Disney dethrones Netflix and switches to advertising
It took just under three years for the Walt Disney Group to overtake the Netflix champions. Thanks to the 14.4 million new subscribers gained in the second quarter of 2022 for its video streaming platform Disney+, launched in November 2019, and its other services Hulu and ESPN+, the American media giant recorded 221.1 million paying subscribers at the beginning of July. That’s 400,000 more than its big competitor Netflix. The latter is happy for the first time about its world crown in subscriber numbers. Disney+ alone has 152.1 million paying users.
Disney+ launched in November 2019, just before the Covid-19 pandemic, and has taken full advantage of the restrictions to attract subscribers looking for employment. To lure them into its nets, the American group not only hesitated to take advantage of the global fame of its Marvel or Star Wars headliners, but did not hesitate to reserve the release of several of its feature films exclusively for its platform films, to the detriment of cinemas . preythe new rate of his franchise predator, has only been visible on Disney+ since August 5th. This strategy is also sometimes used, as in France, to put pressure on the timing rules for film distribution: Avalonia, the strange journey (strange world), Disney’s next animated film, which is expected this fall, will not hit theaters in France.
Disney also benefited from a price advantage over Netflix in the US: The monthly subscription cost $7.99 compared to $9.99, which is $2 less than Netflix. The former world No. Netflix lost nearly a million subscribers in the second quarter of 2022, after an initial erosion of 200,000 units earlier in the year that had never happened to it before.
A promise of profit in 2024
But that two-and-a-half year offensive has left its mark on Disney’s finances. In the second quarter of 2022 alone, the group’s three streaming platforms lost $1.1 billion. They have accumulated more than 5 billion losses since the end of 2019. Thanks to its other activities in amusement parks and television stations, the group remains profitable. But he won’t be able to keep up this pace for long. He promised to make his service profitable in 2024.
You still have 36.54% of this article to read. The following is for subscribers only.
