Verizon And Redbox Planning Netflix Competitor, Netflix More Worried About HBO
The worst of the Netflix backlash may be over, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be nothing but smooth sailing for the company from here on out. Even as services like Amazon and Hulu ramp up their offerings to compete with Netflix, Verizon has just announced that it too plans to jump into the fray, as it plans a major partnership with Redbox. Meanwhile, during a recent presentation Netflix CEOReed Hastingsnamed HBO Go as his company’s primary competition, noting that “They’re not competing directly with us, but they can.” More after the jump.
The service will use a credit-based monthly pricing structure; for example, $5.95 a month would get you 6 credits, which could be applied toward renting a certain number of films or shows. A physical disc option would also be included in some of the pricing tiers. The companies are said to be in talks with various content providers at present. Depending on what kind of content they can get, “Project Zoetrope” could wind up being a serious player in the streaming market.
“HBO is becoming much more Netflix-like, and we’re becoming much more HBO-like,” he observed. Indeed, Netflix will make its first foray into original programming next year with the political thrillerHouse of Cards, and recentlyfinalized a dealto exclusively offer brand-new episodes ofArrested Developmentstarting in 2013. Hastings revealed that ifHouse of Cardsdoes well, Netflix could eventually spend 15% of its budget for content acquisition on original offerings.
