
Netflix says Fortnite is bigger competition than HBO or Hulu - magoghm
https://www.polygon.com/2019/1/17/18187400/netflix-vs-fortnite-hbo-hulu-competition
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JimBrimble35
Maybe I'm an outlier in how I use streaming services, but I don't really
understand why "Consumer Screen Time" is their most valuable metric. Whether
I'm playing Fortnite or not my Netflix account is paid for and waiting. I keep
it around for kids shows, or for breaks when I want to stream something
instead of gaming. Some months I stream more than others, but I _maintain_ my
subscription because it serves me when I need it.

This looks like spin to me. I'm much more likely to cut off my subscription
due to a lack of satisfying content than distraction by other sources of
entertainment. That's probably the message they are trying to push to the
background with this "Consumer Screen Time" metric. As content competition
increases with other established producers, the likelihood that Netflix
original content will be enough for current customers to maintain their
subscriptions is reduced. Netflix originals already tend to have a specific
"flavor" which I'm not particularly fond of.

There's only enough room in my media budget for one, maybe two services, so
whichever one has the content I want gets my money.

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nlawalker
>> _I 'm much more likely to cut off my subscription due to a lack of
satisfying content than distraction by other sources of entertainment._

I think their viewpoint is that "amount of satisfying content" is a metric
that is purely relative to everything else out there. A complete global
monopoly on all passive viewing content wouldn't help them if the entire world
has moved on to Fortnite and video games in general for their entertainment.

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JimBrimble35
But are people actually cutting their Netflix subscriptions because they play
so much fortnite? I get that the game has a widely varied demographic, but I
would assume that a majority of people putting in large amounts of "Consumer
Screen Time" are probably still dependents of their parents, who likely
maintain a household media streaming subscription of some kind.

I can't imagine that instances of people cutting out media streaming entirely
in favor of gaming are significant enough to pose the kind of threat that
Netflix is stating. If so, HBO and Hulu and all the others are in similar
peril and the entire entertainment economy is due for unprecedented upheaval.

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ConceptJunkie
If I'm playing a game, I usually have the TV on anyway, and I watch plenty of
Netflix.

I have no interest in playing Fortnite, but I wouldn't mind developing a game
called Sennite, just because almost no one would get the joke.

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konschubert
This is the same joke they already made when they said that sleep is their
strongest competition.

It’s false of course. Netflix has actual competitors. And a real threat in the
fragmentation of the video content market

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alexgmcm
As a Netflix subscriber I'm far more concerned about Disney etc. launching
their own services and pulling their content than I am by Fortnite.

I think the Balkanisation of streaming is what will be the challenge.

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jszymborski
Right, but I think Netflix will be less likely to admit that given that it's
the more probable outcome.

If Fortnite is their largest competition then I, as a hypothetical
stakholder/investor, am not going to be entirely concerned, since it seems
unlikely that it'll actually have an effect.

Then again, there are some thinking people who might think that if this
analysis might betray some backwards internal understanding of the company.

