Foreground Image Credit: Glennia, FlickrThe Walt Disney Company shocked a lot of fans when it made an announcement to cave into the power of Netflix.
The battle between Disney+ (launched in 2019) and Netflix (founded in 1997) has been one of the defining narratives in the streaming industry. Disney’s entry into the market with its vast catalog of beloved franchises like Star Wars and Marvel posed a significant challenge to Netflix’s dominance. Initially, Netflix held the advantage with its extensive library of original content and a robust global presence. However, Disney’s strategic acquisitions, including Pixar, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Fox, bolstered its content offerings and subscriber base, at least for a moment.
Netflix responded by investing heavily in original programming and expanding its international footprint. The streaming giant focused on diversifying its content to appeal to a wide range of audiences while also experimenting with innovative formats and genres. Despite facing increased competition from Disney+, Netflix maintained its position as the market leader, leveraging its data-driven approach to content creation and recommendation algorithms to keep users engaged.
Now, as the two companies stand at the forefront of more battles in the future, it’s clear that Netflix has the “inside lane.” Though the company has faced backlash for its password crackdowns and price increases, Netflix remains the most popular streaming service in the world today. As a matter of fact, Netflix’s 260 million subscribers outpace Disney by more than 43%. In the last report, Disney has around 149 million subscribers.
Speaking at a conference last week, Inside the Magic covered words from Disney CEO Bob Iger, who expressed the company’s wishes moving forward, but also gave a shocking admission: Disney is not on the level of Netflix, at least in one area.
“We need to be at their level in terms of technology capability,” Iger said about Netflix. “When we launched Disney+ in 2019, our goal was to have basically robust video experiences at scale… What we didn’t have was the technology that we needed to basically lower customer acquisition and retention cost, to increase engagement, to essentially grow our margins by reducing marketing expenses.”
In a finance report from Up Wall Street, one insider said that Disney has a lot of work in front of them should they want to catch Netflix in the streaming world.
“When it comes to streaming, Disney is at a disadvantage with higher marketing expenses, along with customer acquistion and retention costs due to not having the technological capabilities of Netflix…Disney has a lot of fixing up to do, which is why Iger is back at the helm. To restore the kingdom to its former glory, Disney needs to get its streaming platforms on technical par with Netflix,” they said.
Of course, that’s easier said than done.
With the controversy surrounding The Walt Disney Company, it’s easy to see why the company’s streaming ventures would be in hot water. Many fans have turned off their subscriptions and others are not happy about the company following in Netflix’s footsteps, beginning with password-sharing crackdowns on Disney+ and Hulu.
Many fans say that Disney has lost its way. Some experts believe the company is invested in too many assets– which include the Disney Parks & Resorts, Movie Studios, linear programming, and much more– to make up significant ground against Netflix. Only time will tell at this point.
What do you think the future holds for Disney? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments!