Latest news with #Netflix
Newsweek
5 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
WWE Officials Pushing For Career-Changing LA Knight Decision
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A new report suggests that a major brand switch could be on the horizon for LA Knight. There is reportedly a significant backstage push to move the popular superstar from SmackDown to Monday Night Raw. This comes after a period of booking that has left some fans disappointed. A move to Raw could signal a fresh start for "The Megastar." Backstage Push And Netflix Influence On LA Knight According to a report from WrestleVotes, multiple individuals within WWE are advocating for LA Knight to be moved to the Raw brand. The move is seen as a way to present a refreshing change for the character. The report also suggested that WWE's streaming partner, Netflix, has direct input on programming. It is believed that the platform hopes a star with Knight's massive popularity can "move the needle" for Raw's global audience. Testing The Waters On Raw For LA Knight WWE may already be "testing the waters" for this brand switch. Knight has appeared on the last two episodes of Raw despite officially being a SmackDown superstar. US pro-wrestler and actor Shaun Edward Ricker aka LA Knight attends Netflix's "WWE Monday Night RAW" premiere at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California on January 6, 2025. US pro-wrestler and actor Shaun Edward Ricker aka LA Knight attends Netflix's "WWE Monday Night RAW" premiere at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California on January 6, 2025. Michael Tran / AFP) (Photo by MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images His appearances have seen him directly antagonize the new faction led by Seth Rollins. He helped Sami Zayn defeat Bron Breakker last week and assisted Jey Uso this week by taking out Bronson Reed during another King of the Ring match. More news: WWE News: Steve Austin Reveals Real-Life Vince McMahon Confrontation LA Knight Sends A Message To Seth Rollins Following his latest appearance on Raw, LA Knight has made his intentions clear on social media. He posted a video taunting the members of Rollins' group that he has already neutralized. "Well, I guess if I ain't going to the King of the Ring then neither are either of the Brons. We got Bron squared over there, but I tell you what we took down what, three last week? I got this one, I got that one and we got one left [shows middle finger] yeah!" The combination of the backstage report and his very visible new feud strongly indicates that a permanent move to Raw is imminent. This would also give Knight a new career look and a fresh coat of paint for him after spending his entire main roster career on SmackDown. More WWE News: For more on WWE, head to Newsweek Sports.
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Netflix vs. Amazon: Which Streaming Giant Has Better Upside Potential?
As the streaming wars intensify and technology giants vie for consumer attention, Netflix NFLX and Amazon AMZN represent two distinctly different approaches to capturing entertainment dollars. While Netflix has built its empire as a pure-play streaming specialist, Amazon leverages its vast ecosystem encompassing cloud computing, e-commerce, and Prime Video to create a diversified entertainment and technology companies reported strong first-quarter 2025 results, with Netflix beating earnings expectations significantly and Amazon demonstrating robust growth across its segments. The streaming landscape continues evolving rapidly, with both companies investing heavily in content, technology, and new revenue streams like advertising and live delve deep and closely compare the fundamentals of the two stocks to determine which one is a better investment now. Netflix's investment thesis centers on its position as the dominant pure-play streaming platform with significant operating leverage and multiple emerging growth drivers. The company's first-quarter 2025 performance demonstrated strong fundamentals, with healthy subscriber growth and robust retention metrics despite economic headwinds. Management emphasized that engagement remains strong, with no significant changes in plan mix or churn patterns, showcasing the platform's advertising opportunity represents Netflix's most compelling growth catalyst. The company expects to roughly double its advertising revenues in 2025, driven by its proprietary ad tech platform rollout across markets. With ads currently representing a small fraction of total revenues, this business line offers substantial upside as Netflix expands programmatic capabilities and enhanced targeting features. The ad-supported tier starting at $7.99 provides accessibility during economic uncertainty while creating new monetization content strategy continues to strengthen its competitive moat. Recent announcements include major investments exceeding 1 billion euros in Spain through 2028, new partnerships like the TF1 Group distribution deal in France, and an expanding pipeline of original content across multiple genres and regions. The company's live events strategy, including the successful NFL Christmas games and upcoming Taylor-Serrano fight, demonstrates its ability to create water-cooler moments that drive subscriber acquisition and gaming initiative, while still nascent, represents another growth vector with minimal cannibalization risk. Netflix's approach focuses on premium, ad-free gaming experiences tied to popular IP, potentially unlocking value from the $140 billion gaming market over has also set ambitious but achievable targets, including doubling revenues by 2030 and achieving $9 billion in annual advertising revenues by the same year. The company's advertising business represents a significant growth opportunity, with the successful launch of Netflix's Ad Suite in the United States on April 1 and international expansion planned for this quarter. Management expects advertising revenues to double in 2025, creating a new revenue stream that complements its successful subscription Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings is pegged at $25.32 per share, indicating 27.69% growth year over year. Netflix, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Netflix, Inc. Quote Find the latest earnings estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar. Amazon's investment case rests on its diversified business model and dominant positions across multiple high-growth markets. AWS remains the crown jewel, generating $29.3 billion in quarterly revenues with 17% growth and expanding to a $117 billion annualized run streaming investment thesis centers on Prime Video's unique ecosystem integration, creating structural advantages over standalone services. Unlike subscription-dependent models, Prime Video leverages cross-subsidization from profitable retail and cloud operations, enabling aggressive content spending without immediate profitability pressure. This allows competitive bidding for premium content while offering streaming essentially "free" within Prime Video's recent content pipeline demonstrates strategic diversity. The upcoming slate includes Shiny Happy People: A Teenage Holy War, Sausage Party: Foodtopia, Hotel Costiera starring Jesse Williams, and the documentary series Simple Plan: The Kids In The Crowd. This programming spans multiple genres across 240+ territories, creating broad demographic appeal while leveraging Amazon's global distribution infrastructure. The company's retail transaction data enables premium targeting capabilities, commanding higher ad rates than traditional streaming platforms. With advertising revenues reaching $13.9 billion and growing 19% year over year, this monetization potential extends directly to Prime Video's across Alexa, Fire TV devices, and the broader Amazon ecosystem creates multiple content discovery touchpoints, enhancing user engagement. Amazon's $25.9 billion free cash flow provides sustained investment capacity for content acquisition and original Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings is pegged at $6.17 per share, which indicates a jump of 11.57% from the year-ago period. Inc. price-consensus-chart | Inc. Quote Both stocks trade at premium valuations reflecting their market leadership positions and growth prospects. Netflix trades at 44x forward earnings, while Amazon commands a similar premium of 32.09x across its diversified business segments. However, Netflix's more focused business model offers greater transparency and predictability in financial forecasting, potentially leading to multiple expansions as advertising and other initiatives gain traction. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Netflix's recent price performance reflects investor confidence, with shares climbing 37.1% year to date, outperforming Amazon, which lost 3.1%. Netflix's pure-play exposure to the streaming market provides more direct upside leverage to cord-cutting trends and global streaming adoption. Amazon's diversification offers stability but may limit the impact of streaming success on overall valuation, given AWS and retail's larger revenue contributions. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Netflix emerges as the superior choice for investors seeking upside potential. Netflix's focused streaming strategy, combined with early-stage advertising monetization and innovative content approaches, provides clearer paths to accelerated growth. The company's operating leverage model means that incremental revenue gains flow more directly to profitability. Additionally, Netflix faces fewer regulatory headwinds than Amazon's sprawling empire, while its global content investments and live events strategy create differentiated value propositions. For investors willing to embrace a pure-play streaming bet, Netflix offers better risk-adjusted upside potential in the evolving entertainment landscape. NFLX and AMZN currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) each. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Sign in to access your portfolio
Time of India
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
LA Knight's potential move to RAW gaining momentum inside WWE
LA Knight (Image via Getty Images) LA Knight could be getting a big change in his WWE career. Reports say that WWE is thinking about moving him from SmackDown to RAW. Many people backstage believe he could do well on RAW, especially now that WWE shows are streaming on Netflix. This move could help him become an even bigger star. Knight is one of the most popular superstars in WWE right now. He has become a fan favorite without needing a title to prove it. On SmackDown, he has been in big storylines and even competed in three Money in the Bank matches. But now, there is news that his time on the blue brand might be ending. Strong backstage support for LA Knight's brand switch According to WrestleVotes, several people inside WWE are pushing for LA Knight to move to RAW. They believe he would bring something new and exciting to Monday nights. RAW is known for its long storylines and character development, which could be great for someone like Knight. 'According to those within the company, more than a handful of people are advocating for LA Knight to be moved to the #WWERAW brand in the near future as his presence on Netflix could be viewed as something of a refreshing change.' Knight has not wrestled much on RAW in the past. He has only had two matches on the show, one in March 2023 against Cody Rhodes and one in February 2024 against Ivar. But recently, he has been making surprise appearances on RAW, and that has led many to believe that a full-time move could be near. 'LA Knight has been signed with the company since February of 2021 and has two Raw matches under his belt. He's been appearing on Raw over the last two weeks, very, very briefly. However, there are more than a handful of people like we just said that want to see him on Monday Night Raw each and every week.' His feuds are already on both shows Knight's recent storylines have involved superstars from both RAW and SmackDown. After Seth Rollins beat him in the Money in the Bank match, Rollins attacked Knight on SmackDown. Seth Rollins and company lay waste to LA Knight: SmackDown highlights, June 6, 2025 Then, Knight got his revenge on RAW by costing Bron Breakker a match. Later, Knight was attacked again during his own match. This back-and-forth has made fans excited and shows that he fits in well on both brands. Moving him to RAW would open up fresh rivalries and give him more screen time. It would also help RAW feel new and excited if someone as popular as LA Knight showed up every week. Also Read: SmackDown chaos: Aleister Black goes after Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker strikes Game On Season 1 kicks off with Sakshi Malik's inspiring story. Watch Episode 1 here
