Netflix

Posted on December 1, 2014 by ptharami

by Paul Haramis

Netflix Logo – Courtesy of pr.netflix.com [1]

Corporate Headquarters [2]

100 Winchester Circle, Los Gatos, CA 95032

Phone: +1 (408) 540-3700

www.netflix.com

Key Executives [3]:

Reed Hastings, Founder and CEO

David Wells, Chief Financial Officer

Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer

Neil Hunt, Chief Product Officer

Greg Peters, Chief Streaming and Partnerships Officer

Tawni Cranz, Chief Talent Officer

History [4]:

http://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/netflix-envelope-e1329161999677.jpg

Netflix didn’t offer streaming services until 2007 – Photo courtesy of qualitylogoproducts.com

Reed Hastings founded Netflix in 1997 with Marc Randolph [4]. The company was initially founded to offer online movie rentals. Customers would select a movie from the database and have it shipped directly to their home. In 1999, the company introduced monthly subscriptions, a format that the company still uses today. In 2002, Netflix first became available to the public on the NASDAQ. In 2007, Netflix began its streaming service, which has allowed the company to see exponential growth. Today there are more than 53 million members of Netflix, all of whom are scattered around the globe.

Financials [5]:

Courtesy of Google Finance

The third quarter was disappointing for Netflix as it fell short of its internal projections. They believed they would make around $1.41 billion dollars, but instead made around $1.22 billion dollars [4]. This is largely due to new subscriptions coming in at 980,000 as compared to the 1.3 million they projected. One of the biggest factors for the lower than anticipated new subscribers is believed to be the rise in price for a monthly subscription. The price rose from $7.99 a month to $8.99 a month. As part of their damage control, Netflix said that sometimes they over-predict their growth and sometimes they undersell it. This was to much avail as Netflix saw a 25% decrease in their stock after their third quarter earnings were released [6]. Some entrepreneurs saw this as an unbelievable opportunity. Netflix addressed fears that this was due to competition by saying, “Since our per-member viewing and retention in the US are as strong as ever, we don’t think increased competition from piracy, TV Everywhere, Amazon Prime Instant Video, Hulu, etc., is a major factor” [5]. This still didn’t prevent stock from dropping another 4% when HBO announced that HBO Go will be offered as a stand-alone streaming service and users won’t need an HBO cable subscription [5]. Netflix has been predicting this since 2011 and believes that since the content available on both is different, that both companies can continue to grow moving forward [5].

Original Content:

Netflix’s original content continues to be extremely strong and Netflix responded by creating additional new content as well as renewing current shows. In the third quarter, Netflix released an adult animated show “BoJack Horseman” as well as two new seasons of their hit shows “Orange is the New Black” and “The Killing” [5]. In addition, today Netflix announced that season 3 of the hit-show House of Cards, will be premiering on February 27, 2015 [7].

According to a Centris survey, 72% of domestic subscribers have watched some type of Netflix original programming [8]. This is up 15% from the first quarter of 2014 and is a great sign for Netflix that their subscribers are at least sampling their original programming. In another survey conducted for Netflix, 57% of subscribers stated that “original content was ‘extremely important,’ ‘quite important,’ or ‘moderately important” [8]. This information has pushed Netflix to churn out more original programming as they have a new show, “Marco Polo” set to release on December 12th. Netflix has reportedly spent $90 million dollars on the production of the show, which is expected to rival HBO’s hit show, “Game of Thrones” [9].

Netflix also recently announced that they will be creating an original series based on Lemony Snicket’s, “A Series of Unfortunate Events.” The books were international best sellers and the move allows Netflix to broaden its content reach with original programming [10].

Innovation

Netflix continues to innovate to make their product better and more expansive. This past quarter, Netflix has taken a number of big steps. The first was the completion of a four-year long project to switch over to HTML5 streaming [11]. The move should increase their streaming services as they will prevent users from having to download Microsoft Silverlight to stream Netflix. One of the most important tools for Netflix is their personal recommendations tool. This suggests new shows to users based on their previous shows and allows subscribers to keep watching new content. Netflix is continually testing new algorithms to improve this service and recently introduced a new feature that recommends shows based on characters from their original programming [12]. For example, subscribers can see programs recommended by Claire Underwood.

