Former NBC Cable President Tom Rogers is dialing again his bullishness on Netflix.
The media trailblazer, who was a self-proclaimed “raging bull” on Netflix, advised CNBC’s “Quick Cash” this week he is beginning to fear — and listed competitors with free content material on YouTube as a headwind.
“[Netflix] nonetheless [has] extra hit exhibits than all the opposite streaming companies mixed, however while you take a look at the expansion of their sub[scriber] base and take a look at the quantity of complete engagement time from all viewers they get, the quantity of viewing per viewer has gone down some,” mentioned Rogers, who’s now government chairman of AI firm Claigrid.
Netflix noticed the biggest month-to-month viewership enhance versus its friends in June, in accordance with Nielsen. Nonetheless, YouTube accounted for 13% of complete month-to-month TV viewership, whereas Netflix had 8%.
Rogers’ newest take comes after Netflix delivered a constructive quarterly report on July 17.
“There was nothing improper with its earnings in any respect,” mentioned Rogers, who can also be a CNBC contributor. “However engagement is what drives all the pieces right here. The quantity of viewing it will get, it drives worth will increase, which drive programming price range, which drives extra nice programming.”
Netflix beat second-quarter top- and bottom-line estimates and raised its full-year steering. Nonetheless, since its earnings report, the streamer’s inventory has declined by about 6% and is now down nearly 11% since reaching a file excessive on June 30.
Rogers additionally predicts synthetic intelligence will likely be a “double-edged sword” for Netflix within the near-term. On the one hand, he mentioned it is going to support the streamer’s focused promoting and assist lower programming prices. Nevertheless it additionally permits unbiased content material creators a leg up, which advantages YouTube.
“The road between skilled and beginner content material goes to get increasingly blurry as AI instruments within the fingers of amateurs permit them to provide issues that look extremely skilled,” he mentioned. “I feel AI within the fingers of the artistic neighborhood of YouTube may create a degree {of professional} programming for YouTube which drives its viewership even additional.”
YouTube’s dad or mum firm, Alphabet, is up 2% year-to-date.
But, Rogers nonetheless sees Netflix sustaining its standing as probably the most helpful media firm on the planet. Nonetheless, he mentioned a lag is “one thing to observe for certain.”
Netflix spokesperson Emily Goldstein deferred remark to the corporate’s second-quarter earnings name.
