Walmart has decided to enter the so-called ‘streaming wars'. To that end, it has partnered with Paramount Global to offer its streaming service, Paramount+, to its subscribers. In doing so, it is taking its membership offering to the next level by adding a new streaming benefit. 

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The streaming service benefit is being offered as ‘another way Walmart gives its members more for less with Walmart+’ as the company is saying in their public and promotional statements. 

Walmtar+ is a membership discount program for Walmart customers at the store and at the gas pump, and now adds services of music and video streaming. 

Walmart+ will continue to cost $98 per year or $12.95 per month and includes the Paramount+ Essential Plan subscription for an additional $59.

Walmart needs to up its game

Walmart+ package with the addition of the Paramount+ Essential Plan, is a bit higher price-wise than Amazon Prime, faring $157 per year, versus the $139 from Amazon Prime.

If we add to the equation the fact that Amazon Prime library in the U.S. passes over the mark of 25.000 different titles available for streaming - among movies, tv shows, documentaries, concerts, and so on - it becomes quite clear that Walmart will need to offer a pretty compelling collection of exclusive content, not available already in Amazon Prime Video, if it wants to be competitive. 

And this won’t be an easy feat. Besides all that, one question remains: is this new alliance between Walmart and Paramount a sign of a possible rupture between Paramount and Amazon? Otherwise, it would make too much sense to have Paramount exclusive content in Amazon and not in the Paramount+ streaming service, or vice versa. 

All in all, only time will tell if Walmart has made the right call, or if - as it looks - this is a desperate measure to remain competitive in the complex membership/streaming market that has been absolutely dominated by Amazon recently.

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Netflix says the company does not fear the arrival of Apple TV Plus and Disney Plus. According to them, the "transition from linear to delayed viewing" is huge and all parties benefit from it. The company has stated this during the presentation of its quarterly figures.

The fact that Netflix is starting to earn less and less from its customers, approximately 2%, is due to unfavourable currency differences. The number of paying customers is continuing to increase. In the first quarter of 2019, an additional 9.6 million customers subscribed. Of these customers, 7.8 million are located outside the US. Netflix expects a decreasing growth for the second quarter, approximately 5 million customers.

The streaming company converted 4.5 billion dollars in the first quarter. Its net profit is valued at an amount of 344 million. Netflix is ​​expecting more revenue for the second quarter, but a slightly lower profit. Netflix also confirms an upcoming price increase in "some parts of Europe". According to the company, price increases in the US have not had a major negative effect.

Netflix vs Disney

Last Monday, it was announced that rival Hulu bought AT&T’s interest of 1.4 billion dollars back that it had in the company. Hulu is a joint venture of Disney and American telecommunications giant Comcast. Only WarnerMedia is still a shareholder as of this moment. Disney has great ambitions in the field of video services. The company is going to launch Disney Plus in the US in November. There are plans to roll out the Hulu platform outside of the US as well.

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