Netflix Claims It's More Afraid Of ‘Fortnite’ Than HBO

01/17/2019 05:42 pm EST

With the rise of streaming services, one might think that certain companies pose threat to their way to business- like, for instance, Disney + with Netflix's Marvel series. But the big "N" actually believes that one of its biggest adversaries actually lies within the world of video games.

In a new earnings report from the company, which went up earlier today, the company noted that there's a surprising threat with Epic Games' Fortnite, which they estimate takes up 10 percent of television screen time in the U.S. In other countries, it seems to be a bit further down due to "lower penetration of our service."

The company then continued, "We earn consumer screen time, both mobile and television, away from a very broad set of competitors. We compete with (and lose to) Fortnite more than HBO."

That last statement is a little surprising, considering the cable premiere films and television shows that the company has invested in, including the final season of Game of Thrones.

Based on numbers provided by Polygon, Netflix has nearly 139 million paying memberships per month (prior to its recently announced increase that's taking place this year), while Fortnite has over 200 million registered users. That's not entirely a fair comparison since Fortnite is free-to-play, though its cosmetics do make a great deal of money for Epic Games, into the billions. So it could still be considered a threat.

Netflix noted it will continue to press forward with its original programming, spending billions of dollars on both films and television shows in an effort to draw in viewers, despite the rate increase. But the real question here is how Fortnite will evolve over the next few months, aside from little changes and additions such as new outfits and gear. Epic hasn't really responded to Netflix's statement- and we haven't heard from HBO either- so needless to say, this comment may stoke a few fires when it comes to creativity. We'll let you know when plans start moving forward.

(Hat tip to Polygon for the details!)

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