Zürcher Nachrichten - As streaming TV competition rages, Disney+ shines

EUR -
AED 4.293297
AFN 80.91457
ALL 97.787182
AMD 448.803483
ANG 2.092137
AOA 1072.008381
ARS 1473.86814
AUD 1.776114
AWG 2.107191
AZN 1.992006
BAM 1.954944
BBD 2.359867
BDT 142.117771
BGN 1.954944
BHD 0.440707
BIF 3482.375178
BMD 1.169038
BND 1.495545
BOB 8.093456
BRL 6.502078
BSD 1.168788
BTN 100.194128
BWP 15.604167
BYN 3.824825
BYR 22913.14706
BZD 2.347672
CAD 1.60129
CDF 3373.844424
CHF 0.930865
CLF 0.029161
CLP 1110.323824
CNY 8.380309
CNH 8.386416
COP 4691.84559
CRC 589.441902
CUC 1.169038
CUP 30.97951
CVE 110.21674
CZK 24.665189
DJF 208.128867
DKK 7.461795
DOP 70.379183
DZD 151.705573
EGP 57.855667
ERN 17.535572
ETB 161.021794
FJD 2.621276
FKP 0.865796
GBP 0.866082
GEL 3.16855
GGP 0.865796
GHS 12.154678
GIP 0.865796
GMD 83.590727
GNF 10140.559771
GTQ 8.978069
GYD 244.522931
HKD 9.175551
HNL 30.573613
HRK 7.533988
HTG 153.40283
HUF 399.5543
IDR 18972.787189
ILS 3.894218
IMP 0.865796
INR 100.333285
IQD 1531.029611
IRR 49231.122092
ISK 142.400984
JEP 0.865796
JMD 186.898163
JOD 0.828894
JPY 171.328427
KES 151.00388
KGS 102.232832
KHR 4685.948172
KMF 492.340851
KPW 1052.116012
KRW 1612.291055
KWD 0.357481
KYD 0.973974
KZT 610.66261
LAK 25187.970987
LBP 104720.046415
LKR 351.4761
LRD 234.337391
LSL 20.841074
LTL 3.451866
LVL 0.70714
LYD 6.314235
MAD 10.527091
MDL 19.787336
MGA 5177.732835
MKD 61.508068
MMK 2454.245682
MNT 4196.950222
MOP 9.450262
MRU 46.492642
MUR 53.144915
MVR 18.007558
MWK 2026.612611
MXN 21.771042
MYR 4.971339
MZN 74.772119
NAD 20.841074
NGN 1786.89858
NIO 43.011167
NOK 11.839321
NPR 160.310805
NZD 1.945479
OMR 0.4495
PAB 1.168788
PEN 4.144385
PGK 4.831884
PHP 66.037214
PKR 332.363469
PLN 4.253138
PYG 9058.033774
QAR 4.260834
RON 5.081579
RSD 117.098726
RUB 91.189371
RWF 1688.860502
SAR 4.384482
SBD 9.733981
SCR 16.480784
SDG 702.011685
SEK 11.176827
SGD 1.494854
SHP 0.91868
SLE 26.307644
SLL 24514.149043
SOS 667.907544
SRD 43.49699
STD 24196.728708
SVC 10.226522
SYP 15199.796755
SZL 20.847871
THB 37.929486
TJS 11.295954
TMT 4.103324
TND 3.419503
TOP 2.738009
TRY 46.93731
TTD 7.940523
TWD 34.1849
TZS 3029.973271
UAH 48.831018
UGX 4189.165697
USD 1.169038
UYU 47.259307
UZS 14766.534203
VES 133.584256
VND 30528.845862
VUV 139.77719
WST 3.204584
XAF 655.669903
XAG 0.030453
XAU 0.000348
XCD 3.159384
XDR 0.815443
XOF 655.669903
XPF 119.331742
YER 282.732293
ZAR 20.949587
ZMK 10522.750076
ZMW 27.056153
ZWL 376.429796
  • CMSC

