By Stephen McBride
Did you know Queen Elizabeth ll has her own Youtube channel? Every year since 1957, she’d get on cable TV to address her nation. But in 2007, the Queen did what no monarch had ever done. She set herself up on Youtube.
Cable TV is clearly dying. Even an 81-year-old monarch knew it back in 2007! Those who saw this coming early on made fortunes…
If you invested in Netflix back in 2002, today you would be sitting on 24,604% gains.
But the party is over for Netflix. Have you looked around at the streaming industry lately? It’s like a crowded bar fight.
On November 1, Apple launches its own streaming service called Apple TV Plus. Just five days later, Netflix’s fiercest rival Disney launches Disney+. (You can find my investment case for Disney here.)
Next year, TimeWarner is going live with HBO Max and NBC with Peacock. There’s also Amazon with its widely popular Prime Video and many more. See what’s happening?
The world’s richest and most powerful companies are invading the “streaming” market that Netflix enjoyed a near-monopoly on for years. If you read RiskHedge, you know I’ve been warning to keep money out of stock market darling Netflix (NFLX).
This was not a popular thing to say when I first wrote it in July last year. But Netflix’s worst nightmare has, in fact, come true, and the stock has been almost cut in half.
An “Invisible” Player in This Industry That Streamers Rely On
There’s, however, an “invisible” company playing a key role in this hundred-billion dollar industry. You probably use its service… maybe even without realizing it.
It’s being watched 3X more than Netflix. And it’s starting to rake in hundreds of millions as the TV revolution enters a new phase. The best thing, it’s not competing with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or any other streaming service.
Instead, video streamers rely on this company—and even pay a cut to it!
Many Folks Need More Than a Subscription to Watch Netflix
As you probably know, computers are powered by operating systems like Microsoft’s Windows.
They support the computer’s basic functions and allow you to perform tasks like writing a document or surfing the internet. What you might not know is, these days, TVs need advanced operating systems too. They run in the background, and most folks don’t know they’re there.
But they’re very important. Without an operating system, your TV couldn’t connect to the internet… which means it couldn’t access Netflix, Hulu, or any other streaming service.
You Probably Know Roku For Its Streaming Boxes
When most people think of Roku, they think about the physical box wired up to a TV.
For 17 years, Roku had been in the hardware business. It was the leading provider of physical streaming boxes. 41 million American households now own a Roku device.
But Roku’s business wasn’t flourishing. In fact, for years the company bled money. Until very recently, the stock went basically nowhere. Then everything changed.
Here’s Roku’s stock chart since last December:
