Netflix CEO Flexes, Says ‘Fortnite’ Is Bigger Competitor Than HBO
Written by SOURCE on January 18, 2019
Netflix is really feeling itself.
After hiking up its subscription prices earlier this week, the streaming giant’s CEO Reed Hastings boasted about how the company is now so huge in the world of entertainment that it no longer considers companies like HBO and Disney its main rivals.
“We compete with (and lose to) Fortnite more than HBO,” Hastings said during Netflix’s fourth-quarter earnings interview, according to Deadline. “I think of it as us winning time away–entertainment time–from other activities. So instead of doing Xbox and Fortnite or YouTube or HBO or a long list, we want to win and provide a better experience, no advertising, on demand, incredible content.”
There’s no doubt Netflix is taking up a lot of our damn time as it nears 150 million subscribers. The company has been tweeting out staggering stats on some of its latest hit shows. Bird Box was reportedly viewed by 80 million users. Both You and Sex Education have been watched by over 40 million households. It’s worth noting that Netflix considers an episode as “viewed” if at least one episode has been watched at least 70 percent of the way through, per Deadline.
Disney’s forthcoming streaming service, Disney+, also doesn’t seem to scare Netflix.
“Disney has great content and we’re excited about their launch and, you know, maybe they grow over a couple of years to 50 hours,” Hastings said. “We compete so broadly with all of these providers that any one provider entering only makes a difference on the margin. So that’s why we don’t get so focused on any one competitor. I really think our best way is to win more time by having the best experiences in all the things that we do.”
Fine Netflix, you win.
