Is Disney’s Paid Streaming Service a Happy Move?

by Diana Drake

Walt Disney Co. is in the business of marketing happiness. Its animated movies promise happily-ever-after fairytale endings, and Disneyland is purportedly the Happiest Place on Earth. But the media conglomerate’s recent decision to pull all of its Disney and Pixar films from Netflix and put them into its own paid streaming service has led to many unhappy fans. “This is a huge blow to Netflix users and Disney lovers who don’t want to have to pay double to access the content we love!” states a petition with 15,000 supporters urging Disney to change its mind.

Cable TV operators also aren’t happy, because they are paying content providers like Disney big bucks for shows that may also be available outside of the TV bundle. Disney’s ESPN, the most expensive cable network, will be launched as a beefed up direct-to-consumer streaming service, too. “We’re telling them, ‘Why are you coming to me asking for a certain amount when you’re giving it away free on your website or going direct to the consumer at a cheaper price than what you’re giving me?’” says Matt Polka, president of the American Cable Association.

Such reactions to Disney’s decision underscore the risk it is taking by becoming the exclusive online distributor for its beloved animated films and certain sports content. Starting in 2019, the newest Disney and Pixar films will no longer be found on Netflix but will reside in a new Disney-branded paid streaming service that goes directly to consumers. It would include the upcoming Toy Story 4, the Frozen sequel and a live-action The Lion King. Subscribers also can access the Disney and Pixar film library, as well as content from the Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD. (Marvel and Lucasfilm movies are being negotiated.)

Disney is also creating a streaming service in 2018 for its ESPN sports content, which will carry about 10,000 live games a year including Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, Grand Slam tennis and college sports. That’s why it bought a majority stake in video streaming firm BAMTech. Until now, much of its video streams are chiefly available only with a paid subscription via another distributor, like Netflix or Hulu. Now Disney is becoming the distributor. “I would characterize this as extremely important — a very, very significant strategic shift for us,” Disney CEO Robert Iger said in an earnings conference call.

Feeling Forced?

Is Disney making the right move? Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader says his initial reaction is that it’s a mistake. “That’s old school,” he says. “You have to be really, really careful about doing things you think are protecting your content, but it’s actually putting it at risk.” He cites Viacom’s lawsuit against YouTube in 2007 for letting users upload TV shows like Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” without consent. They settled in 2014 without any payment. “Everyone was pulling stuff off YouTube [saying,] ‘They don’t have a right to distribute our content, and we’re not making money on it,’” he says. “Now they’re all back.”

In the age of digital consumption, Disney’s relationship with its fans would only improve if it makes it easy for people to find its content on any platform they prefer. “You want people to choose to be there,” Fader says. If Disney wants fans to pay for the new video services, there should be compelling content and benefits to make it worthwhile. Take Amazon Prime. It offers videos but also free 2-day shipping and other perks. Shoppers flocked there. “People are going to go to the platforms they want,” he adds.

While it’s good that Disney is experimenting with paid streaming, pulling out of Netflix to push people toward the new service isn’t the way to go. “You can’t force people to go elsewhere. They’re just going to change the content they’re consuming,” Fader says. Instead, “the burden is for these companies to come up with a business model that will enable them to benefit from losing control of their content.”

Disney is facing pressures from subscriber declines and soft broadcast network ratings, which depress advertising revenue. ESPN, Disney’s most valuable cable channel, has seen subscribers dip to 88 million in December 2016 from more than 100 million in 2011, while the Disney Channel and Freeform network lost about 4 million in the past three years, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence report. “The launching of streaming services can help Disney address these declining audiences that are increasingly turning to digital platforms to consume content,” the report notes.

Disney does operate a paid video streaming service in the U.K. called DisneyLife. But it had to cut prices since performance was “tepid,” according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Some analysts say that the company is right to try again. “Disney not moving forward on its own would be a mistake given the changes in the ecosystem and similar direct-to-consumer launches from most of the company’s peers,” said a JPMorgan analysts’ note, although it had more reservations about an ESPN offering. Added a Needham & Co. report: “We believe every content company must follow CBS into the direct-to-consumer channel business to maintain growth.”

