Introduction
There are moments when every business or company has to face various difficulties related to the lack of customers, reduced income, and other problems. Moreover, it is rather often that an organization’s managers have to come up with different ideas that may help to increase the success and performance and to let the company stay competitive. This process is called innovation, which is the implementation, development, and creation of a new service, process, or product with the purpose of improving the competitive advantage, effectiveness, and efficiency of a business. The purpose of this paper is to discuss ten articles that describe several situations that Apple Inc., Netflix Inc, and some other companies were facing in 2018.
Main body
Times tend to change, and most alterations make it necessary for companies to adapt to people’s new tastes and preferences. It is neither good nor bad, it is a process that indicates the development and cannot be stopped or avoided. Thus, one of the spheres where changes have happened is television. Interestingly, but most children and teenagers do not even know that the possibilities of TV were different not so long ago. Their parents and grandparents used to watch movies on videotapes or wait for a certain amount of time when it is feasible to watch their favorite cartoons on a particular television channel.
Cable and satellite TV appeared, and it became easier to enjoy one’s favorite films and programs. However, nowadays, online streaming soars, and companies like Netflix keep luring customers from satellite and cable (Brodkin, 2019). This process is called cord-cutting; in 2018, it continued at a steady rate and made American TV providers lose more than three million video subscribers (Brodkin, 2019). There are several reasons for that to happen, and a number of companies leading in this process.
To begin with, it is evident that fewer and fewer people are interested in watching movies. Those who used to love television are adults now and have to work most of the time. On the contrary, the new generation spends time on playing video games, communicating on social networks, and uploading photos to Instagram. However, if teenagers or their parents decide to watch a film, they prefer using the internet and seeing it online without wasting time on waiting and advertisement (Sherman, 2019). It helped people to realize that there is a need for innovation, and online streaming companies appeared.
Many companies that are known all around the world consider innovation as a way to improve performance and attract more consumers. For example, most people know Apple Inc. as an American multinational technology company that sells, develops, and designs computer software and consumer electronics. However, it was teasing investors for several months about its goal of becoming a services company (Roberts, 2019). Finally, all that was needed is for Hollywood to sign up, and Apple Inc. was ready to showcase plans for innovative news and video products. According to Shaw, Gurman, and Verhagehe (2019), the company’s leaders and managers realized that unveiling “a long-awaited streaming service and magazine subscription bundle” was necessary to increase its performance. They even developed specific plans on how to take on competitors like Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.
Another way of making a company more successful and competitive is to unite with a similar organization. Such a decision may foster productivity, increase profits, draw the public’s attention, and provide fertile ground for innovative ideas. For example, in 2019, such a union was initiated by Cinedigm, the entertainment distributor and digital-network operator. The company decided to make “a big new leap into online video” and acquire a video-platform company Future Today (“Cinedigm to acquire future today,” 2019). Both of these companies are rather famous and successful, and working together will let them increase their power. For instance, after uniting, Future Today is expected to dramatically expand its OTT footprint and bring more than five million monthly active users (“Cinedigm to acquire future today,” 2019). Cinedigm’s leaders are sure that this deal will immediately accretive to the earnings of both companies.
It is interesting, but separation is another way of popularity and competitiveness that works no worse than uniting. For instance, instead of paying attention to innovation, Disney decided to bet hard on its exclusivity (Alexander, 2019). Due to the fact that the leading proponent in Disney’s business strategy is its multigenerational brand recognition, the company paid $150 million to remove its cartoons and movies from Netflix (Zanoni, 2019). Soon, its films will be only available to stream on Disney+ (VanDerWerff, 2019.) The confidence in this TV network’s success comes from the company’s unmatched ecosystem to market the service, significant premium content, and unique brand recognition.
Conclusion
Netflix Inc. is an American media services provider and production company that has increased its popularity and power over the past five years. Even the RTL Group CEO Bert Habets admitted that Netflix is one of the top two streamers (“Europe’s RTL Group to Invest,” 2019). One of the reasons it is so popular with journalists, analytics, and media tracking firms is that it is rather secretive about viewership data (Atkinson, 2019). It is a perfect and innovative way to mislead critics and competitors.
References
Alexander, J. (2019). Disney is ending its vault program, giving Disney+ a huge boost in the streaming wars. Web.
Atkinson, C. (2019). Netflix is sitting on a data goldmine — and it’s starting to give us a peek. Web.
Brodkin, J. (2019). Cable and satellite TV sinks again as online streaming soars. Web.
Cinedigm to acquire future today, ad-supported VOD channel network, in $60 million deal. (2019). Web.
Europe’s RTL Group to Invest $400 Million in Expanding Its Streaming Services. (2019). Web.
Roberts, D. (2019). Roku is a very attractive acquisition target in the streaming wars. Web.
Shaw, L., Gurman, M., & Verhage, J. (2019). Apple courts HBO and Showtime for service to challenge Netflix. Web.
Sherman, A. (2019). The future of cable may be no TV at all, as one small company from Arizona shows. Web.
VanDerWerff, E. (2019). The future of streaming is the cable bundle. Web.
Zanoni, D. (2019). Netflix: Is Disney a threat?. Web.