TRADITIONAL TV LOOKS SET TO
CONTINUE ITS DEMISE
While there are no guarantees that Disney+ will
steal a large number of subscribers, if any, from
Netflix and other competitors, what does seem
certain is that cable and satellite TV numbers will
continue to dwindle. Towards the end of 2018,
the U.S. TV industry suffered its worst subscriber
loss in history, as more than one million paying
customers opted out of services.
As more and more people prefer to watch
their favorite shows and movies when and
where they want, and without advertisements,
traditional TV looks like it has a long way to go
if it’s going to claim back a few viewers from
streaming services. In fact, the biggest threat
that streaming as a whole faces right now,
particularly with the addition of Disney+, is the
possibility of a market saturation effect.
With so many streaming services available,
and many already on the scene for some time,
it could be argued that the majority of people
who currently don’t subscribe to ‘a’ streaming
service, never will. Either because of financial or
technological factors, or simply due to personal
choice, this form of media simply isn’t for them.
Again, though, Disney Plus is starting in a strong
position to compete in a saturated market. It
is clear to every potential subscriber what the
Disney offering is, and by removing its entire
back-catalogue from other streaming services,
Disney is uniquely positioned in the market. It
doesn’t need to work too hard to challenge other
services for volume, choice, price, or variety,
instead approaching the industry from a “position
of strength”, in the words of CEO Bob Igor.