Streaming War Toughens as New Competitors Hit the Market

In 2020, announcements regarding new streaming platforms were constant. This year more competitors will join this market in an attempt to enter the homes of millions of people who have adopted and increased the habit of consuming this type of content. This week, Univision presented its plans to launch its Prende TV streaming service in the US during 1Q21. This new platform will target the Hispanic audience in that country with “premium 100 percent Spanish-language programming,” the company said in a statement.

“PrendeTV is an important, early step in Univision’s broader efforts to build the same leadership position we have in Spanish-language TV, in the emerging Spanish-language streaming space,” Univision CEO Wade Davis pointed out. “The announcement of PrendeTV underscores our focus and commitment to rapidly driving the transformation and growth of the company”.

Streaming giant Netflix, meanwhile, announced it will release 71 films in 2021. “We are kicking 2021 off with a bang. This year’s line-up will surprise and delight cinephiles across the globe with films from Award-winning filmmakers” the company said in a blog post.  In 2020, Netflix spent 17.3 billion dollars in content generation, being the streaming company that invested the most in this. 

Disney is about to launch its new Star streaming platform, which will feature content previously owned by Fox, ABC, Freeform and 20th Century Fox. This platform will be available from Feb. 23 in Canada and New Zealand and later in other countries.

More news below:

• President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced on Thursday during his morning conference that he will bring up to members of the G20 his concerns about censorship issues over social media. When questioned about the suspension of Donald Trump's social networks a few days ago, Obrador said that “there cannot be a particular entity, in any nation, that becomes an organ of censorship. Freedom must be guaranteed.”

• Jack Dorsey is holding his ground. Twitter’s CEO said in a series of tweets yesterday that the decision to permanently suspend Donald Trump's account was necessary. However, he also questioned the power of social media companies and Twitter's failure to promote healthy conversation. “Having to take these actions fragment the public conversation. They divide us and set a precedent I feel is dangerous”, Dorsey noted. “A company making a business decision to moderate itself is different from a government removing access, yet can feel much the same”, he added.

• In 2021, the streaming music business is expected to generate revenues of about US$356 million in Mexico, an increase of 154 percent over 2017 revenues alone, according to Statista's analysis. Mexico is ranked 14th in the world in terms of industry revenues and second in Latin America after Brazil.

• Airbnb will cancel reservations in the Washington metropolitan area over the next week as a measure to minimize the risk of further attacks on the capital during Joe Biden's Jan. 20 takeover. The company also said in a statement that it would prevent new reservations from being made until further notice.