Netflix Results Threaten Quibi’s Existence

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By Douglas A. McIntyre Published
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Netflix Results Threaten Quibi’s Existence

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Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX | NFLX Price Prediction) posted an increase of 10 million subscribers in the most recent quarter. Its forecast was not as strong as Wall Street had hoped. The stock promptly crashed. However, the surge in subscribers was bad news for rivals. Consumers, in most cases, will only buy so many streaming services, either until the expense is too high or there are too many shows to watch. Battered startup Quibi may not be able to handle the strain. It is already in great trouble.

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How High Did Netflix Jump Compared to Competition?

Netflix paid subscribers reached 193 million, up from 183 million in the previous quarter. No other streaming service can match that, with the sole exception of Amazon Prime, although Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) does not break out the figure.

Another emerging winner in the industry is Walt Disney Co.’s (NYSE: DIS) Disney+, which has racked up over 50 million subscribers. Add to that Hulu, which has been in business for close to a decade. AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) has HBO Max. The list is long.

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The Netflix Advantage

One reason Netflix does so well is the hundreds of millions of dollars it spends on programming. Once again, its primary competitor in this regard is Amazon Price. Quibi has a large budget for new shows too.

Quibi has its own very short shows. The theory is that people want to watch programs that last 10 minutes. The company does not post subscriber figures, perhaps because its management is too embarrassed. They raised $1.75 billion, though. News reports indicate it started with a few million early subscribers, but not many of them renewed after their initial period when consumers could watch it for free. The Verge wrote about the extent of this subscriber loss: “Quibi reportedly lost 90 percent of early users after their free trials expired.”

Another sign of Netflix’s success is its huge revenue, which totaled $6.2 billion in the most recent quarter. That was up 25% from the year before. At its current rate of growth, its annual run rate of revenue is likely to be $30 billion. Its growth rate means it muscles out the growth opportunity of more and more of its rivals.

The Proof Is in the Stock

Quibi may have raised $1.75 billion, which probably put its valuation at the time at $10 billion. The value likely has plunged. Netflix’s is $232 billion. The price of its shares is up 62% this year. One reason is likely the rise in the streaming market as people have been shut in at home because of the pandemic.

Can any other streaming service compete with Netflix? With the exception of Amazon Prime, the answer is no.
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Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

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