New York Times
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘America's Sweethearts' Is a Compelling Sports Series
Season 2 of the documentary series 'America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders,' on Netflix, is a bit less rah-rah than Season 1 — still full of tears, high kicks and sisterhood but also more attuned to the pain of it all, the sorrow and struggle of cobbling together one's self-worth. One of this season's leads is Jada, a five-year veteran of the team and among its best dancers and most thoughtful leaders. She lays out the season's theme at the beginning: 'Everyone's going to say, 'Well, they're just cheerleaders,'' she says. 'Well, we're really good cheerleaders.' Her grin begins to spread. 'Show us that you appreciate us,' she adds. Are the members of the team appreciated? Not with money, they're not, and part of this season's most invigorating arc is the cheerleaders' quest for better pay. Season 1 brought additional fame and adulation to the team, and it also drew attention to the exploitation of the enterprise. As Kylie, another team veteran, explains: 'The world was kind of telling us, 'Girls, fight for more.' And we're like, 'OK!'' As the women practice the grueling signature routine, we hear the opening strains of the AC/DC song 'Thunderstruck,' over and over. But the true refrain of the season is the fretting about being in one's own head. It's the catchall term for all distress and self-recrimination, the explanation for any lack of confidence or lapse in perfection. Yes, performers can overthink things, especially in prolonged auditions, and rumination and anxiety are enemies to the wide smiles and sexy winks the Dallas cheerleaders' routines require. The job is to make it look easy. But there's an interesting tension. Your head is where the good ideas are, too — ideas like: 'Hey, a lot of people are making a lot of money off my work; why doesn't any of that go to me?' Or: 'Even people who I believe have my best interests at heart can disappoint and hurt me.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Review Geek
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Review Geek
Has The Waterfront been renewed for Season 2? Here's what we know:
Renewed or Cancelled? The Waterfront is the latest soapy crime drama on Netflix, armed with a dysfunctional family, a simple premise and an intriguing cast of characters. Having watched the first season in its entirety, you may be wondering if this one has been renewed or cancelled. Well, wonder no more! What is The Waterfront about? The Waterfront is a Southern-set Netflix drama that follows the Buckley family, once rulers of Havenport's fishing industry. After patriarch Harlan Buckley suffers multiple heart attacks, the family business starts to sink. In a desperate bid to stay afloat, Harlan's wife Belle and their son Cane secretly get involved in drug smuggling—drawing the attention of the DEA after a major shipment disappears. As the season progresses, this dynamic takes on a slightly more sinister edge, as Harlan is pulled back into the company and the pair start working with shady characters. We have extended coverage of The Waterfront across the site, including recaps for every episode. You can find those HERE! Has The Waterfront been renewed for Season 2? At the time of writing, The Waterfront has not been renewed for season 2. Generally Netflix would gauge numerous metrics before renewing a show, including how many people initially watch it and then looking at the drop-off rate. With some shows, cancellations or renewals happen quickly. Other times, it can take months before a decision over a show's future is made. So far, Aniela has had a mixed reaction online from critics and audiences alike. Given the way this show is set up, and the ending we receive, we're predicting that this will be renewed for a second season. The series has lots of potential, and we also know that Netflix tend to shine a much more favourable light on soapy dramas like this. Having said that, we do also know that completion rate is a massive metric for these streamers so that could play a pivotal role here. For now, we'll have to wait and see what happens so take our prediction with a pinch of salt! What we know about season 2 so far: Barely anything is known about The Waterfront season 2 at this point given Netflix haven't officially renewed or cancelled this one. Given the first season's conclusion, it does seem likely to get the nod for another season though but we'll have to wait and see. Seeing Cane and Harlan find newfound respect for each other, while Diller and Bree also manage to go from estranged to respecting each other are two of the better moments for the finale. When it comes to Belle though, it seems like she's prepped to be the new leader and it will almost certainly cause friction with Harlan. And what is Peyton planning? She seems way too calm after everything that's taken place with her husband; she could also be planning something too. The final episode does end on a pretty big cliffhanger here so if this is picked up, we can expect another 8 episodes, and perhaps more dramatic mishaps and a new player in the drug game too.. We will update this page when more information becomes available, so be sure to check this page out in the near future. Would you like to see The Waterfront return for a second season? What's been your favourite part of the show? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