The More, the Merrier

Today, 11 million U.S. households subscribe only to streaming services, and the number is projected to grow to 15 million by 2020, says Wharton marketing professor Shiri Melumad. Meanwhile, the number of people who have never subscribed to cable TV continues to grow. “All of this in spite of the fact that streaming services still cannot provide all of the content available in standard cable packages,” she says. “It does seem likely that the future of content consumption will be app-based streaming services rather than traditional cable TV.”

Media and tech companies are figuring this out and jumping into the streaming video business. Apple reportedly is the latest to enter the fray, joining Netflix, Amazon Video, Hulu Plus and Hulu Live TV, CBS All Access, HBO Now, Google’s YouTube TV, YouTube Red, DirecTV Now, Dish’s Sling TV, Showtime, Comcast’s Streampix, fuboTV (Fox and Scripps are investors), PlayStation Vue, PGA Tour Live, WWE Network, Turner’s FilmStruck, Nickelodeon’s Noggin and others. Verizon is planning to launch a service as well.

Will there be room for Disney? “The streaming services space is becoming more and more crowded,” notes Jehoshua Eliashberg, Wharton marketing professor who studies entertainment industry strategies. “It is my belief, however, that content is king. Disney has a lot of content with very broad appeal, for the U.S. as well as global markets. So I anticipate that Disney will grow the pie as well as obtain a decent share of it. That is, assuming a competitive pricing scheme, I expect to see some consumers switching into Disney from other streaming services.”

Indeed, a new survey shows that 23% of Americans would likely subscribe to the Disney service, according to Morning Consult, a news and market research firm. The service will be even more popular among millennials — 36% are keen on buying it and more than half would add the plan to their other subscriptions. Already, four in 10 millennials today are paying for two to three streaming services. However, they are getting tired of the fragmented video market: 57% say there are too many services, and 73% wish all their shows were available on one service.

Netflix Will Be All Right

As for Netflix, analysts think it will fare just fine without Disney and Pixar content. Viewing of these movies “likely accounts for a single-digit percentage” of total viewership time on Netflix, and “we do not expect Disney’s departure to have a material impact on subscriber numbers,” said a JPMorgan report.

And Netflix isn’t sitting still. On the same day as Disney’s news, Netflix revealed that former CBS talk show host David Letterman is coming out of retirement to create a new six-episode series for its platform. Days later, Netflix announced that it has hired away a top Disney producer, writer and TV show creator: Shonda Rhimes, who is behind such hits as “Scandal,” “How to Get Away with Murder” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” And a day before Disney’s bombshell, Netflix announced its first-ever acquisition: Millarworld, the comic book publisher behind such franchises as “Kick-Ass” and “Kingsman,” which were made into movies.

A version of this article was originally published in our sister publication Knowledge@Wharton. Visit knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu for more great content.

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Conversation Starters

What do you think of Disney’s move? Do you plan to subscribe to a Disney-branded streaming service? Is content king?

Do you agree with Wharton Professor Peter Fader that “pulling out of Netflix to push people toward the new service isn’t the way to go.” Why or why not? How much is too much with the proliferation of streaming services?

While pulling out of Netflix may hurt consumers like you and me because we won’t be able to view Disney movies there anymore, will it significantly hurt Netflix?

57 comments on “Is Disney’s Paid Streaming Service a Happy Move?

  1. Personally, I believe that Disney has made a wrong move in this aspect. Many of the streaming websites use Disney’s content all ready, so for them to turn around and make their own is not a good marketing strategy. Already raking in cash from Netflix and the other services using Disney’s shows and movies, there was no need to pull out of them. I definitely agree with the JP Morgan report because although Netflix will not have the Disney movies everyone loves, they only counted for a single digit of the percentage of time on the site. All in all, I believe that Disney are the ones that are going to suffer from this one.

    • Oh, good point. I also agree that Disney is getting the short end of the stick beings Netflix is so popular in the world and they are no longer involved in it.

    • Great point Hayden. I agree that Disney only hurts themselves by removing themselves from Netflix. Disney isn’t needed by Netflix for them to make money.

    • I agree with you. This is a bad move for Disney. If they were already getting a lot of money through Netflix and other companies then why would they want to make their own company that people would most likely not pay to watch?

    • I concur, Mr Schlegel, Disney has made the wrong move; Disney should allow these other sites to use their content so they can both benefit. Netflix and Disney would both be better off if they worked together instead of dividing and working by themselves.

    • I agree with Hayden because I feel that Disney are going to be the ones suffering from this situation. I also agree with the JP Morgan report because even though Netflix will not have the Disney movies that everyone loves anymore, they only counted for a single digit of the percentages of time on the site. I also feel that cable is starting to die out so honestly this situation isn’t too much of a big deal. Unless your a huge fan of Disney movies.

    • I totally agree that Disney made the wrong call in making customers have to pay for another service to watch their content.

    • Dear Hayden, thank you for your response. I believe that your response raises one key question about consumer behaviour in the market: the question over whether consumer loyalty is with regards to specific content or towards a specific platform.

      If consumer loyalty is based on content, Disney may be successful in shifting a large percentage of their viewers away from other websites like Netflix after pulling their content. However, it is quite possible that consumer loyalty lies in platforms as well. If that is the case, Netflix would likely maintain a large portion of its market share, and be unaffected by Disney withdrawing their content.

      In my opinion, consumer loyalty is a combination of both. I do believe that for Disney’s new platform to be successful, they would have to monopolise their own content, and not allowing competitors to use their content would be an obvious step. However, it is true that this might anger consumers and negatively impact Disney’s brand perception. Disney may also lose some revenue while making the shift (after pulling out of their deal with Netflix, before their own website has been released), but yet, for a company their size, they can afford to function without their revenues. In my opinion, this is a great opportunity for Disney to expand into a quickly growing market, and take advantage of the vast range of content they provide to penetrate through the market.

  2. I read the artical about disney making its own streaming service and the first thing i thought was “oh great another eleven bucks a month” i feel this is just crazy. It’s a shame that people are getting hit with so many subscription based services that cable has somehow died in the process and netflix may not be able to recover from this. I think it doesn’t help that netflix bought the “Millarverse” as a last ditch effort and i’m a comic book reader and i can tell you that disney already owns marvel which is frank miller’s best work and his independant is just not the best so hopefully they can do something with those franchises.

    • I agree that cable is becoming less and less popular and most of the sources of entertainment are going more and more into subscription based services. For example, Netflix is in many cases overriding other entertainment sources. I can honestly say the only time I watch television, not Netflix, is when I am watching football games. Many people also have a subscription then do not use it so they end up wasting money on something they aren’t using.

  3. Growing up I used to watch Disney 24-7. I still love watching Disney. I love watching tv shows in general. But I mostly do it online. Don’t have time to watch new shows when they come on. Netflix is a big go to for me. I like having the power to watch what I want at my fingertips. Now Disney wants to leave Netflix and Hulu. That’s more money to put out. I read this “Disney is facing pressures from subscriber declines and soft broadcast network ratings, which depress advertising revenue. ESPN, Disney’s most valuable cable channel, has seen subscribers dip to 88 million in December 2016 from more than 100 million in 2011, while the Disney Channel and Freeform network lost about 4 million in the past three years, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence report,” which explains a little bit about why they are doing this. My concern is how much is it going to cost me? There are already so many streaming services, that are free. It feels like it would just be easier to combine them all. I understand that won’t happen, but we don’t need to be adding anymore streaming services to the list. It just seem to be too much.

    • great insights hannah! i agree with you very much! i think that the idea of them combining them all is excellent. It is way too much to split all of the free streaming services apart, they need to be together so that it is not all too much for people. I totally agree.

      • I agree, Netflix and Hulu both are a huge company. If they leave Netflix and Hulu would be struggling with money. My little brother watches Disney on Netflix all the time, if they get rid of Disney my brother is going to really upset. What you said to combine them all is a great way to do it. I totally agree with your comment.

        • I also agree, Netflix is very popular for their Disney kids movies. I know for a fact that My brothers love watching Frozen and will deeply be hurt when that and all Disney movies disappear. If they have their own streaming service it will cost more which is unfair to us. I believe they should keep everything the same.

    • I agree with Hannah’s statement.I used to watch Disney channel all the time. But then once I got older I grew out of those shows. So then I started to watch shows and movies on Netflix. It was easy because you can watch it on your phone, laptop, television, anywhere. Like Hannah said, “I like having the power to watch what I want at my fingertips. Netflix is easy because a lot of Disney shows and movies are on Netflix. I love Disney too. My family and I at least go to Disney once a year. But now they are taking off their shows and movies and putting them on their own streaming service. I love Disney movies and shows, I usually watch them on Netflix a lot. So now I don’t know what to do about this because I don’t want to pay even more money every month to have two streaming services. I agree that I would be easier to keep all the Disney shows and movies on Netflix.

      • I agree with Camryn and Hannah. There really is no point for Disney to make their own separate streaming if majority of people use Netflix on a daily basis. Although people love Disney shows they won’t love paying an additional price for just Disney shows when Netflix has all shows from all genres. This might attract parents with young kids but even Netflix has shows for kids. Disney might want to re think before going ahead with this decision especially when they’re going up against Netflix.

        • I agree with Miranda and Hannah when they said Disney making their own paid streaming service is pointless when Disney movies and television shows are already easily accessible through Netflix and Hulu. If households are already paying a monthly fee to Netflix and maybe another monthly fee to Hulu they are not going to want to paid another fee on top of what they are already paying to watch Disney. The Disney streaming service will be most successful with family with younger children but younger children are not the only people who enjoy Disney programs. I agree with Camryn when she mentioned “I love Disney movies and shows, I usually watch them on Netflix a lot.” Every once in awhile we all want to watch a Disney movie which will not be easily accessible anymore because of Disney’s new launch.

          • This article writes very well. I like it. This topic has always been one of my favorite subjects to read about. I have found your post to be very rousing and full of good information. I will check your other articles shortly. jobalertworld

  4. This move Disney is making is a huge thing and in my eyes I think it’s a bad idea. Many people like Netflix because of the variety in shows and not many people are willing to spend money to only watch Disney shows and movies. I would rather pay for an app that would give me so many different options than just the same cheesy movies. Many places already have it there so I don’t understand the need to pull out and make your own when it is on Netflix and Amazon Prime. I feel this is simply a stupid move because not everyone will be willing to pay to only see Disney context when the other competitors have better content and a more variety. I think this will fail due to the lack of attention and people signing up most teens won’t sign up but many parents will for their kids but this decision is not smart because this streaming app won’t appeal to all ages and will only attract a small few.

    • I totally agree with Jasmine’s idea with Disney making a big move. Why would they move all the Disney Channel’s tv shows and movies when you combine all the shows into one streaming service. Plus who wants to pay just to watch a cheesy tv show or movie, when you can do it under one low cost price under one streaming service along with other movies and tv shows. On top of that there are more and more teenagers these days than there is little kids.

  5. Throughout this article we read about what the Disney company wants to do, and not really about what the consumer would want. Though I agree it is a smart move for Disney to make their own platform with their shows and movies, I also agree that pulling out of Netflix was not smart. I agree with Peter Fader, Wharton’s marketing professor, when he said, “People are going to go to the platforms they want” and “You can’t force people to go elsewhere. They’re just going to change the content they’re consuming.” If Disney movies and shows are not going to be on everyone’s favorite entertainment company (Netflix), then they are just going to change the show and/or movie they are watching. There are going to be very few people who actually spend the money to be apart of this new Disney platform. Why go from Netflix, also known as a platform that has thousands of movies and shows, to a Disney platform that only shows movies and shows from what Disney created?

    • I agree with you, Bailey. It is a good opportunity for Disney to make some make money but a horrible move when it comes to the Netflix situation. Taking shows off Netflix will certainly show a decrease in ratings. Disney’s newest shows on Disney Channel are a total joke compared to what they used to be. The service might bring some old fans back if they show old shows but leaving Netflix will certainly hurt Disney.

    • I agree with Bailey in the sense that people won’t change over to the Disney app to watch those shows they will just simply find something else that is better and is on Netflix. Everyone has their go to streaming service that they like due to the context they are providing and I think it’s stupid to get another streaming service you will be paying to only watch Disney context. I get why they want to do it in order to make more money and to grow as a company but this idea isn’t that smart because I personally think many people aren’t going to switch to Disney and the sales will show that this wasn’t the right idea to do.

