Will Disney+ ACTUALLY Beat Netflix? Analysts Show Concern

in Movies & TV

president loki, tom hiddleston

Credit: Marvel Studios

As we previously reported, Disney+ was on track to overtake Netflix as the top streaming platform. The streaming service premiered in 2019 and exploded in popularity due its variety of Disney titles as well as Star Wars and Marvel content. The most unprecedented fact of the situation is that Disney+ is still a toddler compared to Netflix, which has been around for years.

Related: Here’s What’s Coming to Disney+ in November!

Disney+ Logo
Credit: Disney+

However, according to Forbes, there has been a major slowdown in new subscribers on the service. Financial conglomerate Barclays stated that bold changes would be needed to reverse the slowing growth of new subscribers on the Disney+ streaming service. Disney’s shares fell nearly 3% in noon trading, and their shares have not been downgraded by any brokerage throughout this year. Barclays analysts went on record to say that Disney+ had the most successful launch of any streaming service, though in 2021 Disney+ growth has “slowed significantly.”

“The rollout of Disney+ has been the most successful streaming launch ever, which is remarkable given that the company achieved this with very little new content,” Barclays analysts said. “This year, however, Disney+ growth has slowed significantly . . . In order to get to its long-term streaming subscription guide, Disney needs to more than double its current pace of growth to at least the same level as Netflix.”

Disney+ Menu
Credit: Disney Plus/CNET

The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek said last month that there could be a potential slowdown in Disney+. He asserted that fourth-quarter subscribers will grow by single digit millions compared to 58.5 million in the last three months.

Disney+ is currently rivaling Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV+, which all make an effort to include original content to draw in new subscribers. For example, Orange Is The New Black, which could be considered an OG Netflix Original Series, broke out to critical acclaim and attracted millions of people to the service.

Din Djarin The Mandalorian holding blaster
Credit: Lucasfilm

The issue seems to be that even though Disney+ aims to release new content every week on the service, not every piece of content that is released has the same value, hype or notoriety that other projects on rival services are providing. For example, we previously reported on Venom overtaking Squid Game as the most popular watched entity on Netflix Mexíco. However, that is only one country, and Squid Game (a Netflix original) is still reigning supreme across the world. The program even broke the record for the most watched original series in Netflix history.

Doogie Kamealoha, MD
Credit: Disney

According to The New York Post, Disney+ would need millions of more subscribers to be able to combat Netflix by the end of 2024.

“To achieve its target of 230 million to 260 million Disney+ subscribers by the end of fiscal 2024, Disney will need to more than double its current pace of growth to at least the same level as Netflix, according to Barclays.”

At the end of June, Netflix had 209 million paying subscribers, whereas Disney+ had 116 million paying subscribers. At this time, it is not certain if Disney+ will catch up to the other streaming giant by the end of 2024.

Stay tuned for more Disney+ updates from Inside the Magic.

Are you a Disney+ subscriber and thoroughly enjoy the service? Be sure to let us know in the comments! 

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