Now, there are concerns for Netflix’s presence in the United Kingdom as several popular series are set to leave the streamer for the Disney+ service. As one recent report noted:
Netflix is facing a fight to stop as many as 750,000 UK subscribers defecting as its rival Disney takes back exclusive control of hits such as Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother and Sons of Anarchy to bolster its own service.
The streaming company, which last week forecast the lowest number of new global subscribers in the first quarter since 2010, has lost the UK rights to five popular titles to Disney+ this month, with more set to follow.
Analysts are concerned about the situation, with Digital i CEO Ali Vahdati noting:
“Modern Family was the most streamed Netflix show in Europe in 2020,” said Vahdati, who has estimated that the loss of that show could have the biggest impact, with almost 270,000 subscribers deemed to be hardcore fans. “Our previous research showed that over half of Netflix’s top viewing was to major [Hollywood] studio content.”
It is important to keep in mind that Netflix certainly has its own slate of series that are popular among fans. These include mega-hit Bridgerton, the Regency-era drama that will see its second season drop on March 25, 2022.
Stranger Things Season 4, starring Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven, is also set for a 2022 debut.
Netflix has also recently signed some major Hollywood stars to its films. Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic, The Great Gatsby, The Revenant) and Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games) led sci-fi film, Don’t Look Up, for example, and Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool, Free Guy) is set to appear in The Adam Project.
Although Netflix still has a lot going for it, it will be interesting to see how losing the rights to popular series in the United Kingdom will impact the service not only in Europe, but around the world.
25
Credit: ABC
