As of late, tech stocks have experienced solid performance as companies like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) are roaring.
Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), a popular streaming video company, is no stranger to this recent tech stock success. This past month, Netflix reached a high of $103. 30, leaps and bounds ahead of its 52-week low in February. It's down to $93.70 now, but looks to regain momentum in light of a colossal deal with Disney.
Starting in September, Netflix will have exclusive rights to stream new movies from Walt Disney Studios (NYSE: DIS) films (which includes Marvel, Lucasfilm, and Pixar). Reportedly, nine to seven months after theatrical debut, Disney movies will be available to stream on Netflix.
Financial details on this "blockbuster" deal-- quite literally-- are scarce. News of agreements between Netflix and Disney first surfaced in 2012, and a source involved in the business dealings said Netflix would pay more than $300 million annually for rights to Disney's films.
The deal is a huge blow to the pay channel Starz, which previously had rights to Disney movies (including Pixar and Marvel). Starz is in dire-straights now -- Sony Pictures is its sole remaining movie provider, and their agreement expires in 2016. Furthermore, Amazon Prime, which currently holds licenses to movies falling under the Disney umbrella, will quit carrying Disney's new releases.
This Netflix-Disney deal is revolutionary in certain aspects -- never before has a major studio (with Disney being gargantuan) opted for online streaming for pay distribution post-release in lieu of traditional cable service.
Netflix and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) have huge pools of cash to spend on streaming content. According to CNBC, Netflix plans to spend some $6 billion cash in coming months -- equivalent to 600 episodes of HBO's "Game of Thrones". And according to a Credit Suisse report (NYSE: CS), Hulu is now valued at $25 billion, up from its previous $15 billion -- such a big growth dividend is explained by Hulu's plans to start offering live streaming for sports and news, something neither Netflix nor Amazon offer.
All things considered, there exists an undeniable take away from the success of non-conventional media outlets: as demand surges toward online media and on-demand streaming, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and the likes are morphing the cable industry into the wild west, perhaps even an antiquated thing of the past.