Disney+ launched two days ago to more than 10 million signups, indicating the streaming wars are still gaining steam. As streaming services battle it out, technology and strategy consultant Michael Wolf says companies like Amazon and Apple, who can offer cross service bundles, will come out on top.
Amazon ($AMZN) and Apple ($AAPL) offer two services for streaming. First, the companies offer respective subscription services, but both also offer a "tax" on other services that use those platforms to stream. For example, the Apple TV app includes other, non-Apple subscription services, like Hulu and Netflix.
"The biggest winners ... the people who are going to make the most money, are going to be Amazon and Apple, because they're going to get this tax on everyone's [subscription] sold, with no cost attached to it," Activate's founder and CEO Michael Wolf told Cheddar in an interview Thursday.
Studios are spending billions of dollars for rights to new stories for original content. Almost 500 scripted shows came out in the U.S. in 2018, with the number likely to grow as new players enter the race this year.
"If you look at how people are signing up for these services, the great majority of signups for all the other services are going first through Amazon and then through Apple," he said. "Both Amazon and Apple are taking a hefty tax, over 30 percent of that revenue, every single month for selling those services."
Globally, internet and media businesses are expected to add $300 billion in growth dollars, according to Activate's new "Technology and Media Outlook" report. That number is growing faster than the GDP, according to the report, compiled with information from the International Monetary Fund, among others.
"We forecast that, within four years, the average American is going to be using five of these [streaming] services," Wolf said.
Major players in the streaming wars currently include Amazon's Prime Video, Apple's Apple TV+, and At&T's forthcoming HBO Max, but it remains to be seen which of the services consumers will turn to in the long run.
Wolf said he expects to see more bundling of services, like the Disney+ deal that includes Hulu and ESPN+.
His team analyzes consumer trends, technological innovations, and industry dynamics annually, compiling a "Technology and Media Outlook."
He called the report a "glimpse of how people will spend their time and money."
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