    • I agree with bailey in that it isn’t smart of Disney to pull off of Netflix because of how much everyone loves to watch Netflix. I do think people will spend the money on the Disney platform but not as many as many people on Netflix. Most people won’t go out of their way to go onto a different website and pay the membership when they already have a Netflix account and can just watch a different movie.

    • I agree with Bailey, people are not going to change their subscriptions to the platforms that they have been subscribed to for years. It is going to be frustrating for those who love and enjoy Disney but even more frustrating for the Disney company when they realize that people won’t change their platform just because their films and shows are not on their anymore. The whole idea behind Netflix is convenience to watch shows and movies from the comfort of your home or on the go without having to be connected to cable. Having multiple platforms that people would be forced to have subscription with and pay for is inconvenient. This is a dumb move on Disneys part all around.

  6. I think that Disney shouldn’t have started their own streaming company. They were already making money from Netflix and other streaming companies. They’re subscribers has decreased from over 100 million to 88 million in just 5 years. This was not the move they should have made because a lot of people aren’t going to pay just to see Disney shows and movies. 73% of people said they wished that all their shows were on one streaming company. I think Disney isn’t going to benefit much for making that move.

    • I agree with this Disney should not have started there own movie streaming company because some people will not wan to pay the extra money for there channel.

    • I agree with Gabe here. I think that Disney made a bad decision by starting their own streaming company. They should’ve stayed with Netflix because of all the money they were getting from people. Now that they have a new streaming company, not many people will want to buy it because they don’t have the extra money.

    • I agree that Disney should not have taken pixar and Disney relate shows off of Netflix and other streaming sites. However, I disagree that people will not pay money to another site to see pixar and Disney movies. Disney movies travel through generation to generation. Most kids grew up on Disney related movies and having them not be accessible for all is unacceptable for many families and wrong.

  7. I grew up watching Disney movies and shows and I still watch them to this day. They have just became a huge part of my life and impacted me so much. I love the fact that if I wanted to watch a Disney movie I can go right to Netflix and find the one I was looking for and watch it right then and there. To hear that Disney is taking them off of Netflix and creating their own is just a horrible thing to hear. I pay money for Netflix and I have whatever I want right there. I think that if Netflix and Disney combine it won’t be that big of a deal. Yeah the cost of it will go up but that is the price we have to pay to have everything we want. It will cause a lot less drama if they combine instead of having everyone fuss about paying for two separate things.

    • I agree with you Morgan, they should do a collaboration and join forces instead of separating this way not only will Disney save money but, also they would be profiting of this. Netflix is a big form of entertainment now not only to our generation but for everyone else, if Disney decides to leave Netflix there going to start seeing a decrease in their financial department due to the fact that everybody is already paying for a Netflix account and they don’t want to be paying for a Disney account.

  8. Today the most popular shows are on Netflix and thats where everyone goes to watch TV. No one really watches cartoons on TV its all about Netflix. I feel like this is a bad move on Disney’s part if they do this. Disney is not a popular channel anymore as it used to because people are upset that there show probably got cancelled so thats why they go to Netflix. So in my opinion they shouldn’t do this.

  9. I think that Disney will ultimately make money out of their new service. Parents who purchase Netflix for their child-only content will find comfort in a strictly Disney movie service. People will be angry at Disney but Disney has the money to wait it out until people cave and buy their service.

  10. I believe that Disney is making a mistake for removing its content from other providers to start their own paid streaming service. Personally, I would not subscribe to a Disney-branched streaming service. Although I love watching movies and tv shows from when I was a kid, I would not pay more money to another streaming service.
    When it comes to what Professor Peter Fader said, I do agree with him that pulling out of Netflix and forcing people to subscribe to Disney’s streaming service is not the way to go. Some people will get annoyed that they cannot watch their favorite content on a streaming service that they already know and love. It means that customers would have to keep paying for more services; expenses will rise. There are already numerous streaming services, such as Youtube Red and Hulu; I do not see the need for more.
    I do not believe that pulling out Disney content will significantly hurt Netflix. Netflix has over 8,000 programs to view; Disney is not Netflix’s main “channel.” Moreover, I feel that Netflix will continue to grow and try to make up for the programs that Disney will remove.