Photo courtesy of zap2it.com

This is a new way that Netflix believes it can keep pushing content on subscribers and keep their strong retention rate. The biggest innovation that Netflix made in the third quarter was their announcement of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 2 straight to Netflix and select IMAX theaters [13]. This has several theater chains up in arms as they wonder about the potential future repercussions. Netflix also struck a deal with Adam Sandler and Happy Madison Productions to produce four movies released straight to Netflix [14]. It will be interesting to see if this causes a rise in subscriptions to view content that is exclusive to Netflix. It will also be interesting to see how many viewers the films get as Nielsen recently announced they will begin to track online viewing [15]. Netflix has refused to show viewership in the past as a way to alleviate pressure from its programming. It will be interesting to see how the new Nielsen ratings will effect the recent proclamation made by CEO, Reed Hastings this past weekend [16].

Global Expansion

The ultimate end goal for Netflix is to be a wide spread global company. In this past quarter, Netflix has made big strides in achieving that goal.

Photo courtesy of static.amigobulls.com

Earlier in the quarter, Netflix officially launched in six new European countries: France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and Luxembourg [17]. This launch opened up Netflix to 63 million potential new households [17]. To accommodate the new European countries, many local and European content have been added to the database, as well as the addition of subtitles or dubbing European language over some current American content [17]. In the past two weeks, Netflix announced they will be launching in Australia and New Zealand in March 2015 [18]. The move pushes the number of countries and territories that Netflix is in over 50 [18]. Netflix will continue to grow that number as they expand globally.

Overview and Moving Forward:

Overall, despite failing to reach their projections, this has been an extremely successful quarter for Netflix as they continue to expand in both subscriptions and capabilities. It will be extremely exciting to tract their growth in the new year!

Sources:

[1] Netflix Logo, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved: November 29, 2014

[2] Company Overview, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved November 29, 2014

[3] Netflix: Officers & Directors, Officers & Directors, Retrieved: November 29, 2014

[4] Company Timeline, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved: November 29, 2014

[5] Letter to Shareholders, Quarterly Earnings, Retrieved: November 29, 2014

[6] Netflix Stock is Down 25% on This One Key Number in Earnings, MoneyMorning.com, Retrieved: November 29, 2014

[7] Netflix Announces ‘House of Cards’ Season 3 Premiere Date, Entertainment Weekly, Retrieved: December 1, 2014

[8] Netflix U.S. Viewership of Original Series Surges in Q3: Study, Variety, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

[9] Netflix is Creating One of the Most Expensive TV Shows in the World – Here’s Why It’s So Important, Business Insider, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

[10] Netflix to Adapt Lemony Snicket’s ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ into an Original Series, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

[11] Netflix Goes HTML5 for Laptop Streaming, ZDNet, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

[12] Netflix Uses its Fictional Characters for Recommendations, Netflix Life, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

[13] Netflix Announces First Original Movie, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

[14] O’Doyle Rules! Adam Sandler Heads to Netflix, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

[15] Nielsen Plans to Track Netflix, Amazon — And It’s a Big Deal, Forbes, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

[16] Netflix CEO Reed Hastings says Cable TV Will be Dead by 2030, MSN, Retrieved: December 1, 2014

[17] Netflix Now in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and Luxembourg, Netflix Media Center, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

[18] Netflix, Inc. Heads to the Land Down Under, Nasdaq, Retrieved: November 30, 2014

Verizon

Posted on October 5, 2014 by lashaw01

by Lauren Shaw

Verizon Communications

Company Logo, click to go to website.

140 West Street

New York, NY 10007

www.verizon.com

Executives [1]

Courtesy of verizon.com

Lowell C. McAdam, Chairman & CEO

Courtesy of verizon.com

Roy H. Chestnutt, Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer

Courtesy of verizon.com

James J. Gerace, Chief Communications Officer

Courtesy of verizon.com

Roger Gurnani, Executive Vice President & Chief Information Officer

About [2]

Courtesy of wikimedia.org

Verizon Communications is a major media conglomerate that provides broadband and other communication services to consumer, business, government, and wholesale customers. The company is known for its wireless services, providing a reliable wireless network for its 98 million customers nationwide.

: Courtesy of fool.com

Verizon FIOS is one of the company’s major departments that provides a telephone service, digital TV, and high speed Internet over a single fiber optic cable. Fios customers gain access to over 575 digital TV channels, with over 160 channels being High Definition. FiOS also offers over 18,000 movies on demand.

History [3]

Launching in 2005, Verizon FiOS was originally just available to 9,000 customers in Keller, Texas. With the addition of DVR in 2006 and High Definition in 2008, Verizon grew to eventually becoming a leading television distribution company, with around five million customers and availability in 18 million homes in 16 states, as of May 2013. Their top markets are New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Boston, with New York having 1,305,440 subscribers and Boston having 343,535 subscribers. (As of 2013)

Courtesy of creoleindc.typepad.com

Financials

On October 21, the company released their third quarter earnings report. Although more customers were added, Verizon Communications saw a decline in profit. Third quarter net income was $3,794 million, which is a drop from the $5,578 million in 2013’s third quarter. [4] More specifically, the companies Wireline segment had a total revenue of $9.576 million, which is a 0.8% decrease from last year. [6] However, FiOS video subscriber base went up 7% from last year to 5.533 million (adding a net 114,000 subscribers). In addition, broadband connections increased 1.7% from last year to 9.146 million.[5] Although the company is falling short of profit expectations, it seems as though they can detest their revenue drive to FiOS, as FiOS represented 74% of the company’s total revenue during the first quarter of 2014, and is continuing to do so. [7]

FiOS TV Interactive Media Guide

Courtesy of verizon.com

There are many changes being brought to FiOS that may explain its success for the company. Verizon has revamped its FiOS TV Interactive Media Guide for TV and mobile, improving the personalization, management abilities, and user interface for customers.[8] Customers will now receive search results and recommendations for shows and movies based on their viewing behavior. Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews and FiOS TV star ratings will also appear when customers are viewing specific content via their guide, with cast and crew biographies as well. [8] The new changes also come with a “My FiOS TV” feature that connects users to social media. [9]

Courtesy of verizon.com

Customers can see what’s being discussed about their favorite shows via Twitter.[9] These new changes are one of many incentives from the company to try and meet the demands of consumers and their reliance on media. These changes offer a comparison to one of Verizon’s competitors Comcast, and its recently upgraded mobile user interface with similar user-friendly personalization updates.[9]

TV Everywhere

Courtesy of bidnessetc.com

The company is not only updating its guide to keep up with consumer’s growing reliance on media and need for entertainment on multiple platforms. In October, the company renewed its carriage agreement with Viacom. [10] These new agreements seem to meet the demands of people’s need for ‘TV Everywhere.” Soon, Verizon customers will be able to stream Viacom programming in and out of their homes. [10] Viacom content such as music and entertainment programming will be available 24/7 on multiple platforms and will include 25 Viacom networks such as MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central. [11] This agreement not only allows customers to gain access to live and on-demand content through the FiOS mobile App, but gain access to Video On-Demand content through various Viacom TV Everywhere websites and Apps as well. [11]As the industry is moving toward more content on mobile, the company is trying to keep up and avoid loosing subscribers by providing opportunities such as these to provide more TV Everywhere options.

Courtesy of digitalhollywood.com

“People want to watch TV anywhere, not just in their living rooms. Disruption in the TV marketplace is happening and Verizon wants to reach agreements with content providers like Viacom that reflect that reality and give people what they want. We are thrilled to extend our long-term distribution partnership with Viacom Media Networks, delivering some of the most recognizable and popular kids, music and entertainment programming available to our customers anytime, anywhere on a variety of platforms from TV to wireless. “-Ben Grad, Verizon’s executive director of content strategy & acquisition [12]

FiOS Quantum Gateway

In addition to consumer’s need for entertainment in a variety of platforms, consumers also want their content as fast as possible. After complaints of slow download speeds over the summer, specifically when streaming Netflix, it seems as though the company is approaching these problems with the launch of FiOS Quantum Gateway.[13] (released in November 2014)

For customers with multiple devices in their homes who frequently stream videos, the Quantum Gateway, which was released at the beginning of the month, should improve speeds and cut down download time for its subscribers. [13] This goes along with Verizon’s “speed match” campaign, which promises to match all customers upload speeds to its download speeds by the end of the year for free. [14] These new features will hopefully improve user experiences for all FiOS customers and create an advantage over its competitors, as other distribution companies are attempting to improve speeds as well.[14]

Stopping the Cord-Cutters from Cutting this Holiday Season

Courtesy of bidnessetc.com

With more and more ways to view content online, Verizon needs to promote competitive advantages to prevent the cord-cutters from actually cutting, and thus loosing customers for Verizon. Just in time for the holiday season, from now until January 17th, customers can purchase FiOS Triple Play package (high-speed internet, phone, and TV) for only $59.99 a month, and get a full year of Netflix free. [15] Not only does this provide a popular package for a much cheaper price, but includes Showtime, HBO, and free Netflix, all of which are usually the reason for cord-cutters to begin with.[16] This bold move of including competitive companies in a much cheaper package should attract millennials who would have previously been turned off to paying for an expensive cable package.[16] 2015’s first quarter earnings report will provide an answer as to whether this unique package paid off for Verizon as a whole.

Looking Towards The Future

As 2014 comes to an end, consumers should prepare for more TV Everywhere opportunities from Verizon, as well as more user-interface and personalization changes to FiOS. [17] Verizon customers should look out for the possibility of a wireless internet pay TV service and FiOS Custom Channels, both which would be released sometime in 2015. [17]

Sources

[1] “Executive Bios” .verizon.com RT: 11/28/14

[2] “Verizon At a Glance” .verizon.com RT:11/28/14

[3] “History & Timeline” .verizon.com RT: 11/28/14

[4] “Verizon Misses on Q3 Earnings, Revenues” .zacks.com October 21, 2014 RT: 11/29/14

[5] “Verizon adds 1.5 Million Customers, But Misses on Profit Expectations” .dailytech.com October 22, 2014 RT: 11/29/14

[6] “Verizon Reports Strong Customer Additions” .prnewswire.com RT: 11/29/14

[7] “FiOS Drives Revenue Up, But Earnings Fall Short of Expectations” .forbes.com April 24, 2014 RT: 11/29/14

[8] “Verizon Revamps FiOS TV Guide” .bidnessetc.com October 1, 2014 RT: 11/28/14

[9] “Verizon Freshens Up FiOS TV Guide” .multichannelnews.com September 30, 2014 RT: 11/28/14

[10] “Verizon FiOS and Viacom Renew Carriage Agreement” .marketwatch.com October 1, 2014 RT: 11/29/14

[11] “Verizon FiOS, Viacom Strike New Carriage Deal” .broadcastingcable.com October 1, 2014 RT: 11/29/14

[12] “Verizon, Viacom Strike New Carriage Deal” .multichannelnews.com October 1, 2014 RT: 11/29/14

[13] “Verizon FiOS Launches Souped-Up Broadband Gateway” .multichannelnews.com October 3, 2014 RT: 11/29/14

[14] “Verizon’s Pitch: Upload Speeds to Match Download” .wallstreetjournal.com August 25, 2014 RT: 11/29/14

[15] “Verizon Trial: 1 Year Free Netflix to FiOS Triple Play Users” dslreports.com October 27, 2014 RT: 11/29/14

[16] “Verizon FiOS Bows Cord-Cutter Plan with Netflix, HBO, Showtime” .homemediamagazine.com November 19, 2014 RT: 11/29/14

[17] “Verizon CEO Says He’s Weighing A Wireless Internet Pay TV Service” .deadline.com March 4, 2014 RT: 11/29/14

DirectTV

Posted on October 5, 2014 by Nicholas Sabatino

by Nick Sabatino

Photo courtesy of www.interpretllc.com [1]

Contact Information

Headquarters: 2230 E. Imperial Hwy, El Segundo, CA 90245 Phone: (310) 964-5000 [2] Facebook: DirecTV Twitter: @DirecTV

Executives

President and CEO: Michael White Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer: Patrick T. Doyle Executive Vice President and President, DirecTV Latin America: Bruce B. Churchill [3]

President and CEO, Michael White
Photo courtesy of investor.directv.com [4]

About

DirecTV was founded in 1990 and was one of the country’s first satellite-cable providers. DirecTV offers quality television with a variety of channels, including many high definition (HD) channels. There are hundreds of channels on DirecTV and the number of channels a customer receives depends on the package that the customer buys. However, not only does DirecTV provide cable, they also provide On-Demand services, HD DVR products(recording devices) called Genie [5], and “TV Everywhere” applications so that you can enjoy your television shows or movies when you want, where you want, and on what device you choose.

DirecTV’s Genie: HD DVR
Photo courtesy of www.directv.com [6]

DirecTV is a satellite-cable provider, this means that instead of just having a cable box attached to your television inside of your home, DirecTV puts a satellite dish on top of your home. Appearance is mostly the only major difference. However, DirecTV has benefits over other cable providers. DirecTV is rated #1 in overall customer satisfaction, and has been ahead of cable for the past 14 years [7].

Financials

DirecTV offers its services in the United States and in Latin America. The company currently has over 37 million subscribers in these areas, and their revenues totaled about $30 billion dollars in 2013 [8]. DirecTV is a multi-billion dollar company traded publicly on the NASDAQ with the ticker symbol DTV. Their stock currently has a volume of 899,268 and it is being traded at $87.71 per share [9]. Over the past four years DirecTV has seen a substantial increase in subscribers. With that, came an increase in their stock value. Since 2010, DirecTV’s stock has rose about 60 points and it keeps steadily going up over time. These numbers are very good for DirecTV and proves that they are becoming more successful as a company and more people are choosing their product over others.

DirecTV stock over the last four years Photo courtesy of investor.directv.com

DirecTV’s stock price over the last four years
Photo courtesy of investor.directv.com [10]

AT&T Merger

In May of 2014, DirecTV proposed a deal to AT&T to join companies and create a merger. With this merger, AT&T could improve the services that DirecTV already has. AT&T would focus on improving the Internet quality in many areas of the country that DirecTV does business [11]. With improved Internet, customers would be able to get better access to On-Demand and Pay-Per-View options that DirecTV offers. It would also better allow for the DirecTV app to be on products such as iPads and iPhones that are contracted under AT&T service, so that DirecTV can be at your fingertips wherever, and whenever you want it to be. This is the concept of “TV Everywhere.”

Over the past few months, the merger has been overseen by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Justice Department over the legality of this merger. On November 20, 2014, DirecTV’s CEO, Michael White, said the deal should be approved next year. With this approved merger it is uncertain if DirecTV’s sales will go up. In a perfect market, the merger would cause an increase in the stock price of both AT&T and DirecTV. However, if one of the two company’s stock price starts to fall, being that both companies are in a merger, investors will sell their stock from the attached company and then both companies will have a decrease in stock price. This results in a loss of money for both AT&T and DirecTV [12].

AT&T and DirecTV Merger
Photo courtesy of www.accessnorthga.com [13]

International Expansion

In 2006, DirecTV gained 100% ownership of DirecTV Latin America [14]. With the expansion into new countries, DirecTV has asserted itself as more of a global brand. As of 2013, the number of subscribers that are from Latin America is about 18 million, which is an increase of about 9 million subscribers compared to the year 2010 [15]. With the success of expansion into Latin America, it is probable that DirecTV will expand into other markets as well and become even larger of a company. In the end of the day, it is all about getting your product to as many people as possible and making as much money as possible.

The DirecTV satellite dish portrayed as being on top of the Latin American countries where DirecTV is in. Photo courtesy of www.gigaom.com

DirecTV has expanded to Latin America.
Photo courtesy of www.gigaom.com [16]

Raycom Media

Back in September of 2014 there was a dispute between DirecTV and a broadcasting company called Raycom Media [17]. The dispute was over the broadcasting of Raycom Media’s channels through the means of DirecTV. The two companies did not come to a financial agreement by September 1st (the deadline) so for customers that had DirecTV they were unable to watch any Raycom Media channels for several days. Raycom Media is in 37 markets and 18 states, and they provide many different forms of television [18]. A major concern among people who had DirecTV and were in a Raycom Media market was the fact that they would not be able to watch some of the opening day NFL games on September 7th. Raycom and DirecTV made sure that this did not happen because of the potential financial loss that could have come from it. Agreements were made, and on September 7th customers were reinstated with their television channels.

Original Programming and What to Expect in the Future

Over the past few years DirecTV has entered into the world that Netflix and Hulu are also in. It’s the world of original programming, and it is the key to gaining more viewership, and in the case of DirecTV, more subscribers [19]. DirecTV’s goal is to have shows that viewers cannot get anywhere else. If this happens, then people may substitute the cable provider that they already have for DirecTV. DirecTV has their own channel called “Audience” that is only on DirecTV. On this channel is their newest show called Kingdom, and it came out in Fall of 2014. It stars Nick Jonas as a mixed martial arts fighter [20]. There is also a crime drama starring Thandie Newton called Rogue.

Click photo for Kingdom trailer courtesy of Youtube. Photo courtesy of www.directv.com

Click photo for Kingdom trailer, courtesy of www.youtube.com
Photo courtesy of www.directv.com [21]

There is even a special channel called “DogTV,” which is a channel specifically made for your dog to watch.

DogTV Trailer Photo courtesy of www.directv.com Commercial courtesy of www.youtube.com

Click photo for DogTV Commercial
Photo courtesy of www.directv.com
Commercial courtesy of www.youtube.com [22]

DirecTV also prides itself on its sports channels and packages. They have many packages, but their most popular one is the NFL Sunday Ticket. Every Fall if you are a customer that has NFL Sunday Ticket you can watch every NFL game that airs every Sunday [23]. New this Fall too is the introduction of NFL Fantasy Zone, a show which is all geared towards Fantasy Football. Expect growth in this department over the next few years.

There is also an ongoing dispute currently taking place between DirecTV and AMC. AMC is threatening to take away all of their channels (AMC, We TV, IFC, and Sundance) because they are claiming that DirecTV violated the existing deal that they had with them [24]. AMC is running campaigns during its show The Walking Dead, and DirecTV has an online petition[25]. DirecTV says that AMC is issuing a false alarm and nothing will happen. This is a developing story that needs to be kept a close eye on in the coming months.

In the near future, expect DirecTV to come up with more original content, renewal of their successful shows, expansion into new countries, and new and better deals to lure new customers to their services.

Sources

[1] DirecTV Logo. Interpret. RT: 4/30/14

[2] DirecTV Headquarters. eCorporateOffices.com. RT: 4/30/14

[3] Corporate Governance: Elected Officers. Investor.directv.com. RT: 4/30/14

[4] Michael White. Investor.directv.com. RT: 4/30/14

[5] DirecTV Genie. DirecTV.com. RT: 4/30/14

[6] DirecTV Genie. DirecTV.com. RT: 4/30/14

[7] DirecTV vs. Cable. DirecTV.com. RT: 4/30/14

[8] DirecTV 2013 Annual Report. Investor.directv.com. RT: 4/30/14

[9] Stock Quote and Chart. Investor.directv.com. RT: 4/30/14

[10] Stock Quote and Chart. Investor.directv.com. RT: 4/30/14

[11] “DirecTV CEO Expects Feds to OK AT&T Merger”. BostonHerald.com. RT: 4/30/14

[12] “3 Reasons DirecTV’s Stock Could Fall”. Fool.com. RT: 4/30/14

[13] “AT&T Agrees to Buy DirecTV in $45.8B Deal”. AccessNorthGa.com. RT: 4/30/14

[14] Company Profile. DirecTV.com. RT: 4/30/14

[15] DirecTV 2013 Annual Report. Investor.directv.com. RT: 4/30/14

[16] “DirecTV Adds Another 600,000 Latin American Users in Q1”. Gigaom.com. RT: 4/30/14

[17] “Raycom Media Restores 43 Local Stations to DirecTV Homes”. News.directv.com. RT: 4/30/14

[18] “Raycom Media Reaches Agreement In Principle With DirecTV”. RaycomMedia.com. RT: 4/30/14

[19] “DirecTV tries to join Netflix, Hulu With New Original Series Kingdom: Can They Compete?”. SheKnows.com. RT: 4/30/14

[20] “Stepping Into the Cage with Kingdom‘s Jonathan Tucker”. News.directv.com. RT: 4/30/14

[21] Kingdom Poster. DirecTV.com. RT: 4/30/14

[22] “DogTV Commercial – Been There Done That – Part 2”. Youtube.com. RT: 4/30/14

[23] “How DirecTV is Capitalizing On Growth of Fantasy Football”. Forbes.com. RT: 4/30/14

[24] “AMC Sounds Alarm About DirecTV Tussle During ‘Walking Dead’ Episode”. Variety.com. RT: 4/30/14

[25] “Don’t Let AMC Scare You!”. directvpromise.com. RT: 4/30/14

Hulu

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Caroline Soss

By Caroline Soss

Photo courtesy of: [1] www.crunchbase.com

ADDRESS

12312 West Olympic Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90064 [2]

CONTACT

Phone (310) 570-4700
Website www.hulu.com
Twitter @hulu

PROFILE

Hulu is an over-the-top video service provider streaming on-demand programming from NBC, ABC, A&E, AMC, FOX, The CW, MTV and more.

Hulu offers advertisement-supported free programming with limited commercial interruption on its website Hulu.com. Regular advertisers include Johnson & Johnson, McDonald’s, Microsoft, GEICO and Target.

Photo courtesy of: [4] www.vulture.com

For a monthly fee of $7.99, Hulu Plus subscribers can stream unlimited premium and exclusive content from any Hulu+ enabled device. These devices include smart televisions, game consoles, smartphones/tablets and media players like Apple TV and Roku [3].

Hulu delivers over 70,400 hours of video from 514 different content partners [5]. Hulu streams popular TV shows such as FAMILY GUY, SCANDAL, THE VOICE, PARKS AND RECREATION, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART [6] and more than 800 films from The Criterion Collection [7].

Photo courtesy of: [6] www.hulu.com

Hulu also produces its own original content like DEADBEAT, EAST LOS HIGH, THE AWESOMES and THE HOTWIVES OF ORLANDO [8].

Watch Hulu’s promo for their 2014 Originals here. Video courtesy of: [9] www.hulu.com.

Hulu.com was launched in 2008 as a joint venture between Comcast’s NBCUniversal and News Corporation [10]. Today, NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Company’s Disney-ABC Television Group and 21st Century Fox’s Fox Broadcasting Company together own Hulu’s online subscription service [11].

As of February 2014, Hulu reported more than five million Hulu+ subscribers and thirty million monthly free service users [12] with over four billion videos streamed in 2013 [13].

KEY EXECUTIVES

CEO Mike Hopkins, photo courtesy of: [14] www.engadget.com

Last October, Hulu replaced its acting CEO with Mike Hopkins, former President of Distribution at Fox for five years [14]. Within weeks of joining the company, Hopkins hired Disney’s Elaine Paul as CFO [11]. In February 2014, Hopkins hired NBC’s Peter Naylor as SVP of Advertising Sales [13] and Sony’s Tiam Lim as Chief Technology Officer [12]. In March 2014, Disney’s Tim Connolly joined the company as Head of Distribution [15]. In April 2014, Warner Bros.’ Craig Erwich was hired as Hulu’s SVP and Head of Content [16].

FINANCIALS

Hulu is a privately held company and not required to publicly release its financial information. However, CEO Mike Hopkins reported Hulu earning one billion dollars in annual revenue at the end of last year [17]. In 2013, Hulu’s owners (Comcast, Disney and 21st Century Fox) also dropped offers to sell Hulu and instead invested $750 million dollars into the company [11].

Photo courtesy of: [18] www.techcrunch.com

FOCUS IN THE U.S.

In February 2014, Hulu sold its Japanese subsidiary to Tokyo-based Nippon Television Network Corporation. Since 2011, Hulu had streamed 13,000+ videos from fifty different American and European content providers to Japan. While Hulu will continue to make its content and brand available for use by Nippon TV as well as provide infrastructure service to the Japanese company, Hulu will focus on the U.S. rather than internationally [19].

MULTI-PLATFORM

Hulu aims to operate on all types of platforms with 50% of Hulu+ subscribers streaming solely on devices [17].

Photo courtesy of: [21] blog.hulu.com

In April 2014, Amazon.com launched Amazon Fire TV – the company’s new set-top box/game console hybrid positioned to replace media players like Apple TV, Roku and Xbox [20].

Amazon Fire TV streams not only Amazon’s own online video subscription service (Amazon Prime) but also partner on-demand services, including Hulu Plus. Hulu promises the “most enhanced and updated version of the Hulu Plus Living Room experience on Amazon Fire TV” [21]. Further, Amazon added Hulu Plus to the list of services available through voice search by speaking into the Fire TV remote – making Hulu even easier to utilize on this new platform [22].

NEW CONTENT

Hulu is continuing to grow its content library with both current season television and original programming [17].

Photo courtesy of: [23] blog.hulu.com

In April 2014, CEO Mike Hopkins announced Hulu will be exclusively streaming NBCUniversal-produced THE MINDY PROJECT and Golden Globe-winning comedy BROOKLYN NINE-NINE as well as popular series like KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS and TOP CHEF. These high-in-demand hit programs will not be available to competitors Netflix or Amazon Prime, ultimately giving Hulu monopoly control over more content [23].

Hulu also recently acquired the rights to stream ELEMENTARY, the highly rated CBS drama starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu [24], and popular CBS classics like THE BRADY BRUNCH and CHEERS.

Photo courtesy of: [25] blog.hulu.com

Hulu is expanding its library of popular TV shows from past decades [25]. This may be a tactic to keep fairly older viewers, who grew up with this content, entertained; 60% of Hulu subscribers fall between the ages of 18 and 49 years old with an average age of 39 [26].

Photo courtesy of: [26] www.hulu.com/advertising

However, the Nielsen Company will continue excluding broadband-only households, a large total of Hulu Plus viewership, in the ratings for the 2014-2015 television season [27].

ORIGINAL CONTENT

Hulu developed twenty original series in 2013 and plans to launch twenty more this year [28]. Hulu’s original shows THE AWESOMES, BEHIND THE MASK and THE WRONG MANS were among the top ten weekly shows watched on Hulu when they aired in 2013 and were all recently renewed for another season in 2014 [17].

New in 2014, Hulu’s original comedy series DEADBEAT, starring Tyler Labine, is receiving strong reviews from Variety, the New York Post and the Philadelphia Inquirer since its premiere [29]. All ten episodes of the show’s first season were uploaded to Hulu on April 9th, 2014, and only hours later DEADBEAT as dubbed “Hulu’s best show yet” [30].

Photo courtesy of: [29] www.hulu.com

DEADBEAT follows Kevin Pacalioglu (Tyler Labine), a lazy stoner who can see the dead and becomes a freelance medium to pay his rent, helping ghosts move on to the afterlife by competing in eating contests and proposition their ex-girlfriends.

Watch the DEADBEAT series trailer here. Video courtesy of: [31] www.hulu.com.

Critics, however, argue that Hulu being owned by television companies may explain why competitor Netflix is still spending so much more than Hulu on original programming [32].

TV EVERYWHERE

In the past year, Hulu has hired 260 new employees to complete a staff of more than 725 members with plans to continue growing the company [17].

As public interest in more convenient Internet TV Everywhere services grows, analysts predict subscribers may more easily authenticate their pay services through a social media account like Facebook or Twitter – a business tactic that may be in Hulu’s near future [33].