Disney could dominate streaming. But it must use its premium brands, one investor recently said.
Investor Dan Loeb recently wrote a letter to Disney CEO Bob Chapek saying Disney features a chance to dominate streaming and catch Netflix — but it’s to completely lean in.
The excellent news about Disney versus Netflix is that this isn’t Yahoo versus Google, where Google had an insurmountable gain and a network effect where Yahoo was never getting to catch up, Loeb said.
Given the connection that Disney has with the entertainment consuming public because of franchises like Marvel and Star Wars and Pixar, they will leverage all of these to extend their subscriber base.
Loeb said there’s a case for Disney to exceed Netflix if it releases premiere films — like “Black Widow” — on Disney Plus.
Subscribers will come to the service if that’s the one place where they will see these movies, he said
What Netflix has is that this immense subscriber base that permits it to take a position in a huge amount of content and amortize that to urge more subscribers, Loeb told.
Disney isn’t there yet, but they have to get there as quickly as possible. If they don’t get critical mass in their subscriber base, they’re going to be permanently disadvantaged versus Netflix.”
Has this already started?
Earlier in the week , Disney Plus announced it might release Pixar’s “Soul” on Disney Plus exclusively at Christmas.
Chapek, Disney’s CEO, said during a statement that Disney was thrilled about the move.
“A new original Pixar film is always a special day , and this truly heartwarming and humorous story about human connection and finding one’s place within the world are going to be a treat for families to enjoy together this season .”