  11. I think that Disney’s move is uncalled for. I personally would not subscribe to a Disney-branded streaming service. I do not think that content is king. I agree with what Wharton Professor Peter Fader said about “pulling out of Netflix to push people toward the new service isn’t the way to go” because there are already so many other services and there’s no need to create another. The proliferation of streaming services is too much when it’s by 73% of people only want one streaming service. I believe that pulling out the Disney content will not significantly hurt Netflix because Netflix has a lot of other programs and will probably grow. Moreover, Netflix will probably add more programs to make up for the programs Disney will remove.

  12. What do you think of Disney’s move? Do you plan to subscribe to a Disney-branded streaming service? Is content king?
    # I like the move that Disney is making. Personally I would not to subscribe to the Disney streaming service because I already have a Amazon prime account and a Netflix one. Yes it is because if you don’t have good content people will not buy it.

    Do you agree with Wharton Professor Peter Fader that “pulling out of Netflix to push people toward the new service isn’t the way to go.” Why or why not? How much is too much with the proliferation of streaming services?
    # I agree with him because you can get a bad reputation for it. It is too much when everyone starts doing it and also when there is so many that you don’t even know which one is which.

    While pulling out of Netflix may hurt consumers like you and me because we won’t be able to view Disney movies there anymore, will it significantly hurt Netflix?
    # It might hurt Netflix but many adults don’t really watch Disney so I don’t think it will be that bad.

  13. I think Disney’s move is not a smart or fair decision. I believe it is a big mistake to pull the movies form Netflix and create a new base. I would personally not subscribe to the Disney stream because I already have a Netflix account. I believe that a lot of people would not subscribe either because of the limited content and subscriptions to other programs. “Pulling out of Netflix to push people toward the new service isn’t the way to go” because there is already a service. Content is king because content will pull in subscribers However, in this case, I don’t think content is enough for Disney to make the switch.

  14. I think that pulling Disney shows on Netflix will not hurt Netflix significantly. The majority of the people who subscribe to Netflix don’t just watch it to look at Disney movies. For the people who subscribe on Netflix before having those Disney movies on Netflix was a plus for them and even though people might not like it that Disney is pulling its movies from Netflix there are still many other shows on Netflix that they enjoy and is going to keep them subscribed on Netflix. For me I grew up watching Disney all the time and even though I’m a bit upset that Netflix won’t have Disney movies on their I’m still going to be subscribed to Netflix. Also Netflix has many more shows and movies than the new Disney streamer is going to have and the Disney streamer will only have things to watch related to Disney there and not a variety of categories.

  15. 1. I believe it is a bad move for Disney because they were getting a lot of money from Netflix there was not necessary for them to leave and create a new website. Content is king people want to see everything in one place
    2.Pulling to a new service is not good because Disney needs Netflix because it is the most known. But Netflix doesn’t need Disney to make money. If there is a lot of streaming websites people will spread or choose the cheapest one.
    3. It won’t hurt Netflix since people have faith and is the most popular out of all the streaming websites they might lose a little bit but nothing significantly big.

  16. With Disney shows getting removed from Netflix, the won’t significantly hurt Netflix since they have lots of shows that aren’t related to Disney or are owned by Disney. Netflix is a popular streaming service and I don’t think that removing these Disney shows people will start to leave the company just because a small portion of their library is going to be removed.

  17. I strongly believe that Disney is doing the right thing. Disney can now make its own profit and more exposure since true Disney fans will pay for this service. Although I don’t plan to stream into this service, I believe that many will. Disney has a very strong fan base that is willing to compromise financially to watch Disney movies. Content is king, since more exposure means more customers and more money. I do not agree with the Professor’s comment. By separating itself, Disney can create something better than Netflix. Although it also means that Disney can lose more money, it can control its own prices and rules from now on. There is no limit to the proliferation of streaming services since cable is dead. More customers rely on streaming services like Hulu and Netflix to watch tv and movies. Why shouldn’t Disney do the same? However, Netflix will not suffer. Netflix has a very strong fan base too and is successful in its own way.

  18. 1. I think that Disney’s decision is bad because is putting a lot of people empty handed with their Disney content. No, I will not subscribe. Yes it is.

    2. Yes I agree, because are people will not like to pay two services at a time, just to see Disney. When you have to pay more than one service to see specific show, movie, etc, that is not available in the other one.

