Does Netflix's Licencing of Other Streaming Service's Shows Mean They've Won the Streaming War?

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Does Netflix's Licencing of Other Streaming Service's Shows Mean They've Won the Streaming War?

According to experts who closely follow what is happening in the entertainment streaming services sector, the fact that major streaming giants like Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery (owner of Max), Peacock, Apple+, and even Disney have recently licensed much of their original content to Netflix, means that this is the clearest indication that Netflix has officially won the streaming war. 

Let's dive straight in to discover more about the streaming wars to discover how true this bold statement is. 

Has Netflix won the streaming wars?

The quickest, easiest, and most accurate way to find out if Netflix has indeed won the streaming wars is to look at the hard data. For example, according to recent findings in late January 2024, Netflix's fourth-quarter earnings report revealed that around 13 million subscribers had joined the platform in the most recent quarter. 

The report also revealed that Netflix has earned over $5 billion in revenue throughout 2023. This report alone caused Netflix stock to climb more than 10%, reaching almost $545.00. 

When you combine this recent report with the fact that Netflix has obtained the licenses to stream original content from its major rivals, Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery, owner of Max (which was called HBO Max until 2023), Peacock, Apple+, and even Disney, we can safely say that Netflix has won the streaming wars, for the time being anyway. 

If online bookmakers like Unibet in Poland for example, had offered betting markets for who might have won the streaming wars, Netflix would have most likely NOT been the odds-on favourite, especially when many reports last year suggested that Netflix had lost millions of subscribers and was losing millions in revenue each month. 

Which original content that comes directly from the studios of its rivals has Netflix started showing?

If you have a Netflix account, you may have noticed certain shows appearing on Netflix over the past six months that you may never have expected to see, especially shows made by rival streaming sites. 

Examples of some of the content (series and movies) you can now find on Netflix after the company obtained the necessary licensing agreements from the respective parties are the following:

• Sex and the City

• Ballers 

• Band of Brothers 

• Aquaman

• The Batman

• The Dark Knight

• Star Wars

• Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) content

• Pixar content

This is some of their rivals' most popular original content. The fact that Netflix has acquired so much content from its rivals means streamers no longer need to subscribe to multiple sites to watch some of the world's most popular series and movies. It can all now be found on the Netflix website.

Just two years ago, licensing your best original content to a competitor was almost unheard of. It was what made the company stand out from its rivals. 

Things are different today. Streaming giants have been under pressure to prove they are generating revenue (or at least losing less money), and the only company to show such a turnaround is Netflix. 

Some companies who have handed in the towel in such a way have even said that it will be almost impossible to knock Netflix off its perch as the streaming wars champion. 

What is the most popular original content Netflix is well-known for?

Although Netflix has created a lot of content that has received overwhelmingly negative reviews and has licensed original content from its rivals, the company has produced several original series that were a massive hit with audiences around the world, such as The Witcher, Stranger Things, Squid Game, Wednesday, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, and Bridgerton. 

Netflix also produced several hit movies, such as Red Notice, Don't Look Up, Bird Box, Glass Onions: A Knives Out Mystery, The Gray Man, The Irishman, and The Adam Project, to name a few.