Headline Feb 13, 2018/ ''' DISNEY'S *-NETFLIX-* DITCHING '''

''' DISNEY'S *-NETFLIX-* DITCHING '''

REMEMBER : *TOTAL HONORS - TOTAL POWER LIES* - in the context of The World Student Society, with the students, the students of the world.

THE POWER OF VETO lies with the Esteemed members of the *International Committee*. 

All International Committee members, chosen by the Students in open, transparent and accountable voting on the Master Democratic and Voting Portal : www.worldstudentssociety.org.

*THE WORLD STUDENTS SOCIETY* - the exclusive ownership of every single student in the world - is most democratic organization mankind every conceived.

At !WOW! - as we watch the world write 'dark chapters' daily, we ought to remind ourselves and force ourselves to go for the ''philosophical shift'' and prepare ourselves for  Global Elections, this very year.

ONE SCENE from the Pixar film ''Finding Dory'', Disney bet big on intellectual property when it acquired the animation studio. But now ditching Netflix signals a philosophical shift at Disney?

IN JULY LAST AND RECENT, NETFLIX said that it had achieved a larger-than-expected increase in subscribers, who now total 104 million-
*And that it was now reaching for sure, about half of the United States households*.

''Anyone who wants to compete directly with Netflix or the full spectrum of competitors who are getting into this space had better be ready for a very long, hard fight, and have very, very deep pockets,'' said Mr. Olson at Piper Jaffray.

''They have the money to spend on content.''

Is content still king? It was Bill Gates of Microsoft who declared it so in 1996, but the proposition has been repeated so often by Disney executives that it could served the company's corporate slogan.

WHEN AT&T announced its plan to take over Time Warner some over a year ago, Disney's chief executive, Robert A. Iger, said the deal proved yet again that ''content is king.''

So Disney's abrupt strategic shift recently sent shock waves through Hollywood, Silicon Valley and the telecommunication industry. The company said it was buying 42 percent of the Internet  distributor BamTech  for $1.6 billion-

[Bringing its stake to 75 percent], creating its own direct-to-consumer streaming service and severing its lucrative licensing deal Netflix for Disney-branded content in the  United States.

''Is the network -the platform- now the most important?'' asked Michael Olson, a consumer Internet analyst who covers Netflix for Piper Jaffray.

The idea *that content is king* has long rested on the notion that distribution - in whatever form it takes - is a low-margin commodity, and the biggest share of profits flows to the  creators of original programming, who can sell to the highest bidder.

In keeping with that philosophy, Disney made its biggest bets on intellectual property, acquiring Pixar {$7 billion}, Marvel Entertainment {$4 billion} and Lucasfilm {$4 billion}.

*Those bets have paid off handsomely for shareholders*

But as Internet streaming disrupts cable and broadcast, Disney now appears to have sets its sights on distribution - and a potential new revenue source..

There's no question that the Internet generally, and Netflix specifically, upended the traditional content-distribution supply chain and caused profound changes in the entertainment industry.

As The New York Times reported later, Google, Apple and Facebook are moving aggressively into Hollywood's turf.

These technology giants already have huge user bases and open checkbooks.

In July, Netflix said that it had achieved a larger-than-expected increase in subscribers, who now total 104 million, and that it was reaching more than half of the United States households.

''Anyone who wants to compete directly with  Netflix or the full spectrum of competitors who are getting into this space had better be ready for a long, hard fight and have very deep pockets,'' said Mr. Olsen at Piper Jaffray.

''They have the money to spend on content.''

Netflix got where it is today in part by licensing Disney's popular children's offerings and Disney   -and Pixar branded films.

Neither company has disclosed what Netflix  pays for those rights, but analyst estimates range from about $220 million to $330 million a year.

As long as Netflix was primarily a distributor, it posed on threat to Disney, and offered a revenue source to complement Disney's cable channel and movies.

Investors cheered when the licensing deal was announced in 2012.

But Netflix went from partner to competitor by spending heavily to create its own programming -especially in the coveted children's market long dominated by Disney.

This year Netflix is adding a new animated series based on Dr. Seuss's ''Green Eggs and Ham,'' with Ellen DeGeneres as executive producer.

It also has a deal with DreamWorks Animation for 300 hours of new children's programming.

The Honor and Serving of the latest *Operational Research* on the beautiful world of Disney and Entertainment  continues, We thank master researcher and writer James B. Stewart.

With respectful dedication to the  Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all on !WOW! -the World Students Society and................ Twitter-!E-WOW!, the Ecosystem 2011:

''' Isolation Defanged '''

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless