What happened
Netflix (NFLX +0.73%) had a rough Wednesday. Share prices slid as much as 7.4% lower due to reports of growing competition in the streaming-video space. As of 3:30 p.m. EDT, Netflix's stock was trading 6.7% below Tuesday's closing prices.
So what
Early in the morning, Snap (SNAP 6.42%) announced a slate of original programming for Snapchat's fledgling video-streaming service. Later, AT&T (T +0.24%) introduced an upcoming streaming service of its own.
Some Netflix investors took one look at the approaching challengers and ran for the hills.
Image source: Getty Images.
Now what
As you might have expected from a company known for a messaging system where each entry comes with a short lifespan, Snapchat's original programming will marry high production values to very short run times. That's honestly more of a challenge to YouTube than to Netflix unless Snapchat decides to pursue longer videos later on.
As for AT&T's new service, the company presented it as "another benefit of the AT&T/Time Warner merger." In effect, we're witnessing the birth of a Time Warner-specific streaming service tied to AT&T's technology know-how. Like the upcoming streaming platform from Walt Disney, this could indeed be a significant head-to-head challenge for Netflix's core market.
Expect Netflix's management to address these new rivals in next week's earnings report and the accompanying conference call. Until then, I'm more interested in AT&T's new service than in Snapchat's short-form content. The streaming video market is getting complicated.
