According to reports, the online video industry in the United States has set off fierce competition for viewers and members. The latest data shows that in the fourth quarter of last year, the HBO Max platform of WarnerMedia in the United States increased by 1.3 million. U.S. memberships, which is equivalent to all of Netflix’s growth last year.
As a leading company in the original video industry, Netflix is facing challenges from the traditional film and television giants it once subverted, which will lead to sluggish growth of Netflix members in the United States and Canada in 2021. In the fourth quarter of last year, Netflix’s membership in the U.S. and Canada grew by 1.2 million to a total of 75.2 million, up from 73.9 million at the end of 2020.
In the past few years, traditional film and television giants have been marginalized in the online video market, but now these giants have launched their own video services to compete with Netflix. Over the past few years, companies like WarnerMedia (now part of telecom operator AT&T) and Disney have launched video services, each investing billions of dollars in original productions to attract members to sign up.
In the past few months, Netflix’s capital market value has evaporated by about 40% due to slowing user growth. However, in terms of the absolute number of members, Netflix is still the leader in the video industry, with 222 million members worldwide.
WarnerMedia owns well-known American film and television assets, such as the Hollywood studio Warner Bros. Pictures, as well as the 24-hour news channel CNN and the premium movie channel HBO. However, in the early days, HBO Max, launched by WarnerMedia, struggled in the video field.
This month, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said in an interview with the media that HBO Max is finally emerging in 2021 after taking off slowly. The service added 7 million members in the U.S. last year, including 1.3 million in the fourth quarter. Membership growth stems from the launch of a large number of high-quality programs, including Warner Bros.’s new movie Dune, and the new seasons of American TV series Succession and Uneasy.
HBO Max is still behind another Netflix challenger, Disney, in terms of membership numbers. Last October, the Disney+ video had gained 118 million global members. Globally, as of the end of last year, WarnerMedia’s HBO Max video and HBO premium channels had a total of 74 million members. According to the policy, subscribers of HBO premium channels can watch HBO Max videos for free and naturally become video members.
According to reports, AT&T, the parent company of WarnerMedia, recently announced its fourth-quarter financial results last year, with a total of $40.6 billion in operating income and $5 billion in net profit. Excluding the U.S. film and television business (which was divested in the third quarter of last year), AT&T’s full-year revenue rose 6 percent last year to $153.2 billion.
In May of last year, AT&T announced a major strategic adjustment, which is to transfer its film and television media business (including the Discovery Company) to the outside world and refocus on the traditional telecommunications business. In the construction of a 5G communication network, AT&T lags behind its rivals and needs to step up to catch up.
On Wednesday, AT&T CEO John Stankey (who will serve in the role since 2020) said the company is confident in its ability to compete in the 5G market, Our goal is to be the best 5G communications and fiber broadband provider.