Netflix, Inc. Add to portfolio

(Reuters) - Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) Chief Communications Officer Jonathan Friedland is leaving the video streaming company, a company spokesperson said on Friday without giving more details. Friedland tweeted that he had spoken in an "insensitive" manner. "Leaders have to be beyond reproach in the example we set and unfortunately I fell short of that standard when I was insensitive in speaking to my team about words that offend in comedy," he tweeted https://twitter.com/jsf33/status/1010248492080553984. His departure from Netflix is the latest in a series of top executives resigning over inappropriate behaviour. Ford Motor Co (F.N) former U.S. chief Raj Nair departed abruptly in February after a probe on his behaviour, while Intel Corp (INTC.O) former Chief Executive Brian Krzanich resigned on Thursday over a relationship with an employee. What to read next.

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Long-suffering Viacom (NASDAQ:VIA, NASDAQ:VIAB) shareholders found this out recently when the company joined forces with Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX). Under the agreement, Viacom will produce content for NFLX. Although it’s an admission that things aren’t going well for VIA these days, offering content to a streaming service isn’t out of the ordinary. Its foray into the streaming media world will start with Nickelodeon-branded programming. From there, Viacom CEO Bob Bakish indicated that he wishes to include other network-based shows. Viacom had to do something, and the Netflix deal makes sense in that regard. But from another perspective, critics point out that the content partnership could drive more viewers to Netflix.

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Netflix is letting go of its chief communications officer Jonathan Friedland after "insensitive" remarks he made, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Friedland joined Netflix (NFLX) in 2011 as the vice president of global corporations and was promoted to the chief communications role the following year. "Leaders have to be beyond reproach we set and unfortunately I fell short of that standard when I was insensitive in speaking to my team about words that offend in comedy," he said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.

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In fact, a trio of analysts just upped their views on the company, all essentially celebrating the idea that consumers everywhere are more likely to choose it before any other on-demand provider. And, maybe those pros are right. Once any other player does what Netflix is willing to do, it’s going to have what Netflix has. And, what Netflix is willing to do is spend insane amounts of money on content just to garner market share. “Our bullish thesis on Netflix is based on our belief that the company’s competitive moat, franchise appeal, ability to increase international streaming customers through 2020, and original content build out will translate into robust profitability and growth.”. It may have a significant head start on other would-be players, but the only barrier to entry into the video streaming game is an unwillingness to copy the Netflix model and copy how Netflix has executed its plan. But such a competitor is approaching on the horizon.

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Netflix hits all-time high. Can the rally continue? Daniel Ives, GBH Insights chief strategy officer, and David Trainer, New Constructs CEO, debate whether Netflix can hit the $500 price target that a couple firms have set for the stock. What to read next.

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Netflix’s next big target is carrier Verizon (VZ), which has a market cap of ~$198.0 billion. Netflix stock has been surging recently after a number of analysts increased their price targets for the stock. As the graph above shows, Netflix’s (NFLX) revenue growth has accelerated over the past few quarters.

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Pivotal Research Group became on Thursday the second Wall Street research firm to slap a $500 price target on Netflix this week as analysts' love for the stock hits a fever pitch. Analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak raised his 12-month price target on the video-streaming giant to $500 from $420 per share. "We view the close of the AT&T/TWX deal as a potential nice positive for NFLX in regards to picking up TWX talent and likely weakening a global competitor (HBO) as AT&T is likely to find it very difficult to mash together two extremely disparate operating cultures." "The company appears to operate in a virtuous cycle, as the larger their subscriber base grows (and their ARPU increases) the more they can spend on original content, which increases the potential target market for their service … and dramatically increases barriers to entry, boosted by continued material increases in broadband availability/speeds globally." What to read next.

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Netflix, Inc. ( NFLX) shares rose more than 3% on Wednesday and hit new all-time highs above the $400 mark. Despite intensifying competition in the space, the bidding war for Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. ( FOXA) assets by The Walt Disney Company ( DIS) and Comcast Corporation ( CMCSA) has underscored just how vital streaming content has become to the media industry. Several analysts have recently lifted their price targets on Netflix in response to its swift move higher and the evolving industry developments.

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Disney DIS just announced its new $70 billion offer for an array of 21st Century Fox FOXA assets, outbidding both Comcast’s CMCSA unsolicited deal and its initial offer. Disney has become less dominant in recent years due to the rise of streaming services, such as Netflix NFLX and Amazon AMZN Prime, as well as the proliferation of cord-cutting. But the company is in a better place than some might think based on some of the more surface level stories about the imminent demise of once-almighty ESPN (also read: Why You Should Buy Disney Stock Right Now). Grabbing Fox’s hugely popular regional sports networks—which often get great ratings for NBA and MLB, especially compared to the rest of cable—would be a huge win for Disney in what will likely become some form of a standalone streaming version of ESPN, far superior to the currently available ESPN+ service. The company also has live content offerings through ESPN and ABC, something Netflix doesn't. So just imagine how attractive a streaming platform would be that offered live regional sports, national ESPN games, news, as well as new Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars shows, new original streaming content—outside of Disney’s usual wheelhouse—all its new Fox offerings, and its library of movies?

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The average Netflix subscriber carves out about 10 hours per week to watch the video-on-demand service, according to a survey by Daniel Ives, an analyst at marketing research firm GBH Insights. It also is a good indicator that its massive content investments are paying off, creating more loyal and engaged customers who will accept price increases. That keeps pricing relatively stable across markets to prevent customers from trying to game the system by signing up for Netflix in one country and using it in another. So, $11 per month isn't very expensive in the United States, but it's fairly pricey in a country like India. The price increase should continue to have a sizable impact on the top line throughout the rest of the year. Even so, Netflix has been able to increase its subscribers at a pace that's faster than its content spend -- 26% year over year last quarter. As long as subscriber growth outpaces content spend, Netflix might be better off attracting a bigger audience.

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