Disney’s marketing force is reaching beyond its traditional family audience to send a message that its $7-a-month subscription service Disney+ offers something for all ages. The service debuted on Tuesday in the United States, Canada and The Netherlands.
Disney has spent more than $3 billion on technology and content in an ambitious bid to take on Netflix at its own game.
The Simpsons, ‘Cinderella and several movies from the Star Wars and Marvel universes will share a streaming home today as Disney Plus debuts. Subscribers will initially get more than 500 movies and 7,500 TV episodes for their $7 a month. That’s expected to grow to 620 movies and 10,000 episodes in five years, as existing deals with rival streaming services expire.
With the arrival of Disney Plus on Tuesday, a growing medium rises to dominance.
Netflix Chairman and CEO Reed Hastings said he’s not “worried” about the imminent launch of Disney Plus — but he did indicate that he sees the Mouse House as the most robust new rival in the streaming wars. “Disney is a great company — we admire them,” said Hastings, speaking at the New York Times’ DealBook conference Wednesday in Manhattan. “They’re a wonderful competitor.”
The offer announced Tuesday is worth nearly $84, based on $6.99 monthly subscription fee for the Disney Plus service, which debuts Nov. 12. It extends to certain new and existing unlimited 4G and 5G customers at Verizon, as well as the vast majority of new home-internet customers. The promotion is the latest volley in an escalating attack on Netflix.
Exclusives
The streaming-video battlefield is about to get some major new combatants — and fresh research suggests that Disney is best equipped to grab new territory. Once Disney, WarnerMedia and NBCUniversal launch their direct-to-consumer services, customers’ perceived value of incumbent players Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video will drop significantly, according to a study conducted by Langston Co., a Denver-based behavioral consumer research and consulting firm.
