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Comment by Benjamin_Dobell | Hacker News Reader

The author seems to be unaware Netflix started preparing for this years ago[1]:

> the streaming-video giant put out nearly 90,000 minutes—close to 1,500 hours—of original series, movies, and other productions this year.

Maybe there is some concern about the quality of the content...

> In 2018, Netflix also became the first network in 17 years to dethrone HBO in Emmy nominations, and matched the premium-TV network in wins.

Netflix isn't going anywhere.

[1] https://qz.com/1505030/keeping-up-with-netflix-originals-is-...

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Everyone knows they prepared for it. But they also getting in tons of debt to create content with only one stream of income - subscriptions.

Disney+ and Hulu are just an additional income stream for Disney. They have so many ways to make money off of content and don’t need to get in debt to do it.

- broadcast TV

- cable TV

- physical sells of media

-National/international theatric releases.

- Rental/purchase video on demand

Sure Disney+ may “lose money” for the first five years, but how much of that “loss” is paying other units of Disney for content?

> with only one stream of income - subscriptions

That's not accurate. Netflix can and do license their Netflix Originals just the same as any other production studio. They just don't do so as frequently as streaming is a superior delivery platform (from their perspective) in terms of user lock-in & profitability (no middle men). Those latter two reasons are a strong driving force for why Disney (and prior to that Fox) have been moving into the space.

> getting in tons of debt

Do you have a source for this being a concern?

Everything I've ever read indicates their profits are soaring e.g.

- https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/NFLX/netflix/gross...

- https://www.marketwatch.com/story/netflix-is-growing-even-fa...

Granted, I can see there are articles regarding them being in debt:

- https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/is-netflix-in-debt-...

However, even that article ends with:

> SO IS NETFLIX’S DEBT EVEN THAT BIG OF A DEAL?

> Nope! Every company has debt. Apple boasts some $US100 billion in debt, Disney around $50 billion, and Amazon about $8 billion.

You’re really comparing Netflix with a total yearly net income of less than $1.5 billion with a total debt of 10.1 billion (https://ycharts.com/companies/NFLX/total_long_term_debt) to Apple with a total debt of $50 billion with a net income of $57 billion?

Apple borrowed money to pay dividends and stock repurchasing to get around repatriating income before the tax changes. Netflix is borrowing money to keep up with much larger studios.

People don’t buy Netflix Originals on DVDs like they do Disney properties. People are still buying Disney DVDs of movies released 50 years ago. Disney is moving into streaming as an additional source of income.

Most Netflix productions aren't really for me. After many disappointments I now see Netflix originals as something to avoid.

Complete opposite for me. I prefer Netflix originals to most mainstream channel shows.

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