    3. No it won’t hurt Netflix, because Netflix already has something clled Netflix Originlas which is like theit own shows and movies. And they are the most popular in the service.

  19. I think Disney has made the wrong move because people are just going to choose different content that is not Disney’s. I do not plan to subscribe to a Disney-branded streaming service because I am not going to pay a lot more money when I can just watch something else. Content is king because if the content is not good nobody will buy it. I agree with Wharton Professor Peter Fader that “pulling out of Netflix to push people toward the new service isn’t the way to go because putting their content off of Netflix is just going to result in people watching another movie that is not Disney. When every single company puts their content on different streaming services it is too much, but if all of the content could just be on a few streaming apps it would be so much easier for people to look at bunch of content without having to look at a bunch of streaming services. I do not think the pull of Disney’s content will significantly hurt Netflix because Netflix has a ton of content besides Disney’s.

  20. I think Disney’s move is absolutely stupid! They already make tons of money as they are having their content streamed on Netflix and Hulu. They are wasting tons of money and with only a 23% number to work with when it comes to subscriber count on a survey, they cannot make a move like this. I think it will hurt them financially. They’ll spend years possibly decades making the money back. Content isn’t always king, what is king is your following and reputation. You can be a huge company with billions of dollars at hand but if you have no reputation or following then you can’t possibly expect people to subscribe to you because they have no idea who you are. I agree with Wharton Professor Peter Fader, pulling from Netflix is definitely not the way to go. Disney is already making money from a business that has a god-like reputation a HUGE following, doing this I believe will, in fact, hurt their reputation because it goes to show how greedy they are. I know the article says that it won’t really do much to Netflix but I think they are looking at stats of previous movies. Disney could have an amazing lineup of movies coming out in the next couple years (which I believe they do), and with so many millennials being into Disney from birth, the movies to come will most definitely hurt Netflix.

  21. Disney’s plan is terrible. The market for streaming services is already flooded. Even worse is that Netflix already has an iron grip on the market and will not likely be overtaken anytime soon, even later since the service by Disney will only be containing the movies and shows by Disney and it’ smaller companies. I do not plan to subscribe to Disney’s streaming service. Disney service puts quality over quantity. Netflix has much more quantity and loses oh so slightly when it comes to quality. Content is king, but there needs to be content for it to be king.

  22. I do not think pulling Disney movies off of Netflix will significantly hurt Netflix. Even though many Disney movies were on Netflix, I do not think many people subscribed to Netflix just to watch Disney. Netflix has a wide variety of people subscribed and not all want to watch Disney. I personally haven’t turned on the television specifically to watch Disney for a while now. It is sometimes fun to re-watch shows and movies from your childhood but it is not going to cause me to unsubscribe from Netflix. Majority of the shows that my age group watch are on Netflix and most people enjoy getting to binge them all at once. They may loose a small amount of subscribers who have young children but i do not think that would majorly affect the company.

  23. I have a very neutral opinion about Disney’s decision on starting their own streaming service for two aspects. First, it’s more than clear that a great mount subscribers are tired of paying for more than one streaming service and Disney’s separation from Netflix, knowing that the families benefit from Netflix having Disney movies and shows for their kids, means that those families would have to also pay for Disney streaming services, losing plenty of subscribers because of those families that are not going to be willing to pay for another streaming service. On the other hand, If Disney starts to incorporate more options to their streaming service making it broader in terms of content, this could mean that many subscribers are going to switch from their current streaming service to Disney instead of paying for both.

  24. I believe that this was a bad move for Disney. I don’t plan to subscribe to a Disney branded streaming service. I’m already subscribed to so many others such as Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime that I wouldn’t want to subscribe to another streaming service. I agree with the Wharton Professor Peter Fader. Disney has already lost 4 million viewers and if they create their own new streaming service they’re going to lose even more because most people won’t want to switch from a well known streaming service such as Netflix to this new one. Also this Disney streaming service will only have content related to disney so it wouldn’t be able to compete with other streaming services that offer a variety of shows. People won’t want to subscribe to an additional streaming service when they’re already subscribed to so many others. I think this new Disney streaming service would affect Netflix but not a lot because of the variety of content that it offers.

