Netflix, one of the biggest online video streaming service companies in the world, will not be joining forces with Apple for its upcoming TV offering.
Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, announced this week that the company will not sell subscriptions to any of its shows through Apple's planned TV and video streaming platform. He said the company has decided not to integrate with Apple's new offering, preferring to let subscribers watch its content on Netflix itself.
"Apple's a great company," Hastings said. "We want to have people watch our shows on our services,"
Netflix's choice not to partner with Apple comes as no surprise, given that the two companies have already started to shore up their video streaming offerings for a potential head-to-head matchup.
Netflix Vs. Apple
Despite working closely on earlier projects, Netflix started to distance itself from Apple's ecosystem after news about the tech company's planned television and video service came out last year.
The popular streaming platform does not seem to be interested in adopting Apple's revamp of its TV application for iPhones, iPads, and Apple TV boxes.
It also stopped accepting Netflix subscriptions paid for in-app through the iTunes. By not using the App Store for new subscriptions, the company is able to avoid Apple's policies on revenue sharing.
Ted Sarandos, the chief content officer at Netflix, explained why the company has decided to move away from App Store use. He said the digital distribution platform was not an important source of revenue for Netflix.
Apple's Video Streaming Service
Apple is set to unveil its own TV and video streaming service on Monday, March 25. While no details have been made available yet, the new platform is expected to compete with similar services such as Amazon Prime, Disney, HBO, and Netflix.
Since Apple has yet to build up its library of original content, it is rumored that the video streaming service would offer subscriptions to shows from other networks and companies such as CBS, Viacom, and Lionsgate's Starz.
When asked about his thoughts on Netflix's new competition, Hastings claimed that the biggest challenge for the company is to stay focused but still be able to learn lessons from its rivals.
"These are amazing, large, well-funded companies with very significant efforts," the Netflix boss noted.
"They are going to do some great shows. I'm going to be envious. They're going to come up with some great ideas. We're going to want to borrow those."
He added that they will be able to make the video streaming industry better if they have great competitors.
Hastings has long been asked about competitors such as Amazon and HBO. He said that these streaming services have grown while Netflix has grown, which is why his company's success does not have to come at their expense.
However, it is unlikely that this will remain the same in the future. With more video streaming platforms entering the market, it will become more difficult for all of these services to maintain subscribers' interest in them.
Some people might want to subscribe to more than one service, such as Amazon Prime, Apple, CBS All Access, Disney Plus, HBO, Hulu, and Netflix. However, observers believe there will not be enough of those kinds of people around. Some video streaming platforms will simply not be able to win.
