Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings is known as an outspoken and humorous guy and he seems to be generous, too.
During the New York Times' DealBook Conference 2015, Hastings advised its competitors on how to position themselves in order to compete with Netflix's success.
In summary, they should find a way to bring all of the content that's currently offered to cable TV subscribers and give them the option to watch it online, wherever and whenever they please. If this sounds weirdly familiar, it is because Hastings simply described Netflix's modus operandi.
The leader of Netflix openly says that the TV Everywhere strategy is already being used by TV executives in office. However, a myriad of reasons contribute to its failure. If it succeeded, Netflix would be in trouble, Hastings affirms, but he doubts that this will come to pass.
During the DealBook Conference 2015, analyst Rich Greenfield asked Hastings what he would do if he were the 21st Century Fox chairman or the chief executive officer of Time Warner.
The Netflix CEO credited Jeff Bewkes, the CEO of Time Warner, with pioneering the TV Everywhere idea around eight years ago. Hastings continued by saying that the industry faces a great challenge in the fact that cable networks and distributors work in a "fragmented" way. The ecosystem has little chance to expand due to this situation.
Hastings further said the TV Everywhere program was a "fundamental threat," but failed to rise up to its potential. He realizes that access to the regular TV content at any hour and any place for the same subscription price tag can dent Netflix's appeal, but notices that the TV ecosystem has just been simply unwilling to do that, or hasn't found a way to pull it off.
At the same time, Hastings acknowledged the alpha potential of independent networks such as HBO or Showtime, which he believes are pack leaders when it comes to marketing content directly to the television consumer.
"That little niche has a protected system. But the big system has to figure out TV Everywhere to get relevant for the Internet," Hastings underlined.
Hastings is skeptical of the potential of big TV guys competing with on-demand content providers. Creating apps and offering digital subscriptions could be the first steps that big TV names take into becoming actual threats to Netflix.
