I decided to open a thread alongside individual company threads where we can discuss all companies in the movie, TV series, and streaming industry, as well as the industry in general, similar to how the gaming industry has its own thread. Perhaps this will make the discussion a bit more active. Feel free to delete this if the idea is bad. I’ll include brief introductions of the biggest companies in the industry in this first post.
NYSE:DIS
In addition to Disney’s own brands, the studios owned by Disney include Marvel, Lucasarts (Star Wars), 20th Century Studios (e.g., Avatar), and Pixar. Furthermore, Disney has its own streaming services, Disney+ and Hulu, as well as a large array of traditional TV channels (the largest being ABC and ESPN). Disney focuses largely on brand-aligned entertainment for the whole family through superheroes, animations, and adventure films. Disney also operates theme parks that rely on characters and worlds created in their films.
Company-specific discussion here.
NASDAQ:NFLX
Netflix is, on one hand, a relatively new player in the film industry compared to the old legacy studios, but on the other hand, it is the oldest and most established in the streaming space. The company hardly needs a longer introduction, as everyone knows Netflix’s service. Netflix’s most important series include Stranger Things, Squid Game, and Bridgerton.
NASDAQ:WBD
Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) was created last year when AT&T-owned Warner Bros merged with the publicly listed Discovery. The stormy start on the stock market is beginning to calm down as the company has managed to prune away its largest excess branches. The Warner Bros umbrella includes DC and Harry Potter, as well as the streaming service that has operated under the HBO brand until now and will be renamed Max in the future. Under WBD, there are also many traditional TV channels, such as CNN, Turner, Eurosport, Discovery, etc.
Company-specific discussion here.
NASDAQ:PARA
Paramount Global is also a relatively new company on the stock exchange, formed when CBS and Viacom merged and later changed their name to Paramount Global last year. Under the company, you can find Paramount Studios as well as the Paramount+ streaming service and the CBS TV channel. Last year’s number one hit, Top Gun Maverick, was a Paramount production, as was The Super Mario Bros Movie, which has already been predicted to be this year’s box office leader.
Universal Studios and its Peacock streaming service complete the ranks of the major studios. Universal includes the animation studio Dreamworks, and its most popular film series include Fast & Furious, Jurassic Park, and the Lego movies. Universal is owned by Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA). Comcast also owns the NBC TV channels.
Other industry players
- Amazon recently acquired the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio and operates its own Amazon Prime Video streaming service in markets where the parent company is active. Amazon is also increasingly producing its own movies and series under the Amazon Studios brand.
- Apple has recently begun building its own film studio with relative success and, of course, offers streaming within its own ecosystem.
- Lionsgate is perhaps the only smaller film studio that is publicly listed. Their most important asset at the moment is the John Wick film series.
- Publicly traded companies that operate cinemas or are otherwise closely related also fall under this topic: AMC, Cinemark, Kinepolis, Cineplex, Dolby Laboratories, IMAX, Technicolor.
On the studio side, the industry is consolidating at a rapid pace, and there are constant rumors of new acquisitions. Apple, in particular, is expected to acquire a studio in the near future to gain a wider range of legacy content for its service. Potential acquisition targets could include Lionsgate, the privately-owned A24, or even WBD.
In streaming, competition for consumers’ time is fierce, as seen in the illustrative image below. It’s unlikely that all services will survive this battle; it will be interesting to see when individual services start dropping out of the game.