    0.0900

    22.314

    +0.4%

  • CMSD

    0.0250

    22.285

    +0.11%

  • RBGPF

    0.0000

    69.04

    0%

  • SCS

    0.0400

    10.74

    +0.37%

  • RELX

    0.0300

    53

    +0.06%

  • RIO

    -0.1400

    59.33

    -0.24%

  • GSK

    0.1300

    41.45

    +0.31%

  • NGG

    0.2700

    71.48

    +0.38%

  • BP

    0.1750

    30.4

    +0.58%

  • BTI

    0.7150

    48.215

    +1.48%

  • BCC

    0.7900

    91.02

    +0.87%

  • JRI

    0.0200

    13.13

    +0.15%

  • VOD

    0.0100

    9.85

    +0.1%

  • BCE

    -0.0600

    22.445

    -0.27%

  • RYCEF

    0.1000

    12

    +0.83%

  • AZN

    -0.1200

    73.71

    -0.16%

As streaming TV competition rages, Disney+ shines
As streaming TV competition rages, Disney+ shines

As streaming TV competition rages, Disney+ shines

The streaming television race is heating up, with Disney showing Wednesday it is closing the gap with market leader Netflix, whose stride has slowed.

Text size:

The US entertainment giant blew past expectations for new subscribers to its flagship streaming service Disney+, whose big studio muscle helped it reach 129.8 million subscribers worldwide, some five million more than analysts had predicted.

Netflix ended the year with 221.8 million subscribers, a massive number, but it announced slowing growth.

"We certainly understand the pie is big enough for both companies to succeed," CFRA analyst Tuna Amobi said of the streaming rivals.

"What is undeniable is the competition has gotten more intense."

Netflix and Disney+ both saw numbers boom under the lockdown lifestyles brought about by the pandemic.

Disney, the Hollywood entertainment behemoth that turns 100 next year, saw streaming subscriptions pick up pace as pandemic restrictions ease, while Netflix saw them slow.

"Our unmatched collection of assets and platforms, creative capabilities, and unique place in the culture give me great confidence we will continue to define entertainment for the next 100 years," Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek said in an earnings statement.

The company, with an empire that stretches from movies to theme parks and also includes streamers Hulu and ESPN+, reported profit that topped forecasts on revenue which surged to $21.8 billion in the final three months of 2021.

Disney has a huge pipeline of content and big name franchises such as "Marvel" and "Star Wars," while Netflix has found success investing in original content from Hollywood and beyond.

"These results speak volumes for Disney's storied brands and its ability to rise above the competition in an increasingly crowded digital media market," wrote Insider Intelligence analyst Paul Verna.

- Originality -

Like the Prime video streaming service fielded by Amazon, Disney is copying Netflix's tactic of investing in local content that appeals to the language, culture and tastes in respective international markets.

"We have created a new organization in the company to shepherd development of that content" and hope to get "some global hits" out of locally produced content, Disney's Chapek said.

Netflix has made that approach work, backing original blockbusters such as "Squid Game" from South Korea and France's "Lupin."

Disney said it has some 340 programs in the works outside the United States that are expected to be delivered in the next 18 to 24 months.

Shows or films made in various countries by local talent has been a strength for Netflix, which is relying on international markets for growth now that it is firmly entrenched in US households.

Disney, based in Southern California, is present in only about 60 countries, against more than 190 for Netflix, but aims to add 100 more by 2023.

Disney+ subscriptions could further close the gap with Netflix once it enters all those countries, according to Amobi.

In India alone, Netflix, Disney and Amazon are rivals in a market which last year was reported to have some 60 million to 70 million paying subscribers.

International growth, though, comes with the caveat that subscription prices tend to be much lower than what is charged in the United States.

Netflix did not hesitate to lower its prices in India at the end of last year, to remain competitive.

Disney relies on subsidiary Hotstar in India, where revenue per subscriber is lower than in other countries where its streaming service is established.

With just shy of 74 million total subscribers, more than half of them in the United States, HBO and its HBO Max service lack the firepower of Amazon, Disney and Netflix.

A planned marriage with Discovery+, expected to be finalized by mid-year, could ignite momentum for HBO.

NBC-owned Peacock along with Paramount+ and even Apple TV are, for the time being, distant runners-up to the top contenders.

"Trends still favor streaming platforms," analyst Amobi told AFP.

"The pandemic accelerated those tailwinds. The question is, coming out of the pandemic how many of those winds could reverse?"

Digital TV Research estimates that online video services will have 1.7 billion subscribers worldwide by 2026.

"There's more competition than there has ever been," Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings said recently.

Overall, he added, there is confidence that traditional television withers away in the next 10 to 20 years, with streaming becoming the new norm.

R.Schmid--NZN