Disney+ Competes on Price, Could Have 75M Subscribers by 2024
At an Investor Day event in Burbank, California, Disney offered several details on its long-awaited direct-to-consumer streaming service. Disney+ will go for $6.99 per month, showing that Disney is interested in competing with Netflix and other services on price. The service will be ad-free, and will include sections for Disney animation, Star Wars, Pixar, Marvel, and National Geographic.
From the start, Disney+ will boast plenty of original content, including four series with Marvel movie characters (the Scarlet Witch, Vision, Loki, the Winter Soldier, and the Falcon) and one from the Star Wars universe (The Mandolarian). It will also be the exclusive home to The Simpsons (with all 30 seasons), feature original Pixar series (with Toy Story and Monsters, Inc. characters), and offer a library of classic Disney films and family-friendly Fox titles. Popular theater releases, such as Captain Marvel, will stream exclusively on Disney+.
While not confirmed, Disney will likely offer subscribers a bundle containing Hulu, ESPN+, and Disney+ at a discounted fee.
Disney+ will offer over 25 original series and 10 original films and specials in its first year. It will debut in the U.S. on November 12, and roll out to much of the rest of the world within 2 years.
Disney envisions strong growth for the service, with an eye to attracting 60 million to 90 million paying customers by 2024, with one-third of that coming from the U.S. Digital TV Research sees that as a doable goal, forecasting that the service will have 75 million subs by then.
“The Disney brand is known and respected in every home across the world. Disney will deliver a reasonably-priced, attractive platform that has plenty of appealing content," says Simon Murray, principal analyst at Digital TV Research. By 2024, Netflix will have 200 million customers, he notes.
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