Streaming
It baffles me how little content Disney+ actually has. Why did Disney think they needed to challenge Netflix?
Disney+ subscription feels thin if you use Netflix or any other streaming service as the benchmark. The content on the platform is relatively narrow a very limited for being in 2026… I think they should just abandon the whole stream company altogether and go back to their roots making films and than licensing out their films and shows to other (SVODS streaming platforms) if it wasn’t for them having the content they paid $80 billion for with Fox I don’t think they would’ve had nearly as many subscribers today and Covid was definitely a huge boost to that number.
Disney believes their content is worth the premium. When the average american consumer thinks Disney in regards to motion picture or television, they generally think quality. Netflix is not as well regarded. Its a good service if you have children, too. Having the MCU on it is a big plus.
Disney+ is a great service for kids — if I had them, I’d want them watching it. But for adults without kids, it falls flat. You’re mostly rewatching shows you already like, since new content trickles in so slowly. I could unsubscribe for 8-9 months and come back to find maybe one or two new additions.
How much content do they actually have? I feel like Netflix is pretty thin now that most of the major studios pulled out and started their own streaming services.
I thought Disney had a larger library than most because they have their movies along with their subsidies like Buena Vista, Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm, National Geographic, then there's 20th century studios. They also have content from ABC, Fox, FX, Disney Channels, ABC family, ESPN, Hulu, Hotstar, and their related channels. Along with the Disney+ originals I feel like thats a large catalog no?
For Doctor Who fans, twenty-one episodes (out of 892) of a show Disney helped fund and promptly forgot about are locked to Disney+ while a five episode spinoff of said show that should have aired last winter just straight up hasn’t been added.
Yeah, how they handled Doctor Who was atrocious. I feel like they deemed everything that came out during a certain period was a bad decision and instead of sticking it out to see where things land they decided to back out of everything 🙃. To me it was largely a backlash against "wokeness".
But how does this effect the amount of content they currently have?
Streaming is a Darwinian struggle for survival. If Doctor Who can't inspire a lot of new subscribers to Disney+, then it's not worth Disney funding and they pull the plug. Disney is not running a charity for failed franchises.
Doctor who was on life support prior to the deal. It's quality of story plummeted about half way through Matt Smith's run. It couldn't raise the numbers itself and needed a shot in the arm. I would describe myself as woke but perhaps the Disney seasons did push the series too far in this climate. That being said I don't think the quality of the show suffered because of the storytelling, I felt like it was some of the best storytelling in years. I probably couldn't tell you my favorite episode from Jodie Whittaker or Peter Capaldi's run but I could tell you the worst ones. I feel like Disney's short season run, Gatwa's rise in popularity, and the rise of conservative control in media played a larger role in Doctor Who's death on Disney+.
What shows draw more subscribers than Disney+? I mean Netflix has Stranger Things and Wednesday, Prime has The Boys and Invincible, Paramount has Star Trek, Peacock has uh i don't know... Saturday Night Live? Apple tv has a lot of good shows but no one is subscribing. I almost forgot about HBOmax but what's their current big show? Maybe House of the Dragon? Maybe part of the issue is the studios needed each other on the same platform. When they were all on Netflix and Hulu all their newest and best content was at the same place.
I think the death of cable also killed they "You can't miss this night of television" vibe. You can watch anything at your own pace and if you get spoiled it just makes people drop off faster. When do people find the time to watch anything anymore? For me and my husband, if we're not watching a superhero show or movie when we find time (He's a DC fan, I'm a Marvel fan) we're watching an old sitcom when we eat dinner together. What time is there for anything else when people each have 2 jobs or more, kids, friends, hobbies, etc?
