The streaming video world is set to get very, very crowded in the coming months. Apple is expected to introduce its video service on March 25 and, given its established foothold on the computers and smartphones of people around the world, experts are predicting that it could hit 100 million subscribers within 5 years.
A forecast from Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives said that Apple will be playing catch-up, but still gave 100 million as a "realistic medium-term goal."
“The company is definitely playing from behind the eight ball in this content arms race with Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Hulu, and AT&T / WarnerMedia all going after this next consumer frontier investing significantly more dollars ($20 billion combined and counting per annum) on content,” Ives said, per Deadline.
For comparison's sake, Netflix has 139 million global subscribers as of this January. They hit the 100 million mark in 2017, a decade after they launched their streaming platform.
Apple is stepping into a much busier marketplace than Netflix did way back then. In addition to Netflix, Apple will also be facing down Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Disney's planned service.
Netflix is dealing with the approaching competitors by focusing on winning away more screen time from other activities and sticking with their current model.
"Our focus is not on Disney+, Amazon or others, but on how we can improve our experience for our members," the company said, according to CNN.
"I think about it really as us winning time away, entertainment time, from other activities," Reed Hastings, Netflix's CEO, previously said. "Instead of doing Xbox or Fortnite or YouTube or HBO or a long list, we want to win and provide a better experience."
