How Netflix won the streaming wars despite Disney, Apple, Warner Bros competition and 2023 strikes: home of Stranger Things, Squid Game has silenced critics
- When streaming competitors like Disney+ and Warner Bros Discovery’s Max were launched, Netflix looked to be in danger of losing subscribers
- Yet the company held on to its position as the leader in subscription streaming – how? Overseas production hubs such as in Korea, and a pivot to sport, helped
Four years ago, Netflix faced a formidable challenge to its dominance. Competitors including Walt Disney and Warner Bros Discovery invested billions of dollars to chip away at Netflix’s market share by launching splashy shows on their own streaming services.
But the tide has turned. Netflix has managed to maintain its position as the leader in subscription streaming, with 260 million paying customers worldwide, far more than its direct competitors. Netflix added more than 13 million subscribers during the fourth quarter of the last financial year.
As a result, many analysts have made a bold proclamation in recent months. The so-called streaming wars are over, they say. Netflix has won.
As evidence, they point to rival studios that are now licensing more of their programmes to Netflix, including HBO’s Six Feet Under and Insecure, after years of holding on to their big action movies and popular shows for their own platforms.
“Their competitors are so desperate to make money, they’re giving this content to Netflix,” says Jeffrey Wlodarczak, chief executive of investment adviser Pivotal Research Group. “This is what winning is.”
