The next frontier for China: Antarctica: China is increasing the scope of its activities in the southern polar region as it builds its fifth station — which was on hold since 2018 — to include an observatory with a satellite ground station near the Ross Sea, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a report. The 5k sqm station will see a scientific region and observation area, an energy facility, a main building, a logistics facility, as well as a wharf made for China’s Xuelong icebreakers. Upon completion, a satellite ground station will be included with inherent dual-use capabilities.

There are concerns about increasing the country’s intelligence collection: The expansion has raised concerns in the west that China’s expanded activity in Antarctica would grow the country’s ability to collect intelligence on other countries, Reuters notes. “While the station can provide tracking and communications for China’s growing array of scientific polar observation satellites, its equipment can concurrently be used for intercepting other nations’ satellite communications,” CSIS said in the report. The station’s location could allow China to intercept signals from Australia and New Zealand and could also collect telemetry data on rockets launching from both countries.

Remember DVDs? After more than two decades, Netflix is ending its DVD-by-mail business, the model that flipped the entertainment industry as an early step towards on-demand content, the company said in a letter to shareholders (pdf) accompanying its 1Q 2023 earnings. While Netflix no longer releases its customer numbers for those still using the DVD service, it is likely well below the company’s peak of 20 mn subscribers in 2010, the New York Times says. The DVD service — which for a while has been held afloat by film aficionados and those nostalgic for physical media — will complete its final shipment on 29 September this year before the DVDs are sent to landfills.

Fun fact: Beetlejuice was the first DVD shipped by the company in March 1998.

Netflix is no longer synonymous with the DVD delivery that built the brand — streaming has long been the company’s dominant product. Netflix saw its revenue grow 4% y-o-y to USD 8.1 bn and its bottom line hit USD 1.3 bn during the first quarter of the year, according to its financials. Paid membership to the platform has also increased 4% over the last year, bolstered by the company’s crackdown on password sharing, which is expected to be rolled out more broadly, including to the US, during the current quarter. Yet, Netflix still faces issues regarding new subscriber numbers and missed revenue targets, prompting concern from analysts that the platform has not yet rebounded from its correction last year. With a market of competition and potentially upcoming writers strikes, Netflix needs to show its ability to reinvigorate its business and attract viewers with fresh content.

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