Netflix co-founder Marc Randolph said he had “the deepest respect right now for Disney,” in an interview with Yahoo Finance on Thursday. However, he was less complimentary about Apple TV+, noting its freeloader problem and criticizing a lack of investment in content.
Invest More in Content And Apple TV+ ‘Could Really Play’
“If Apple spent one quarter as much time on content as they do on giveaways they really could play,” Mr. Randolph said. “They have no excuse [and] they’re still not in it with both feet. They really have to do the entrepreneurial thing and walk up to the edge of the cliff and jump.”
He also noted the ongoing issue of Apple TV+ not retaining users:
Right now they have the highest churn rate. You can’t keep replacing people, you’ve got to give them a reason to stay.
By contrast, Mr. Randolph said that he has “the deepest respect right now for Disney” and its efforts in the streaming space. It has reiterated its commitment to content, something Mr. Randolph said, “is a pretty clever move because what they’re in some ways doing is emulating the Netflix playbook.” In its latest earnings announcement Thursday, the Walt Disney Company announced that as of January 2, 2021, Disney+ had 94.9 paid subscribers.
Reed Hastings in the guy who guided Netflix to what it is today, and presided over its growth.
Ted Sarandos is the person responsible for building, and overseeing the company’s original programming efforts, and has risen become co-CEO.
Those two, and their lieutenants are the ones synonymous with NF.
Whatever role this guy may have played in the company’s founding doesn’t give him any special insight into building a streaming service, when others carried the load. It’s just like how people perk up when they hear Steve Wozniak, who is well-meaning and innocuous in the “kinda crazy old uncle who hit it big” sense, but the Apple ][ was a long time ago, and his litany of failed businesses since then doesn’t make him the first guy anyone would think of when seeking wisdom on current tech, or how how built Apple into what it is.
This guy sounds like Steve Ballmer reacting to the iPhone, whistling past the graveyard. Maybe Apple should do a hostile takeover of Netflix if Apple needs more content.