Analyst: Netflix Will Become a Global ‘Cultural Necessity’

Deutsche Bank raised its rating on Netflix shares recently, betting that the streaming service will become a global “cultural necessity.”

CNBC reports that Deutsche Bank is raising its rating on Netflix shares to buy from hold, as the bank stated that Netflix was becoming “more like a platform every day,” rather than a standalone app or website. Deutsche Bank analyst Bryan Kraft wrote in an investors note this week: “Platform status brings network effects not available to peers and competitors. Specifically, this is making Netflix even more of a go-to destination when consumers want to watch something, and it means having Netflix is becoming more of a cultural necessity for people around the world.”

Kraft added: “It also makes Netflix a magnet for talent. And it means that consumers stay captive within the Netflix walled garden for significant amounts of time. Aside from pay TV, which is losing audience share, there are no other competing platforms that approach Netflix’s reach.”

Although Netflix is now facing heavy competition from companies such as Disney which is set to release its Disney+ streaming service soon, and Amazon, Hulu, and HBO all entering the streaming market; Kraft believes that Netflix’s ability to lock down talent  “will continue to feed” Netflix’s “appetite for high-value original content.”

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings recently left Facebook’s board following 8 years of service, reports claim that Hastings departure related to disagreements over President Donald Trump. Hastings has previously criticized Facebook board member Peter Thiel for his support of the President, saying in an email: “I’m so mystified by your endorsement of Trump for our President, that for me it moves from ‘different judgment’ to ‘bad judgment. Some diversity in views is healthy, but catastrophically bad judgment (in my view) is not what anyone wants in a fellow board member.”

Netflix has signed a deal with former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama to produce programming for the company.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com