Over the last few years, a wide variety of streaming services have been made available to audiences around the world, offering films and television shows from every corner of the industry. According to one former Disney CEO, however, most of these services are destined to fail.
Speaking at Vox Media’s Code Conference, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter, former Disney CEO Bob Iger discussed services including Netflix, Apple TV+, Prime Video, HBO Max, Discovery+ and Disney+, expressing his believe that only the biggest and most well-resourced services will survive, while the rest will fail.
Using Apple TV+ and Prime Video as examples, Iger explained, "They’re not primary businesses for them and they’re measured, probably, by different standards in terms of bottom line, and they serve other purposes in those companies... But they’re not going to stand pat. They’re going to continue to grow and they’ll grow well. They’ve got deep pockets. They’ve got great access to consumers. They have strong technology platforms. They’ve proven they know how to do it. So they stay." While he did not mention specific names, he concluded by stating, "They’ve got some tough hands, and it takes a lot of capital to be in that business... I don’t think they’ll all make it."
Disney+ launched in 2019 and offers subscribers shows, films and shorts from across a number of different franchises including the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars and Disney proper. Numbers show the streaming service has upwards of 137.7 million subscribers across the world. However, analysts recently said of Disney+ these statistics are not the most crucial for the success of the service.
With the planned ad-supported tier, ad revenue will ensure profitability rather than increasing subscriber numbers. Set to launch on Dec. 8. in the U.S., the new Disney+ Basic will include ads and will be offered at $7.99 per month. The current tier without ads, costing $7.99 per month price, will be rebranded as Disney+ Premium and increase to $10.99 per month. Disney+ Basic will have four minutes of ads per hour, broken up into 15- and 30-second spots.
Current Disney CEO Bob Chapek previously spoke on the potential of Disney+ and how the company would focus on bringing content direct to consumers. He explained, "We do not subscribe to the belief that theatrical is the only way to build a Disney franchise... We continue to manage our [direct-to-consumer] business for the long-term, and are confident that our high-quality entertainment and expansion into additional markets worldwide will enable us to further grow our streaming platforms globally."
Source: The Hollywood Reporter