Don’t worry Netflix is going to be just fine.
As is typical a new service launching is seen as the killer of the established service. Let’s face it. Sometimes a service does make another an afterthought. Just ask Myspace. In the case of Disney Plus and Netflix this simply is not the case. Before we explain why Netflix going to be fine I’m not going to ignore the fact that Disney plus is a substantial and monumental new service for the market. It’s going to be gigantic.
It picked up 10 million subscribers in 24 hours. I’m sure a week from now it will already be well on its way to 30 million. But because one service is successful it doesn’t mean that another is going to crumble. You might have noticed for instance, that Netflix has continued to be Netflix in the face of Hulu and Amazon Prime. Netflix has maintained and thrown its numbers as the cable replacement Services have arisen.
How? Because Netflix presents a particularly compelling overall value that no other service has so far. And it doesn’t look as though Disney Plus has the formula to truly counter Netflix. It is undeniable that Disney’s properties are hugely popular. The Marvel Brand is almost a sure-fire thing to get a film to Blockbuster status. Despite rumblings from some about Disney ruining Star Wars, the new films have made quite a bit of money. And the company’s collection of titles from throughout its entire history are going how to draw an audience of all ages.
But as some people have already started to notice you are not going to find content that is appropriate for anyone under the age 13 years old. This is by Design. Disney is not going to all the sudden add a bunch of more grown-up contest at the service goes on this is the way it will always look. For millions of people who just want to have things that they can watch with their family that is not a problem. It is Disney’s audience. Netflix’s audience is different.
Netflix has 140 million subscribers and who knows how many actual viewers. So that number is going to comprise a great number of families. The service just released a new animated Christmas movie that will not be yanked to Disney Plus. But besides that things that Netflix does that are similar to Disney like producing original Kids shows, animation and things of that nature Netflix provides a lot of things that Disney Plus on its own never will.
Netflix is the modern home a stand-up comedy. All of comedies legends go to Netflix when it’s time to make a statement. Chris Rock, Edie Murphy, Ellen, Seinfeld, Dave Chappell and so on. There are up and coming stars there too. There are 287 Stand up comedy specials on Netflix with the full range of language and topics.
Netflix is the home of the most expensive group of documentaries available anywhere. There are 900 documentaries. If that is your bag then it’s easy. Disney will have a lot of wonderful documentaries especially around the Nature and Science due to its connection with National Geographic. But the company will be limited in the future if it’s service is built purely on its own Brands while Netflix can buy the latest educational films from anywhere. It can produce anything it wants as well. Whether they be about Popular toys from the 1980s brutal murders and sex cults or the latest from Nova. Do you expect that you would see anything like the docudrama about Ted Bundy on Disney Plus?
While Disney Plus is heavily marketing the idea of the original series based around Marvel and Star Wars (and they look like great ideas from my point of view), we’re talking about maybe six shows. Netflix puts out thousands a pieces of original content. Now everybody has heard the criticism. Someone didn’t like this show or not too many people like that show or maybe people say “Every time I like your show Netflix cancels it blah blah blah.” That kind of criticism misses the point that Netflix is a content production studio putting out original content monthly.
Netflix has a vast number of content categories that feature titles from a multitude of studios. Multiple perspectives. Heck even the simple sub category horror. Netflix has Disney smoaked 200 + to 0.
On the other hand Disney plus if the most expensive collection of Library content built around Disney’s Brands ever seen. So here’s a question. What happens when somebody has had their fill of everything Disney has to offer? will Disney be putting out 50 new TV shows or movies in the next year or so exclusive to Disney Plus? Because you know Netflix will. and again not everything is going to be the next stranger things or House of Cards. But a show does not have to be Stranger Things or House of Cards to build an audience.
It was way over simplified to say that the two services have a different audience. Lots of Netflix customers will want to stream Avengers Endgame or even Watcher In The Woods. But because someone wants to see content on Disney + it does not mean that the big red machine is grinding to halt. It just means that there are going to be a number of people probably adding the service in addition to see the specifics they want. On top of that it is not wrong-headed to expect Disney to sell reduced price service as a Christmas promotion. Last year Hulu was on sale for .99 a month. Netflix is going to be just fine even as Disney becomes a gigantic service.
