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, informed 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 providers mixed, however once you have a look at the expansion of their sub[scriber] base and have 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 govt chairman of AI firm Claigrid.
Netflix noticed the biggest month-to-month viewership enhance versus its friends in June, based on 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 flawed with its earnings in any respect,” mentioned Rogers, who can also be a CNBC contributor. “However engagement is what drives the whole lot right here. The quantity of viewing it will get, it drives value 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 steerage. Nonetheless, since its earnings report, the streamer’s inventory has declined by about 6% and is now down nearly 11% since reaching a document excessive on June 30.
Rogers additionally predicts synthetic intelligence will probably be a “double-edged sword” for Netflix within the near-term. On the one hand, he mentioned it can assist the streamer’s focused promoting and assist minimize programming prices. But it surely additionally permits unbiased content material creators a leg up, which advantages YouTube.
“The road between skilled and novice content material goes to get increasingly blurry as AI instruments within the arms of amateurs permit them to provide issues that look extremely skilled,” he mentioned. “I believe AI within the arms of the inventive group of YouTube may create a stage {of professional} programming for YouTube which drives its viewership even additional.”
YouTube’s father or mother firm, Alphabet, is up 2% year-to-date.
But, Rogers nonetheless sees Netflix sustaining its standing as essentially the most precious media firm on this planet. Nonetheless, he mentioned a lag is “one thing to look at for certain.”
Netflix spokesperson Emily Goldstein deferred remark to the corporate’s second-quarter earnings name.