Welcome back to another Weekly Blog here at 55 comms! It’s been a busy week in our offices and we hope it was busy for you too.
Here we go with another big week in news, although we'll have a Facebook-free rundown this time.
Tinder now beats Netflix – why?
For the first time in years Netflix is not the top grossing, non-game mobile app – instead Tinder is. Why? In December last year Netflix decided to stop paying the so-called ‘Apple Tax’ which means it no longer allows users to sign up and subscribe to its service through the iOS application. This change has said to cost Apple hundreds of millions in lost revenue considering Netflix has been the world’s top-earning, non-game app since 2016. Now, instead of giving 15-30% of revenue to Apple, users have to sign up via the website before they can login and use the app. To give you an idea of the money involved here – in 2018, Netflix earned $853 million in the iOS App Store. A 30 per cent cut costs Apple $256 million.
Uber files for IPO
It might seem silly but if you’re stuck on IPO it’s: Initial Public Offering, meaning it’s the very first time a private company issues to stock to the public.
Yesterday, Uber filed for its long-awaited IPO for $1 billion, but it’s said to be a placeholder for actual plans to raise $10 billion – the latter would be the 8th largest IPO of all time. This news comes not long after competitor Lyft listed. The fears among Uber is that with growth slowing it may never make a profit. Uber’s listing report underscores their rapid growth in the last 3 years but also how a string of public scandals and increased competition from rivals have weighed on its plans to attract and retain riders. It also disclosed how far Uber is from turning a profit with the company stating it expects expenses to increase exponentially in the foreseeable future. The sun is rising on a new era for Uber; it’ll be interesting to see how it unfolds.
Disney reveals their Netflix rival – Disney Plus
Disney has finally revealed details of its Netflix rival product Disney Plus. It will launch on November 12th and cost $7 a month or $70 for the year. Disney is expected to bundle the service with Hulu and ESPN at a discount too. In its first year, Disney Plus will include 25 original series and 10 movies and specials, along with 400 titles from the Disney library. (Very exciting times for the OG Disney fans out there). Disney says it expects to amass between 60 and 90 million subscribers by 2024 and plans to spend $1 billion in the first year and $2 yearly after that until 2024. It’ll be very interesting to see how the video streaming market shifts.
Bachelor in Paradise 2019 has commenced!
Enough of newsy stuff for a second, let me talk briefly about my shocking allure to this country’s woeful yet brilliant reality TV. Bachelor in Paradise 2019 has commenced this week and it’s not playing around. It boasts a great cast of all your previous bachelor/bachelorette favourites and villains and the story already has its hooks. One thing Channel 10 did differently this season was give us an unfiltered look into the conversation between two contestants Richie and Alex – a couple from Richie’s season of the bachelor which have since turned sour. Whilst no explicit terms were used, it became quite apparent what the issue was that broke the two and personally, I’m team Alex and definitely off team Richie. As for the rest of the series so far, it’s still early days – but there’s every ingredient there to keep me coming back every week for some guilty pleasure.
That’s it for this week, enjoy your weekend!