According to Brad’s blog post; “Shomi Shutting Down” it is clear that netflix is dominating the video streaming market. As netflix was already at the top of the market, shomi’s business plan to enter the market a few years ago should have been re-evaluated. Netflix currently has more than 5.2 million users in Canada and if I were to suggest anything to the CEO of shomi at the time, it would definitely be not to enter the streaming.
Brad’s states; “The strength of the Netflix brand makes it difficult to compete against.” I completely agree upon this statement, brand name reputation is vital in a large market. According to cnet.com “netflix leads a streaming market that’s close to peaking.” This statement is essentially saying that the streaming market is about to peak. Shomi may have made the correct decision to shut down if the market will soon go down hill. Furthermore, shomi did not enter the market strategically, as they were only available to rogers and shaw cable customers in the beginning. This narrowed down their customer base from the start and they needed something big to grow.
Point of differences are what stands out among a strong company. If one firm can own their POD in a large market they are bound to do well. Brad talks about shomi’s business model resembling to many similarities to that of netflix’s. Shomi could not stand out and competing against a strong brand name is undoubtedly difficult. Netflix offered a low price of $7.99 a month while shomi offered $8.99 a month, personally I have been a netflix user for the most recent years of my life and I can say that netflix has exceptional varieties of television shows, movies, and documentaries.. I would not consider shomi unless they offered a lower per month membership or newer varieties. One suggestion that I can positively make for any company is this streaming market is to stream brand new movies right after they are released. This option can be strategic however it would negatively affect the movie theatre market.
Overall, it is essential companies develop a strong point of difference to dominate a demanding market. It is challenging to compete against a strong brand name such as netflix especially when they control most of the market. Shomi’s decision to shut down was strategic in the eyes of a student as netflix currently and always will dominate the streaming market.
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