Outgoing Disney CEO Weighs In On Future Streaming Growth

 It’s no secret that Disney + delivered subscription growth in Q3 that failed to impress anyone. With outgoing Disney CEO Bob Iger finalizing his last week in the job, we saw him weigh in on the changes needed to help Disney meet their lofty goal of 230-260 million subscribers by 2024. Entertainment lawyer Brandon Blake of Blake & Wang P.A has more for us.


                                                                 Brandon Blake

                                              

Slowing Subscriber Growth

Iger was, of course, quick to remain positive on the overall lookout for the company’s streamer, reminding everyone that no company can expect the sudden growth seen at the start of the global health crisis, when people were bored, confined, and desperate for diversion, especially for younger family members. Now people are freer to resume normal life, it’s time to entice more eyes to the service, not rest on those early laurels. To date, Disney + has just over 118M subscribers on the books. 


What, then, was his suggested solution? More content for more people, or more ‘volume’ and dimensionality for a range of demographics. 

More Content for More People

Currently, Disney + faces a unique situation, in that they are heavily perceived as the choice for child-friendly programming. It’s a double-edged sword in many ways. At best, families may also consider a broader entertainment source for family-friendly Pixar/Disney animations, but it lacks notable pulling power among many other demographics, from singles and couples to older teens and adults in general. While being the home of childhood content gave them an initial boost in the market, if they fail to diversify and attract other, non-child-centric viewers, that lofty subscription goal is unlikely to be met. 


We’ve already seen Disney try and attract an older audience through offerings like The Beatles: Get Back, and partnerships with music artists popular in the older teen demographic. Iger doesn’t think it’s just about demographics, however, but also the rate at which Disney is adding to its catalog. More content, as well as more content for different audiences, is needed if they are truly to compete with other industry giants like Netflix, which has a far wider catalog to draw on and no self-created throttle in the public imagination on who watches them.


Disney shares have fallen just under 20% this year. The results of the pandemic boost wearing off, or a sign that that greater audience-pulling power is sorely overdue? It’s a little too early to tell, but the situation is well worth watching.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is Kung Fu Panda 4 the Key to a Reinvigorated 2024 Box Office?

Image
 With Dune: Part Two having finally powered up the 2024 box office, it's time to build on that impetus if the wider box office recovery is to continue. There could be another strong contender lurking in the wings for this weekend’s releases- but it will doubtless surprise you to learn that this hope lies with the fourth installment of the animated Kung Fu Panda saga! Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney Los Angeles , Brandon Blake, has more on this ironic twist for us.                                                                          Brandon Blake Two $40M Grosses on the Cards For the first time since July 2023 and the Barbenheimer dual release, we have a chance at not one, but two, films grossing over $40M this weekend. In fact, those figures may top $50M! While Dune: Part Two...
Read more

Netflix Ad Tier Turns in Fantastic Growth

Image
 What a difference half a year can make! With Netflix’s ad-supported subscription tier first launched only 18 months ago, the streamer has managed to nearly double its subscriber base since the start of 2024. Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment lawyer , Brandon Blake, fills in the details. Brandon Blake Impressive Subscriber Gains Netflix’s total subscribers for the ad-supported tier now number 40 million monthly active users. In January 2024, it was 23 million. The streamer was understandably gleeful to reveal this news at its first in-person Upfronts presentation in New York earlier this month. At its first-ever Upfronts presentation, which was held digitally in 2023, the ad tier had 5 million monthly active users.   Additionally, we were told that 40% of active signups now opt for the ad-supported plan, in countries where it is currently available. Of course, much of this can be attributed to a rather kind price ($7 domestically) for this tier, well below most of ...
Read more

Hulu on Disney+ is Officially Here

Image
While the Hulu on Disney+ Beta bundle has been live since last year, we have officially reached the point of full integration. Intriguingly, much of the executive focus on the new bundle has been around the technical advancements needed to unite the two platforms. You could take a look at entertainment lawyer Brandon Blake, from Blake & Wang P.A., looks in more depth at the united offering.                                              Brandon Blake Technical Advancements While few viewers are likely to know (or care, frankly) about the backstage technology that powers their viewing experience, Disney executives have been keen to hammer home the potential for happier, healthier subscriber engagement and retention with the new tech shift. They have gone as far as to call it the “most extensive technical advancement” since launch. At this point, it is clear that they ...
Read more