Disney is gearing up to have one hell of a year in 2019. And no, it’s not just the live-action films headed our way. The company has the grand opening of Star Wars Land and the release of Pixar and Lucasfilm movies we’ve been anxiously waiting for. But, spoiler alert, there is still one more thing that 2019 that could have a massive long term impact for Disney—its very own streaming service. Known as Disney+, the streaming service is going to include one epic list of content. Original content (two Star Wars live-action series, a High School Musical series, new Marvel shows and much more), along with some of the iconic movies that many of us grew up with. It’s hard to fathom just how big this streaming service could get, but come on, it’s Disney—the sky is the limit.
Who Stands To Lose The Most?
But this does raise an interesting question for the future of other streaming services—namely Netflix. Currently, Netflix has quite a bit of Disney content ranging from Pixar, Lucasfilm, and as of now, two Marvel superhero shows. But once Disney+ kicks in, naturally all this material will leave Netflix and eventually appear on Disney+. Ahead of the move, all Marvel shows apart from The Punisher and Jessica Jones have been canceled. Specifically, these shows will not automatically resume on the new streaming service due to contractual issues, but they are still is a huge loss for Netflix. Perhaps not in the financial sense, but it led to many fans being heartbroken and frustrated over their favorite shows being abruptly canceled.
Losing the major Disney movies will definitely slim down Netflix’s collection, but it is not the only appeal for Disney+. Disney’s CEO, Bob Iger, revealed that the streaming service will cost less than Netflix. A lower price point acknowledges the competition in the streaming market, as we saw Hulu announce a price drop recently.
New Star Wars and Marvel Series Announced for Disney+ Streaming Service: https://t.co/8zVhzlArpl pic.twitter.com/4YRAGwQ05Z
— Walt Disney Company (@WaltDisneyCo) November 8, 2018
How Big of an Impact is This For Netflix?
There are some things that have been going unnoticed in this upcoming shift between the services. First off, Netflix currently has all Disney movies from 2016 onwards, so they don’t house the full catalog. Secondly, most of the Disney movies are likely to remain on Netflix until 2019 ends. Basically, anything new that comes out from this point forward would not go on Netflix. So, Netflix has 2019 to adjust its strategy and content catalog for 2020.
Disney+ didn’t drop suddenly out of thin air. The streaming service was known to be coming for quite some time now, and won’t even launch likely until the fall of 2019. Netflix has had time to come up with a game plan. And in reality, how much can Netflix be affected by the presence of Disney+? It seems to us that it will all balance out in the end because each streaming service will have its own unique presence. Sure, Netflix will have once housed a lot of Disney’s content, but it doesn’t mean that they will go out of business without it. It is now home to an Oscar-nominated movie, years of original content and it sits atop the streaming wars.
Netflix has brought on television moguls Ryan Murphy and Shonda Rhimes in the last year. So suffice to say there is plenty of excitement for the streaming service’s future—even with Disney+. Disney is a massive brand, with a huge catalog of content at its disposable and the resources to one day top Netflix. But it won’t happen in the short term. The competition will be fierce, but both companies are likely to stand on their own. For now, enjoy the Disney owned content via Netflix and prepare your budget to add another streaming service before the year is out.
