Alyssa Powell/Business Insider
- Netflix is about to face a bevy of new streaming-video competitors - some larger, with more experience developing TV and film, and with deeper pockets than itself.
- Disney, WarnerMedia, and Apple are all launching subscription services in 2019.
- Netflix is focusing on its growing international audience, building its reputation for Hollywood-grade films and children's programming, and inking distribution deals with more wireless and TV providers to keep growing its subscriber base, in spite of the new competition.
- Meet the executives, like Ted Sarandos, Greg Peters, and Bela Bajaria, who are leading these key initiatives and more.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Netflix hasn't won the streaming wars yet.
The subscription-video service has around 150 million members paying to subscribe to its library of series and films - an audience larger than the population of small islands like Aruba and Seychelles, and outstripping rivals like the US-based Hulu.
But legacy
Netflix is about to face a slew of new competitors - some larger, with more experience developing TV and film, and with deeper pockets than itself. Disney and WarnerMedia are launching new streaming services this year. Comcast's NBCUniversal has a service due out in 2020. And Apple is beginning to take streaming TV seriously with a new aggregation platform that hit this month and a subscription for original programming that rolls out in the fall.
Netflix may say it's not sweating its rivals. "Great competition makes you better," CEO Reed Hastings said on his company's earnings call in April.
But Netflix saw the way the wind was blowing in Hollywood long ago, when it first started developing content exclusively for its platform in 2011. It has been moving to fortify and grow its armada by poaching execs and creators from Hollywood studios ever since.
Read more: How Netflix is using companies like Comcast and T-Mobile to drive its next phase of growth
Netflix has been in most of the world since 2016. Many of its competitors will be launching their services in the US this year before expanding overseas.
Netflix's continued growth will depend on getting more people around the globe to buy into its vision for Hollywood-grade TV and film that is tailored to local audiences and languages before its rivals can catch up. The streaming service, which has already made a name for itself in TV, is also developing higher-profile and bigger-budget movies from directors like Martin Scorsese and Michael Bay to build its reputation in film. And, with Disney's family-friendly streaming service on the way, Netflix has taken steps to shore up its children's programming through the acquisition of kid's entertainment company Storybots.
Then there's Netflix's recommendation engine and platform, which is racing to make it easier for people to find something good to watch amidst the thousands of titles on Netflix, and make it easier for them to access the service wherever and whenever they want.
Meet the power players leading these key initiatives and more: