Disney+ May Overtake Netflix As The Biggest Streaming Service In The Next Few Years
Disney+ has been a breakout hit for the entertainment giant, and there’s now a real chance that the streaming service has a chance of unseating Netflix as the world’s biggest streaming service by the end of its fifth year.
According to TheDisInsider, analysts are indicating that Disney+’s growth rate has risen to the point where they could top Netflix in either three or four years, which would be ahead of an initial estimate that they’d reach 202 million subscribers by 2025. The last update that we got, back in December, indicated that Disney+’s total pool of subscribers exceed 86 million after about a year and one month of first launching. If these analysts that TheDisInsider are hearing from are correct, then it should not have trouble reaching more than double that total as it continues to expand in key markets around the world, or as the massive amount of content that they’ve announced hits the service.
But even if Netflix loses the “top dog” spot, this isn’t the worst possible news for them, which just reached the milestone of 200 million active subscribers worldwide. General signs point to there being an overlap between the pool of Disney+ users and Netflix users, particularly since Disney+ doesn’t cater to older viewers in most of their markets. (That’s changing with the integration of Disney+Star, but that’s only available in specific markets and is far from a universal feature.) But it goes without saying that it should be better for Disney, who are also expanding with fellow streaming services Hulu and ESPN+, both of which see an opportunity for further growth in being packaged with Disney+.
Disney is set to release dozens of original shows and movies on their up-and-coming original service, and with the way that things are headed, it’s no longer hyperbole to say that it could top Netflix with its rapid rate of expansion. Between now and 2024, they plan to spend $14B to $16B on its slate of original content across its three services, and at the rate that new stuff is going to come, it will be money well spent.
Grant Davis is a freelance writer who has covered entertainment news for more than seven years. His articles have frequently appeared in Star Wars News Net as well as as other entertainment-related websites. As someone who grew up on Star Wars and comic book movies, he’s completely thrilled with the current era of genre entertainment.
