Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) wants to dethrone Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and take its place as the king of the content streaming industry through its newly launched offering but wait till you see what it includes.
The production company plans to take over the content streaming segment by bundling Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu for a competitive monthly price of $12.99. Disney secured a controlling interest in Hulu through its acquisition of Fox. The pricing is also on par with the standard Netflix subscription plan in the U.S.
Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO disclosed the pricing details earlier this week during the company’s Q3 earnings call. The pricing for the Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+ bundle is appealing to subscribers from a pricing point of view because it undercuts the cost of paying for the 3 streaming services separately by $5.
Disney’s pursuit to become a major content streaming service provider has however not been easy. The company has already made some losses along the way including the loss of $553 million from its direct-to-consumer division. It also expects a $900 million deficit for the current quarter.
Disney has a huge advantage as far as content is concerned
The Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu combo and pricing make Disney’s offering a formidable one that has a huge likelihood of overtaking Netflix. However, Disney’s biggest advantage is that it has a massive library of content compared to what the competition has to offer.
Disney owns the Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars brands which are heavy hitters as far as content is concerned, especially in movie production. Disney also has a slew of movies and TV shows produced by its studios. The content from these studios will be available on Disney+, making it an appealing offer that might be too good for potential subscribers to pass up.
Disney is also working on new original content for its streaming service including a Star Wars spin-off and new Marvel shows. The original content is aimed at sweetening the already solid offering and the company hopes that these efforts will help rope in subscribers. In a world that is shifting towards cord-cutting, subscribers are the clear winners.
