with Hulu, Amazon.com Inc's Prime Video and HBO Max.
Analysts say that will change the nature of a business where the relatively limited number of services and the idiosyncrasy of them - Prime for example is bundled with Amazon's free delivery service - meant users rarely had to choose.
Whereas Netflix in the past took content from a wide range of studios and networks, now many of them will have their own streaming services and keep franchises like, for example, the Marvel cinematic universe, to themselves.
Launching on Nov. 1 in 100 countries, Apple TV+ promises to launch a new show every week and has already announced drama "See" starring Jason Momoa, "The Morning Show," with Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, and "Helpsters," a children's series from the makers of "Sesame Street."
But that still leaves it way short of the 700 separate shows Netflix made last year, including dozens in the U.S. list of top 100 most-watched. The streaming pioneer also reportedly plans to up spending to $15 billion this year.
"Apple is primarily focused on selling subscriptions to other services (e.g. HBO, Showtime) and modestly focused on original content," said Daniel Morgan, a portfolio manager at Synovus Trust Company in Atlanta who currently owns Apple shares.
"It seems unlikely that new entrants such as Apple TV Plus will be able to find a footing given how crowded the field has become."
In that light, Apple's main focus with the project may prove to be as much keeping iPhone and iPad sales rolling as wading into a costly streaming war.
Analysts from another Wall Street brokerage, Wedbush, said Apple's base of 900 million global iPhone users could allow it to steal 100 million streaming subscribers within 3-4 years. But they also pointed to iPhone sales, particularly in China, as the company's bigger priority.
"Apple is offering Apple TV+ free for a year ... to help stimulate demand for its trifecta of (new) smartphones," Wedbush said. "Cook & Co. recognize this is a crucial product cycle." — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.