Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters
Over the last three years, subscriptions made via third-party platforms like Amazon, Roku or YouTube have grown roughly 60 per cent, according to Antenna, with about a third of all new subscriptions now purchased this way.
Two years ago, Netflix told its shareholders that the company “already operates as a go-to destination for entertainment. Speaking on its latest earnings call, Netflix co-chief executive Greg Peters described the early results of a new partnership with French broadcaster TF1 as “very promising,” and signalled the company is open to striking similar deals elsewhere. “If we see additional deals that similarly serve our members, that work for our partner, that work for us, we’ll certainly consider them,” Peters said. Netflix’s moves have been more subtle than some of its rivals, but that could soon change. It marked Netflix’s first arrangement of its kind, and it appears to be a test case for something larger. A report by The New York Times cited three people familiar with the discussions, who said Netflix executives recently held talks with NBCUniversal and the Fox Corporation about bringing Peacock and Fox One to Netflix’s platform. However, the people warned that no deal is imminent, and that it remains unclear whether Netflix would absorb the outside content directly into its own service, as in a recent YouTube-Peacock arrangement, or instead act more as a retailer, similar to how Amazon Prime Video operates. Netflix is not alone in this pivot. For years, Amazon has persuaded tens of millions of people to use its Prime Video app to subscribe to other services, like HBO Max or Apple TV, and to watch shows like “The Pitt” or “Ted Lasso” from within the retail giant’s digital walls. People who pay for a commercial-free YouTube tier, for example, will soon have access to Peacock content like “The Traitors” and “Sunday Night Football” as part of a recent deal between the two companies. The push underscores a broader competitive shift among the titans of streaming television. Jonathan Carson, chief executive of Antenna, a subscription research firm, told the NYT. Consumers already appear receptive to managing their subscriptions through a single platform.
This made it clear that the streaming giant saw little need to feature rival services within its own app. Now, that position has softened considerably. In June, the company began streaming TF1 in its French markets, including a live feed of TF1 networks and on-demand programs. Now, other streaming leaders are sprinting to catch up. YouTube and Roku are racing to become one-stop shops for all the content people watch on their televisions. Companies that were once laser-focused on gaining new subscribers are now far more concerned with keeping those people watching as much as possible, and cancelling as little as possible. What were once described as the streaming wars have effectively morphed into bundling wars. The biggest streaming firms are no longer content to just have the most subscribers; they also want to be the main entry point to everything streaming has to offer. “The thing that matters is that when you turn on the TV, what app are you opening for the next three hours? Get the latest technology news and updates. Download the TOI App.