If you're a fan of binge-watching your favorite shows on Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) or like to listen to your music without any interruptions on Spotify (SPOT - Free Report) , then you may not like the sound of this. On Wednesday, US Senators Brian Schatz and John Thune introduced a bill that calls for governments to explore the idea of alerting viewers of any potential disasters through streaming media services.
The proposed legislation is called Reliable Emergency Alert Distribution Improvement, or the READI act. It has been designed to alert viewers of any potential threats that might be coming their way through smartphones, TVs and radios. As of now, it isn’t even certain if the bill will pass and actually become law. However, if it does, viewers can expect to see alerts while watching their favorite shows.
Will This Affect the Amount of Media Consumers?
According to Forbes, Spotify hit 50 million subscribers in 2017. The number has only gone up since then, with more and more people paying for the premium subscription, which includes listening to your music without any ads or interruptions. Similarly, in Netflix’s most recent quarter, the company reported 130 million subscribers for their media streaming service.
Spotify and Netflix have both become very popular over the years, especially amongst a younger crowd. Along with millennials becoming accustomed to using these media streaming services as their primary source of entertainment, younger generations also use them. Seeing as there is a Netflix Kids section, it could be of concern if emergency alerts were to pop up, as a younger crowd might get frightened or not understand what’s going on.
If this bill gets passed, it could be concerning for these media companies, as consumers might not want any disruptions while watching a show or listening to music. Perhaps this could lead to fewer subscribers for Netflix and Spotify, or maybe not. Even though there might be a disruption here or there, these emergency alerts essentially save lives if handled correctly.
Could there be Potential Mishaps?
Alerting people when nothing wrong is going to happen has occurred in the past, and recently happened in Hawaii, when a state employee misheard a recorded message which was part of an unscheduled drill and broadcasted a false alarm about a nuclear attack. As mentioned before, an emergency alert is there to help people, but management needs to be the one to carry it out correctly and effectively.
However, according to cnet, the READI act will implement lessons learned from past mishaps and incidents, as well as recognize that emergency protocols must also change as communication technology changes.
Bottom Line
There’s no doubt that if this were to become a law, it would ensure the safety for many, but we can’t be certain whether or not consumers of these media services will like it or not.
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Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>
If you're a fan of binge-watching your favorite shows on Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) or like to listen to your music without any interruptions on Spotify (SPOT - Free Report) , then you may not like the sound of this. On Wednesday, US Senators Brian Schatz and John Thune introduced a bill that calls for governments to explore the idea of alerting viewers of any potential disasters through streaming media services.
The proposed legislation is called Reliable Emergency Alert Distribution Improvement, or the READI act. It has been designed to alert viewers of any potential threats that might be coming their way through smartphones, TVs and radios. As of now, it isn’t even certain if the bill will pass and actually become law. However, if it does, viewers can expect to see alerts while watching their favorite shows.
Will This Affect the Amount of Media Consumers?
According to Forbes, Spotify hit 50 million subscribers in 2017. The number has only gone up since then, with more and more people paying for the premium subscription, which includes listening to your music without any ads or interruptions. Similarly, in Netflix’s most recent quarter, the company reported 130 million subscribers for their media streaming service.
Spotify and Netflix have both become very popular over the years, especially amongst a younger crowd. Along with millennials becoming accustomed to using these media streaming services as their primary source of entertainment, younger generations also use them. Seeing as there is a Netflix Kids section, it could be of concern if emergency alerts were to pop up, as a younger crowd might get frightened or not understand what’s going on.
If this bill gets passed, it could be concerning for these media companies, as consumers might not want any disruptions while watching a show or listening to music. Perhaps this could lead to fewer subscribers for Netflix and Spotify, or maybe not. Even though there might be a disruption here or there, these emergency alerts essentially save lives if handled correctly.
Could there be Potential Mishaps?
Alerting people when nothing wrong is going to happen has occurred in the past, and recently happened in Hawaii, when a state employee misheard a recorded message which was part of an unscheduled drill and broadcasted a false alarm about a nuclear attack. As mentioned before, an emergency alert is there to help people, but management needs to be the one to carry it out correctly and effectively.
However, according to cnet, the READI act will implement lessons learned from past mishaps and incidents, as well as recognize that emergency protocols must also change as communication technology changes.
Bottom Line
There’s no doubt that if this were to become a law, it would ensure the safety for many, but we can’t be certain whether or not consumers of these media services will like it or not.
Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies
It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6%, and +67.1%. And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation. See Them Free>>
Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>
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