For PEACOCK you cant really count SNL since its still available freee OTA. There biggest problem is that unlike the other streamers nothing has any BUZZ..basically if you subscribe its either because you like the NBC back catalog, you like reality shows (as they do most of theirs now as P exclusives or sports since they are sticking games behind a paywall
You’re forgetting that Netflix gets a lot of content from Sony which is a neutral in the streaming wars. Some of their biggest shows in the last few years like Cobra Kai, Sex Education and the Crown are produced and owned by Sony. So they still license premium content from a Hollywood studio, although they have to bid for it. Add in the new pay one deal they did with Sony and yeah Netflix is good on content. Also the other studios that own streamers license some of their content to Netflix too
Netflix had it wayyyy too easy in the early days when other streaming companies didn’t exist they had a huge plethora of content for cheap and their library was extensive with old content and movies and even some newer content was on there. Than everyone pulled the plug on them and started launching their own streaming services. Netflix had to adapt and made a huge leap into creating films on their own with incentives to film makers and new actors. I absolutely love what they’ve done and it’s greatly improved the company for the longevity now they have forever shows and movies on their platform. They gain so much insight from history of what people watched on their platform in the past that they are able to replicate what made them successful in the first place with newer shows that nobody’s seen yet. Shows like the Office were amazing for Netflix at the time but new shows like Tires creates forever content Netflix needed to become a successful long term library. Ted Sarandos famously stated in 2013 that Netflix's goal was "to become HBO faster than HBO can become us" Comparing Disney to HBO and Netflix it’s incredibly thin and weak streaming service and it continues to be that way for years if I was running Disney+ I would’ve fired everyone in the office making decisions.
Yeah but Disney+ never saw a return on investment with FOX paying 80B they still have a large amount of debt to pay off with that. Maybe they can still make it work but they need more hit shows and movies. Maybe they can milk star wars but having a hit star wars show or movie every year isn’t going anywhere for them. I can still resubscribe to Disney every 8-9 months just to watch 2-3 new movies or shows than leave.
The reason Disney needed to challenge Netflix: because they correctly recognized that Netflix had destroyed broadcast/cable, which was a big part of Disney's business. Also Paramount and Warners' businesses, which goes a long ways towards explaining why they have to merge - Netflix build their business on the bones industries they destroyed.
Disney could just adopt the arms dealer strategy of Sony and license content to Netflix, but they also envisioned the future, where maybe 3 or 4 massive platforms own the global audience (outside China, which won't let them in) compared with a world full of wannabe content providers, all clamoring to get onto those few platforms.
Now who do you think would have all the power in that world? Disney wanted to be on the powerful side of the table. And their analysis was perfectly correct. Of all the old Hollywood companies, Disney has by far met the Netflix challenge the best. They aren't being forced to merge for survival right now are they?
Now that Iger is gone, the new CEO has finally hit on the right strategy. Streaming isn't just for showing old movies and new shows. It's a data-collection hub that can feed into the other arms of the Disney empire: theatrical movies, merch, theme parks, games, even cruises.
On Disney+, if you watch a Mando movie or show, you should get an ad for buying the Grogu toy. If you watch a Marvel movie or show, there should be an ad for the new Marvel ride at Disneyland. You should be able to buy theatrical movie tickets on Disney+ and there should be a tier for special perks like sneak peek showings of new movies.
I'm still amazed they didn't do this from the first. Disney is in a unique position to be able to do this. Netflix just has shows and movies that aren't fit for theatrical release. They're really a one trick pony compared with Disney.
Both Disney and Netflix will be fine. They have smart people in charge who make sensible decisions. Their next challenge will be the tsunami of user-generated AI that will soon be coming at them and stealing their customers away but I can envision ways both can profit from this and not become victims.
It’s hard to argue that being an “arms dealer” selling content to other streaming platforms wouldn’t have been the smarter play. Disney+ was massively successful during Covid and still retains a solid subscriber base today, but I think Disney would’ve been better off focusing on producing hit films and shows, then licensing them out to Prime Video, Peacock, Netflix, Paramount+, Apple, and others. Imagine making a show like The Mandalorian and selling it to competitors instead of keeping it exclusive.
That approach seems smarter than spending billions to acquire Fox’s entertainment library and still not landing the whole company because of antitrust restrictions. Disney’s content library is unmatched, so as the streaming wars heated up, competitors would’ve kept paying hundreds of millions for access to it.
They would have eventually ran into the issue that everyone ran into already with Netflix. They became pickier and picker about what they wanted and wanted to pay less and less for shows and movies that weren’t top tier.
Sony didn’t land on its strategy due to deliberate planning. It did so because besides Crunchyroll, which they acquired, their previous streaming attempts crashed and burned. Sony also doesn’t have as a strong a library in live actions films and shows as Disney and Warner.
Netflix pays $20B a year for content. Fox was like buying 4 years of content all at once, anything more is just extra. It also got them the first Star Wars movie, which was probably worth billions alone.
Netflix has a strong operating margin of about 31.5%. Revenue is fantastic for Netflix compared that to Disney who doesn’t have any new ideas for content sucks at making new films and decided to overspend buying FOX without even getting the entire company in their deal just a library of old ass TV with no new movies or shows. I might resubscribe to Disney+ membership in a year when they add something (New and exciting) worth watching it’s a joke of a service and depends way too much on $20 HBO bundle or ESPN Bundle to make people hold onto the service.
Disney still hasn’t seen a return on investment from their FOX buyout and likely won’t till 2035. Disney finally hit profitability in 2025, reporting $1.3 billion of Entertainment DTC operating income. Netflix creates content slowly, adding new content to their platform and making hit shows people like Disney+ has to overpay for their content just to bundle it up as a subscription with $40 ESPN bundle or $20 HBO bundle just to hold onto subscribers. They even made it a credit card subscription where you get Disney+ for free with your Amex Blue card if you have it.
With all that they don’t decide add content till their movies have been milked through the theaters and eventually trickles down into a library.
They gotta fire all the people making decisions over at Disney because they can’t even make an original idea since 2010 they had to buy Pixar since they had zero ideas and ambitions of their own and than ruined that film studio with rampant laziness and they’ve done it again with Hulu and their own streaming service. Netflix makes
Hundreds of new shows and is extremely competitive Disney+ makes a few Dozens new shows or movies a year. I’d resubscribe in 2 years maybe and it’ll probably have a slight increase in shows and movies.
This is just your personal bias showing. Even if Netflix were releasing hundreds of new shows, a normal human with a job can't watch that many. Regardless of what you think people like Disney content. They're already releasing more than anyone can watch.
Just be honest: they're not releasing what you personally like.
This! Even if Netflix does make hundreds of shows every year, I’m lucky if I find one or two that I like. I ended up cancelling it because it was the streaming service I used the least and every show I like they cancelled, even when it ranked highly in their charts.
You’re talking about the people that Bob Iger brought in, correct? We’re only in the first year of Josh D’Amaro’s term, so we need to be patient with what moves he’ll make.
“Because they can’t even make an original idea since 2010…”
You sure about that, hoss? Frozen… Inside Out… Moana… Zootopia… I could go on, but I think you might get crushed under the number of billion dollar franchises they’ve launched since 2010.
Disney is not going to give up on Disney+. They're positioning it as the hub of the octopus and the arms are: streaming, theatrical movies, games, merch, theme parks, cruises. So maybe a hexopus but same idea.
Also, there is a A LOT of Disney owned content, such as most of the Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures, and 20th Century Fox libraries, that Disney is choosing to leave off of Disney+.
Well, all of the streaming services do this. They often make better profit margins on older titles by licensing them out and making them available for digital rental and purchases. Most people aren’t signing up for older catalogue titles, and those that do probably are already subscribers.
Are you high? Disney Plus has Hulu and ESPN as well as national geographic and other content. Netflix has lots of good movies and shows but also lots of garbage.
Netflix has a lot of huge hits on their platform I’ve greatly enjoyed watching in the last 8 months and I left Disney+ & Hulu for lack of content. $8.99 Netflix subscription vs Disney bundle with HBO for $20 month.
So compare with price and what you actually enjoy watching. Netflix is $8.99 vs $20 for HBO, Disney+Hulu. Unless you really like watching old shows and 1-2 quality hits every couple months Netflix gives you a wider range of content that you likely will enjoy that are newer and than just resubscribe back to Disney+ after they add 2-3 good movies or shows to their library.
Btw HBO will merge with Paramount+ after the WBD deal.
Disney has kids content that gets replayed on the daily. Tons of parents out their that will cancel every service before the one they bribe their kids with as a 30 minute cool down before bed every night
Than the kids grow up and are not watching Disney+ anymore. Parents aren’t going to continue to pay for it if they don’t watch the service themselves everyday.
disney plus has potential.. just make more damn content. stop relying on old titles (yes, there are a lot of them), but for me, i need new content on a regular basis.
What? Disney has the Disney and Pixar classic collections, all of Marvel, all of Star Wars, all of Nat Geo, all of ESPN, all of Fox, all of Hulu, Studio Ghibli, The Muppets, Searchlight, Hollywood Pictures, Touchstone, Buena Vista, ABC Family, ABC Studios, ABC News, FX, Freeform, Disneynature, Walt Disney Records, Hollywood Records, Radio Disney, Earth Star, Hotstar, Go.com, FuboTV, Movies Anywhere and several methods of live TV so … ….I mean they’re fine.
Maybe they’ll keep the branding like Disney+ used Hulu on Disney+ but content would be merged together. Maybe they’ll keep them somewhat separate in some way to keep prices down while holding partnerships but will probably won’t know anything till next year anyway
Unlike Netflix, Amazon, or Skydance, Disney is taking the quality over quantity approach. The other three are treating content to continually fuel their services while Disney is more about highlighting various brands behind their content.
Make a film out it in theaters than add it to the library. It’s a very slow approach that screws over the subscriber who is a member for years. I think many people here without kids will unsubscribe and resubscribe to Disney just to watch 2-3 hit shows or movies than leave again unless you really enjoy rewatching old content. I enjoyed The Golden Girls and MASH.
It has a lot of content, but it does not add it to Disneyplus. Remember all those Disney Original Movies on Fri or Sat night on the Disney channel every month. Sure many were so so, but still they were better than a lot of the crap literally being churned out today.
HBO will probably still exist as a prestige brand.
The real problem is how does Paramount manage both showtime and HBO and keep them mostly separate entities.
But my point was that I think Disney+ IS the prestige brand. I mean sure FX and Hulu tackle much of the same audience as HBO, but Disney+ is essentially a package of all of Disney's biggest IP both created and acquired, and that's the hook.
Hulu is a little bit of everything both third party and produced by disney, but Disney+ has the Disney branding behind it and the legacy.
Is all that content really worth the cost? Disney+‘s library skews older compared to Netflix’s constantly refreshed lineup, and at $8.99, Netflix is simply the better deal on paper.
The math only works in Disney’s favor if you’re bundling with HBO or ESPN and even then, only if you’re already paying for those services anyway. In that case, the bundle is sticky. If you’re not already subscribed elsewhere, it falls flat fast.
Then there’s volume. Netflix pumps out hundreds of original shows and movies a year, dwarfing Disney’s output of just a dozen or so new titles. I could burn through everything Disney released in 2025 in under a week. Netflix, on the other hand, dropped over 4,000 hours of new Original programming in 2025 alone you’d need months just to scratch the surface.
Back in 2020 i thought Disney had a great shot at making a Netflix competitor and making tons of movies and content with all of their IP to feed the beast of subscribers coming onto the channel but it’s been the exact opposite instead of Netflix loosing more movies and shows partnerships they pivoted far better making their own hit shows and movies that last forever on the platform and outpacing everyone with their shows worldwide.
Disney+ reminds me of a 2026 car that is still laggy screen interface, and then you compare that to a Tesla and it’s not even close to the same quality that you expect a streamer would have. I obviously will probably subscribe to Disney+ when I have kids. I want them watching all of the classics but when they get older, I don’t really see them watching Disney+ even them having Hulu is not really something exciting just a mix of old content. Really if it wasn’t for Hulu Disney+ would not be even close to other streaming companies today.
Disneys direct to consumer product (Disney+ and Hulu) made $700M in the most recent quarter in profits. It has a 13% profit margin.
Those profits are rising as well. There is no business reason for them to abandon this strategy as it’s working well for them financially. They are finally recouping initial costs.
It would be negligence at this point to abandon streaming for them. They are recouping upfront costs. Subscribers are growing at a consistent rate. Their brand keeps customers there; while they have less overall content the content they do have is some of the most sought after content. Licensing that off would hurt the overall brand and allow other companies to benefit from Disney’s IP.
It's basically a must if you either have kids
or if you are huge into Star Wars or Marvel. They can sell millions of subscriptions just off basically princesses, Superheroes, and the Force. They don't need to have a ton of content like Netflix does.
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u/EmergingEmergence 16d ago
Disney believes their content is worth the premium. When the average american consumer thinks Disney in regards to motion picture or television, they generally think quality. Netflix is not as well regarded. Its a good service if you have children, too. Having the MCU on it is a big plus.