Analyst claims Apple’s upcoming video service can give Netflix a run for its money

Apple is set to launch its own video service in the coming year and according to Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, this would help grow the company’s services revenue in the coming years and make them pose a big threat against Netflix. She believes this service can generate over US$4 billion for Apple by 2025. In the coming year, she estimates that the company will generate $500 million from the service alone. While Apple’s catalog won’t be as expansive as Netflix, it still has a few advantages. Huberty says, “While not a first mover, Apple’s attractive and sticky customer set combined with low friction sign-up and payment system could drive users to its video platform, even with a less complete content portfolio vs. Netflix.”

And it seems Apple is even willing to take down its well-kept walls a bit by opening up its Apple TV app from its own hardware to Android devices and smart TVs—at least according The Information’s profile on Eddy Cue.

Source: 9to5Mac

Disney set to leave Netflix, plans to launch own streaming service in 2019

Looks like Disney wants a piece of the streaming service pie. The company plans to end its distribution deal with Netflix to launch its own service, which they plan to unveil two years from now and it’ll come first to the US and then internationally. It seems like a natural move for Disney with its big library of movies and shows to offer, which they’ve kept mostly close to their chest. The Netflix deal, which was secured back in 2012, only took into effect last year, so this is going to be a big blow to the streaming giant.

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Netflix plans to fill half of its catalog with originals in the coming years

Marvel's Luke Cage is a Netflix-exclusive show

In an effort to get more people to come and stay with its service, Netflix’s CFO David Wells talks about the streaming service’s plan to have at least half of its catalog be composed of its own original shows and movies in  the next few years. Netflix is supposedly “one-third to halfway” towards reaching that target. The service is steadily being known as home to a lot of acclaimed originals that are either made by Netflix themselves, co-produced with other studios, or acquired post-production. Wells says they’ll continue with this approach to reach that target. And if they’re able to get good content, this might help them keep subscribers on its service as other companies won’t have access to their exclusives.

Source: The Verge

Netflix helps manage your data use with new cellular data controls

Worried about exceeding your data cap or getting your line cut off because you spent too much time watching Netflix while on cellular data? The streaming service is introducing globally new data controls to help you manage how much you stream over data. The default setting will allow you to stream around three hours of TV shows and movies per gigabyte of data. When it comes to bitrates, this setting amounts to around 600 Kilobits per second, which Netflix says achieves a good balance between video quality and data usages. You have the option to set a higher or lower streaming quality but of course that also means better or less ideal streaming. You can set it to auto, as discussed earlier; low, which allows around four hours per GB of data; high, which allows one hour per GB of data; and unlimited for those with unlimited data plans. The last one promises to give you the highest quality possible, which also means it could use up like 1GB per 20 minutes or more depending on your device and network speeds. Of course, you can also turn this feature off and not stream over data.

To toggle these settings, simply head to the Menu icon and select App Settings. From there, head to Cellular Data Usage and then select the setting you prefer. If you set your data usage for all devices under the Playback settings on Your Account page, the streams on mobile devices will not exceed this setting.

Source: Netflix