  25. 1. I think Disney’s movie is bad. Most people will watch Netflix over Disney’s new stream that will show its movies. I don’t plan to subscribe to a Disney brand streaming service because I will watch Netflix because it has more movies, especially some that I like more than Disney. No, it’s not content king.

    2. Yes, I agree with agree with Wharton Professor Peter Fader because most people watch Disney movies from Netflix. Taking them away will be a bad decision. Too much is when the streaming services are making more money for showing than Disney for showing their movies.

    3. No, it will not hurt Netflix because there are still many more movies to watch. Plus, the most famous movies right now are not made by Disney.

  26. Disney’s move in efgort to create a nother platform was wonderful. I think that was a great idea besides the fact were probably going to have to pay for it like a 14.99 a month servive fee or something like that. The only thing is that now netflix might not even know how to dig up from this hole that their about tl be put in by this new idea Disney is proceeding to come forth with and that now cable companies like comcast and all pf that are also now in trouble. I do agree with Professor Peter and that now disney movies will probably be takwn away from netflix fprcing others to watch theirs. It wil most definitely hurt netflix.

  27. I personally believe that Disney made the wrong move in pulling their tv shows and movies out Netflix because paying for a service where you can only watch one studio’s content is not very practical. I mean isn’t that what Disney Channel is? People pay for Netflix because they’re given a variety of genres to watch, your choices would be limited on a Disney streaming service.

  28. 1. I think that Disney is making a very foolish move by trying to force its way into the streaming market. Instead of trying to make their own service, they should try to figure out a way to benefit from having their movies on other streaming services (EX: Netflix, Hulu, Amazon instant video). I do not plan to switch to a Disney branded streaming service. Content is king because at the end of the day, that’s why people subscribe to a streaming service.

    2. I agree with Professor Fader’s statement that “pulling out of Netflix to push people toward the new service isn’t the way to go”, because there is no need for Disney to leave Netflix. Netflix gets so much attention as a streaming service that Disney’s content already gets tons of views. I think that there is already too much proliferation of streaming services, and that if Disney enters this market they could lose a lot of money.

    3. I do not think that Disney’s withdrawing of their content from Netflix will severely affect it because, Netflix has produced really good shows on its own. While it may cause a small decline in Netflix users, it is more likely to affect Disney the most.

  29. I think that Disney shouldn’t have started their own streaming company. They were already making money from Netflix and other streaming companies. Their subscribers has decreased from over 100 million to 88 million in just 5 years. This was not the move they should have made because a lot of people aren’t going to pay just to see Disney shows and movies. 73% of people said they wished that all their shows were on one streaming company. I think Disney isn’t going to benefit much for making that move.

  30. I don’t believe that this is a good thing for Disney to do. A lot of Disney shows or movies are already on Netflix and making money from there. Disney probably isn’t happy that they are getting the full cut of it. I do not plan on getting a subscription for this.

    I agree with him because most people will not want to pay for two subscriptions that offer the same type of things.

    It probably won’t hurt Netflix at all because they still offer thousands of movies and shows that people would rather watch. They will probably only lose a small percentage of people.

  31. 1- In my opinion Disney is making a bold and interesting move, I plan on subscribing in Disney’s streaming device because of all the great content in movies and TV shows that Disney has made over the years, content is not king, because Netflix and Hulu are the two biggest streaming networks and now with Disney, the competition should get better.

    2- No, I do not believe that “[pulling out of Netflix to push people toward the new service isn’t the way to go.” because the content already belongs to Disney, so if they want to pull it out of Netflix should be something understandable are able to be worked around, especially because so many TV channels have been removing their contents out of Netflix.

    3- No, it will not hurt Netflix, because Disney’s content in Netflix is very small, compared to any other TV channels, also Netflix makes some of their content, as well as introducing new contents monthly, so Netflix should not suffer much from Disney pulling out their content.

    • This is a forward-thinking and smart move by Disney. They’ve taken control of their IP property which is their strongest asset.

      Moving into the digital space is also a good move, after all, that’s where everything is headed. And moving away from Netflix is absolutely the right move when they need the superstar power to launch their new streaming service.

      While this move will hurt Netflix a small amount in the short term, this should motivate them to increase their investment into the development of new, high-quality content.

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