Contrastingly, Disney shares saw an instant
surge, with an additional 9 per cent increase in
value between Thursday 11 and Friday 12.
Research conducted by SunTrust recently found
that eight per cent of existing Netflix subscribers
expected to switch to Disney+ completely
upon launch. Based on Netflix’s 139 million
subscribers as drawn from their third-quarter
2018 estimate figures, this could mean more
than 11 million subscribers making the switch
before the end of this year.
However, where you read Netflix, you could
just as easily insert the name of any number
of other streaming services on the market,
which will all be casting a curious eye Disney’s
way before the channel officially launches
on November 12. The biggest question is
whether so many people will choose to
ditch a streaming service that offers a wide
range of genres, like Netflix, for one that is
focused primarily on family-oriented movies
and shows.
But regardless of how many subscribers do
leave one service for another, Disney holds
a significant advantage over other services,
simply because it owns the rights to all of its
premium content. In contrast, every dollar
that Netflix loses to Disney is another dollar
it can’t reinvest in creating its own exclusive
competitive titles, or to borrow premium
content from another production company.
By contrast, every cent generated by Disney+
can be pumped straight back into creating
exclusive shows, with the first official live-
action Star Wars series and high-profile MCU
spin-offs already confirmed.