If Netflix does, in fact, continue its slow implosion and disappear into the coldness of internet irrelevance, one question seems to be left unsaid: Who will take over where it left off? Who profits from Netflix’s demise the most?
According to Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne, cable and satellite companies should be celebrating right now. Describing Netflix’s stock collapse as “a day in the sun” for those companies, Swinburne writes that “Netflix’s subscriber slowdown and escalating content costs are a source of relief,” singling out Dish Network as the company with most reason to be cheerful:
“In the case of Dish, an emerging competitor to Netflix, Netflix’s execution missteps possibly open the door for Dish’s Blockbuster offering to take share.”
That’s arguably true, but in order for it to really make an impact, it would need to be available to those who aren’t already Dish subscribers. Without that, the Blockbuster Movie Pass is just a very nice value add to a package centered around the cords that people are always being rumored to want to cut.
(MORE: Cheat Sheet: How Bad Are Things for Netflix?)
The real question is, who will be the next Netflix, offering everyone the chance for streaming video on demand to computers, mobile devices and the like without the need for a cable connection? Here are some possibilities, and just how far from that dream they currently are.
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