Disney+ has taken over the streaming service industry by storm. Since its release on November 12, over 10 million people have subscribed. Disney+ has cemented its status as one of the top online streaming services and one of the most competitive in the market.
Disney+ also made a large impact on Townsend Harris students. Freshmen Devin Wu said, “I gained access to hundreds of movies and TV shows, at a price even [lower] than [that of] Netflix.” Disney + also gave students a new opportunity to give into nostalgia, as Junior Zuzanna Pula said, “We got it because I have younger siblings who watch Disney shows that aren’t on Netflix anymore… it has a lot of shows and movies that I haven’t seen in a while or that I haven’t even watched.” The introduction of this new streaming service has become a major competitor in this market for the top spots in the streaming market.
Disney+ entered the service streaming industry when Netflix was the main competitor. While other applications such as HBO’s On Demand and Amazon’s video streaming service, Prime Video, gained some attention, Netflix features a wide variety of content and certainly reaped the rewards. Last financial quarter, Netflix garnered over $5 billion dollars in revenue and half a million new subscribers, adding to their already monumental 150 million.
This is not to say, however, that Netflix is invincible. In fact, Netflix’s prices have steadily increased – a natural decision for a company seeking expansion, growth, and a continuous profit margin. Disney+’s business model shows they plan to poach Netflix subscribers. As of now, the price for Netflix stands at $12.99 a month, uprooted by Disney+’s measly $6.99. Disney+, although its prices are not likely to remain stagnant, remains highly competitive as a result of its current status.
Disney+ embraced Netflix’s model of offering consumers a range of content. Recently, they engaged in an aggressive advertising campaign promoting one of its original series, The Mandalorian. The Mandalorian presents a plot based off of the Star Wars franchise, which is owned by Disney itself, and boasts itself as the peak of Disney+’s original production through its sizeable budget,over $12 million dollars per episode. The series demonstrates another one of Disney+’s advantages, in that being a part of Disney, it is free to borrow from larger franchises and “universes” owned by Disney.
Art courtesy of Amanda Renzi.
