Hollywood Torrent: Netflix's rivals say they aren't competing with it. They are.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 09: The Walt Disney Company Chairman and CEO Bob Iger speaks onstage during "From 7 Dwarves to 140 Characters" at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on October 9, 2014 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Kimberly White/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)Photographer: Kimberly White/Getty Images North America

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August 11, 2019 at 11:35 PM UTC

Good afternoon from Los Angeles, wherever you may be. I just got back from my friend Adam’s bachelor party in Lake Tahoe, and am pleased to report that everyone emerged in one piece. The weekend provided a welcome reprieve from the one topic that I can’t escape lately (other than Donald Trump): the streaming race of 2019.

I must admit that at times I struggle to get excited about this story. A half-dozen media and technology giants are all creating more or less the same product – a streaming service with thousands of titles, some original and some licensed. They are all using the same name generator: HBO Max, Disney+, Apple TV+, ESPN+.