APPLE PLANS -VERSUS- STREAMING RIVALS

APPLE is expected to take on streaming rivals Netflix and Amazon as Hollywood giants Disney and WarnerMedia also move into space.

Here is a rundown of few key players in the market:

Netflix
Netflix is the undisputed leader in streaming television with some 140 million paying subscribers in 190 countries and territories and hit shows like ''The Crown,'' ''House of Cards'' and ''Stranger Things''.

Netflix gained popularity with ''catalog'' shows and movies from Hollywood and television studios but has been investing heavily in its own content in recent years. It maybe vulnerable, according to analysts, if it losses access to these shows since it does not have other revenue from services or products to subsidize  its streaming.

Hulu
Hulu ended 2018 with some 25 million subscribers in the US for its various streaming plans, some of which are ad-supported.
That market growth of nearly 50 percent for the service launched in 2008 by the major TV and film studios to compete with Netflix.

Hulu has followed Netflix into original shows including ''The Handmaid's  Tale'' and ''Castle Rock..''

But a big question is how the shakeup in the media industry bwill afeect Hulu. Disney now owns 60 percent of Hulu following a deal with 21st Century Fox, with Comcast's NBC Universal holding, 30% and AT &T 's WarnerMedia 10 percent. With each of these firms moving into their own streaming services, Hulu's future is uncertain.

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon does not disclose the number of Prime Video subscribers, but it could be used by the  100 million  members in more than a dozen countries.

Like Netflix, Amazon may also lose content from studio libraries in the coming years but it too has its original shows and movies including the  Oscar-winning  ''Manchester by the Sea.'' Amazon may be less vulnerable to new competition because its revenue base comes   from the broader base of services and not streaming.

Disney+
Now the biggest powerhouse in the media entertainment world, Walt Disney Co will be launching its Disney+ Streaming service this year.

Disney will have so much as  40 percent of  US box office receipts following its deal for the assets of "21st Century'' Fox combined with its own studio and ABC television programs, giving it a vast library that includes the  ''Star Wars''  .and Marvel superhero franchises.

Some analysts predict  Disney will be able to ramp up globally to compete with or overtake Netflix within a few years but the transition to streaming means moving away from its longtime business model. [Agencies]

The honor and serving of the latest operational research on  ''Streaming'' giants, continues.