The Streaming Wars

If there’s one thing most high schoolers have in common, it’s that they have a Netflix subscription. The streaming giant was a first mover in a now trillion dollar industry, and changed the way multitudes of people watch television. However, if there’s one thing Netflix has never had to face, it’s real competition.

Over the past few months, media companies such as Disney, AT&T, and Comcast, as well as tech companies such as Apple, have all announced plans to launch competing streaming services in the coming months at varying price points. With so many options, though, how many will stand out and succeed?

First, the much hyped Disney+, launching with most of Disney’s film archives (including movies from Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars) as well as some original shows, such as The Mandalorian, the first live-action Star Wars TV Series, is launching on November 12 for $6.99/month.

Another new service launching in the near future is Apple TV+, which includes shows from many high profile actors and filmmakers such as Jennifer Aniston, Steven Spielberg, and Jason Mamoa. Although it will only launch with an extremely limited variety of content, it makes up for it in it’s price at $4.99/month, as well as an introductory offer of 1 free year of the service with a purchase of a new Apple device.

HBO is also entering the streaming landscape with HBO Max, another new streaming service including content from HBO, Warner Brothers, TNT, DC, and other sources. It will also be the exclusive home of Friends after its pulled from Netflix later this year, as well as The Big Bang Theory, South Park, and Rick and Morty. The service starts at $15/month and launches in May of 2020.

Finally, NBCUniversal is launching a streaming service called Peacock (yes, you read that right) sometime in 2020, which will have shows such as The Office, which is also being pulled from Netflix at the end of 2020, as well as many other shows and movies. What’s different about this service is that it will be free (albeit ad-supported) with a paid, ad-free tier.

With this plethora of streaming services launching in quick succession, how many will actually survive? And how will the established streaming services, such as Netflix and Amazon, react to this new landscape?

HF Student Michael Panariello said “I think that due to the success of Netflix, these other companies are launching these services to not get left behind.”

The future of television has been found in streaming video. But with so many players, which services will float and which will flounder?