HomeOPINIONGetting to the Core of Streaming: Apple vs Netflix

Getting to the Core of Streaming: Apple vs Netflix

By KYLIE POWERS
Contributing Writer

When the lazy mood strikes us, the first word that comes to many of our minds is undeniable- Netflix. Clicking that little red-and-white button can be a comforting way to end the night, or, sadly, to procrastinate doing something important. With it’s easy accessibility for a mere eight dollars a month, people can bond over their favorite shows and recommend series or movies to one another with the click of a mouse.However, with the recent announcement that Apple will produce a new streaming service to compete with Netflix, the race is on to see whether Apple is going to crush the popular streaming site or whether it itself will crash and burn in this new field.
It’s undeniable- Apple itself has become bigger than life. Now its mere name is mostly associated with excellent, ingenious products and sometimes a few annoying update notifications here and there. Some would even argue the popular company is a cult, with techies waiting in line for hours, even days, outside stores for the newest products, like an Apple watch or an iPhone 6.
There’s no doubt Apple is one of the most, if not the most, innovative companies of this century. Not only will Apple soon be releasing a streaming service that offers 25 channels from networks like Fox and ABC, but the company has also been in talks with Hollywood to buy existing material and movies. Like Netflix, they are also interested in producing their own shows.
This will take away some of the novelty of Netflix-created programs that can gained popularity solely on their own platform, examples of popular ones being “Orange is the New Black,” “Marvel’s Daredevil,” and more recently the sci-fi show “Sense8.”
It’s hard to tell if this move by Apple is the downfall of Netflix as a whole, especially since a source from Apple says its streaming development is in “its very early days.”
Netflix doubled its shares this year, but at the beginning of this week its stock sank 2 percent. We all know how much muscle Apple has with taking over new platforms. The recent release of Apple Music split Spotify’s music streaming base, and it could easily do this with the likes of Netflix or Hulu over time.
Many people say they spend more time looking for things to watch on Netflix than actually viewing the content, maybe due to the fact some personal favorites aren’t available. With Apple’s possibly infinite content from Hollywood studios, there will undeniably be a larger quantity of things to watch.
But that’s they key word- quantity. When I first heard of Apple’s move to create shows and stream them like Netflix, the first word that popped into my mind was “unnecessary.” An unnecessary quantity of streaming companies, all trying to elbow each other out when most people only really know Netflix and maybe Hulu.
If we take the Spotify’s example again, at one point, we all just had iTunes or a few Genius playlists, way back in the day. Now, for almost immediate music streaming, we have Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, Tidal, Google play, Amazon music, Jango, and Mixcloud. More and more services are being created, but many are doing almost the exact same thing.
I am curious to really see what Apple has planned for their streaming services to make it unique, after Netflix has their original shows and specials, Hulu mostly covers new episodes of current shows, HBO Go has a massive audience due to the intrigue of the mega-smash “Game of the Thrones,” and so on. The same goes for content-renting and buying online, such as Showtime Anytime, Youtube, Google Movies, Amazon Prime and Amazon Video.
I believe Apple has the motto, when it comes to their competitors, “anything you can do, I can do better.” This is based solely on the fact that if you put a lowercase “i” in front of the name of one of their products, or a little silver apple on it, anyone can be duped into buying it on the brand’s popularity alone.
It’s not just wild to think about Netflix being as much a thing of the past as MySpace or Napster. But not only will it change how we stream in our homes, but what about watching films for the first time? With Apple talking with Hollywood to create their new original content, does that mean one day I will see a credit at the beginning of a movie that says Apple Films Presents? (Of course, it is noted Steve Jobs was one of the main benefactors and driving forces in the creation of Pixar Animation Studios.)
With Netflix still hanging with popularity but dropping in stocks, it’s still a possibility Apple will dominate in this field of entertainment as well.
It’s very likely that with the creation of new streaming platforms, over the next few years cable television will become a thing of the past and be replaced with our own keyboards and screens.
However, I don’t believe Netflix will go down without a fight, considering Netflix owned 90 percent of the subscription-based streaming market in 2013.
And to be honest, Netflix has become culturally recognized as what to do in leisure time, practically becoming a verb in itself. Sometimes low-key plans for people can just be “Netflixing” for a few hours, due to its cheapness and accessibility.
Though making a name for itself in the streaming world won’t be difficult for the almighty Apple, breaking the routine for Netflix viewers might be.

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