Disney’s Plans To Dominate The World (And The Galaxy)

Big news #1: Disney passed 86M subs for Disney+, and 137M total with Hulu and ESPN+ added together.

Big news #2: Disney raised their 2024 subscriber projection to 230M+ from their original estimate of 60M+!

Big question #1: How does Disney+ compare to other streaming services?

Quick answer: Disney reached 44% of Netflix’s global subscriber base in 1 year.

FYI: It took Netflix 7 years to hit 100M streaming subscribers!

Big news #3: Disney+ announced an insane slate of new shows and movies, including:

1) 10 Star Wars series
2) 10 Marvel series
3) 105 other movies and TV shows

Disney+ content spend (YoY growth) according to Variety:

1) 2020 – $4.5B
2) 2021 – $8.5B (↑ 89%)

Quote from Michael Nathanson – Analyst @ MoffettNathanson:

“While we expected to hear about Disney’s accelerated content investment in their DTC businesses, the sheer size and quality of the content tsunami headed to Disney Plus was mind-blowing and frightening to any sub-scale company thinking about competing in the scripted entertainment space” 

What Lil Screens is reading: The Mandalorian announces an Ahsoka Tano spin-off series

Top streaming shows in November by audience share according to 7Park:

1) The Mandalorian – 29%
2) The Queen’s Gambit – 20%
3) The Crown – 14%
4) Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey – 10%
5) Schitt’s Creek – 9%

Big picture: Disney stock is up ≈ 20% this year despite a $7B drop in profit.  This is due in large part to excitement around Disney+.

Video: Disney stock hits record high after Disney+ subscriber surge

More #1: The Key to Disney’s Strategy Was Hidden in Its Flood of Announcements

More #2: ‘The Mandalorian’ is the Way of Star Wars