Disney CEO Bob Iger has shared more about the Disney streaming service. Set to arrive in 2019, details have been trickling out about this effort to compete with Netflix. Iger said that competing with Netflix and other streaming services is Disney’s “biggest priority” in 2019.
“We have the luxury of programming this product with programs from those brands or derived from those brands, which obviously creates a demand and gives us the ability to not necessarily be in the volume game, but to be in the quality game,” Iger said.
It appears that the plan for what is being described as “a Disney play” is to provide a ton of content on this streaming. This will be done by utilizing the strength of Disney owned properties. This includes things from Disney, Pixar, Lucasfilm/Star Wars, Marvel, and it is looking like 21st Century Fox soon. The streaming service won’t just be existing movies and shows, but also new content that is being developed for it. There will be movies developed exclusively for this service, including The Sword in the Stone. Currently, there are also five TV shows also being developed as well. This includes live-action shows that will come from the worlds of Star Wars and also Marvel.
The new service will be bringing most of these properties exclusively to the Disney service. This will lead to the loss of $300 million that Disney currently gets per year from Netflix. “We’re going to walk before we run,” Iger has told analysts.
Iger also shared that the price-point for this service will be lower than that of Netflix. What that price is exactly, remains to be seen. The Disney streaming service has the potential to encourage more people to cut the traditional cable cords. This comes in the midst a significant change in the way consumers watch media.
As 2019 continues to draw closer, expect more details to come out about this service, including an official name. At this point, the information continues to come out as a trickle. It would not be surprising to get an official name (Disney Play or other) to come from Disney before the end of the year. The prices will also most likely be announced.
What do you think about what is known so far about the Disney streaming service? Will you be subscribing to it? Will you also continue to subscribe to Netflix or other streaming services? Let us know in the comments below!
