Published 21:21 IST, November 21st 2019
Has Disney+ become the Netflix killer that many envisioned it to be?
Upon its announcement, Disney+ was touted to become the Netflix killer by many experts and fans; a week after its launch, has it lived up to that expectation?
Disney's own streaming service, Disney+, was launched only a week ago on November 12, 2019. The platform is currently only available in the United States and certain other countries and has not yet been launched in India. However, upon its release, many experts predicted that Disney+ would severely affect the stocks of Netflix. Now, a week after its release has Disney+ really done any damage to Netflix's stock and subscriber count as predicted?
Disney+ vs Netflix
Upon its release, Disney+ boasted a large number of movies and TV shows. It has 300 movies ranging from their latest releases to their oldest films such as 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and also has around 7000 TV episodes. Disney+ also promised a slew of new original shows connected to their popular franchises such as Marvel and Star Wars. They have already started releasing episodes for their latest original show, The Mandalorian. However, while these numbers might seem impressive at first glance, they still do not hold a torch to the amount of content available at Netflix.
Even before its launch, Disney+ had over 1.9 million subscribers but that number is not even 3% of the subscriber count that Netflix has. On the first day of its launch, Disney+ gained a total of 10 million subscribers, though that number might be inflated due to many using the free trial. It remains to be seen if the number will remain the same after the free trial ends. Netflix, on the other hand, has around 150 million subscribers worldwide. However, Netflix has the advantage of time, platform loyalty, as well as availability. Disney+ might be able to reach comparable numbers over the years if their platform remains popular and gets a global release.
As for stocks, Disney's shares have risen by 8% since the launch of Disney+. Netflix has also recovered from an initial slump and their shares are now up by 3%. Investors for both platforms have stated that they believe the two might be capable of coexisting safely.
Chief investment strategist at Baker Avenue Asset Management, King Lip said that what his children watched on Netflix was not the same as what they watched on Disney+. He added that the market has started to appreciate both the platform and are buying into both the companies. Baker Avenue itself owns shares at both Disney as well as Netflix.
Updated 22:57 IST, November 21st 2019