THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 63 OCTOBER 16, 2019
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that at some point the price
will go up. That may be one way
that Disney expects the service
to reach profitability by 2024.
Despite losing out on revenue
from licensing to third parties,
as well as an estimated nearly
$4 billion in direct-to-consumer
losses in 2019 (expected to rise to
almost $5 billion in 2020), that
subscription price could trans-
late into as much as $5 billion in
revenue from Disney+ by 2024.
While most analysts expect
that consumers will find room
in their wallets for both Disney+
and Netflix, the former still
poses the most significant threat
to Reed Hastings and company.
In a tacit acknowledgement of
its war with Netflix, Disney has
banned advertising from the
streamer on its TV networks.“The pricing was rather aggres-
sive but astute also, because it
looks like it’s a pretty good deal
for consumers,” says Hal Vogel
of Vogel Capital Management.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean
this is an easy field to enter, even
for Di sney.”
In order to truly compete,
Disney+ will need to make
significant inroads internation-
ally, where more than 91 million
people currently subscribe to
Netflix. Following the North
American launch of Disney+,
much of 2020 will be devoted to
rolling the product out overseas,
where over time Disney+ also
expects to launch local-language
programming like Netflix.
However, without ESPN+ or Hulu
to bundle with the offering, it
may be a less attractive option
for some subscribers. Taking
those products international
is challenged, however, by the
competitive sports and televi-
sion rights landscape. “I hope we
can, in the not too distant future,
have something to say about that
with more clarity,” Mayer says.
China also remains an elusive
market where there are some
300 million potential subscrib-
ers, per forecasts from Digital TV
Research, but Mayer says there
is no current plan to offer the
services there.
On Sept. 12, two months before
the official launch of Disney+, the
service quietly went live in the
Netherlands. The free pilot trialwas offered as a way to work out
any final kinks before it begins
around the world, starting with
the U.S. and Canada. Reviews
quickly came in. The Verge called
the product — which doesn’t
include access to originals like
The Mandalorian — “empty but
elegant” and praised the seam-
less user experience. A priest
who vlogs under the name Father
Roderick posted a video demo
on YouTube (145,000 views) in
which he expressed enthusiasm
about the library of Disney titles
available. Early testers also
praised the service for offering
unlimited downloads and up
to four simultaneous streams.
“We were thinking about the
paradigm of the current view-
ing experience,” says Disney
Streaming Services president
Michael Paull. “Co-viewing as
a concept has changed. It’s not
everybody in front of one TV
at the same time watching the
same program. People are still
there together but watching
different things on different
devices.” A few technical glitches
were noted, including the service
forgetting where a person had
paused their viewing, but Iger
says the team “addressed them
immediately” and he’s “heart-
ened” by the early response.
With the countdown on,
there’s not much left to do to
get Disney+ ready. “We’re kind
of locked and loaded,” Iger says,
explaining that Disney willramp up its marketing muscle.
Already, emails have started
to go out reminding those who
signaled interest to sign up. A
subscription service will require
frequent marketing to both
acquire new subscribers and,
once it launches, keep existing
ones, so the company is leverag-
ing all its platforms, including
signage at Disneyland and
Disney World, Disney cruises
and hotels. There also will be a
Disney night on ABC’s Dancing
With the Stars and a Nov. 8
preview of High School Musical:
The Musical: The Series that will
air across ABC, Disney Channel
and Freeform. “We’re leverag-
ing all of the consumer touch
points,” says Strauss. “It’s a
competitive advantage.”
Not succeeding with Disney+
isn’t really an option for Iger,
68, who has said he plans to step
down from his post at the end of- His legacy, and the future
of Disney, depends on it. But as
he buckles up and gets ready to
blast off into an unknown world,
Iger is confident he’ll reach his
destination. “There’s only one
Disney,” he says. For more than
a decade, he’s been building up
that Disney, acquiring the assets
— Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and
National Geographic — that
are now central to its stream-
ing future. “No one can come
out and have a product that’s
like ours, because no one’s got
those brands.”