Netflix Wins, but I Do Not Care…I’m Coping
Netflix came out today and dropped a bomb. That reminds me, there was a bomb threat at my school today, so if you are reading this and you made the bomb threat, not chill bro. Anyways, Netflix dropped a metaphorical bomb today. A startling 13.5 million new people decided to subscribe to Netflix, five and a half million more than the already hyper-aggressive eight million projection. I figure now is my time to lay out clearly, for what will most likely not be the last time, why I love Disney despite them getting crushed in streaming.
Netflix was a buy that eluded me. I believed foolishly that Netflix’s unending money machine would be set alite and abandoned at the end of a wharf. It was not. I thought there would be a battle, but I did not realize the size of Netflix’s advantage. There was no battle, merely an arm-wrestling contest between The Hulk and me. I did not win; the Hulk did. Disney got punked. Fortunately, Bob Iger saw this coming a while ago, even before he fired Bob Chapek. Disney+ is now targeting a new set of consumers.
Disney charges eight dollars per month for the ad-supported tier and $14 per month for the no-ad option. I have no doubt Disney will raise the prices of these options before the Summer. Disney Plus is essential for a large segment of the American population, 150 million of them. Disney’s streaming service will become even more crucial when they roll all their streaming into some behemoth platform. If they do it right, which I believe they will because of Bob Iger, all UFC fans, Star Wars fans, Hulu Live subscribers, Marvel fans, anyone with kids, and soooooooo much more content will be rolled into one massively profitable platform, which will also reduce the pressure on certain studios *cough* Marvel and Lucasfilm to produce so much content, which will also helpfully make each work of a higher quality. There is a clear path forward, in my opinion, to Disney becoming massively profitable in streaming. What makes the streaming situation even better is that whatever I am thinking, whatever I believe is possible in this industry, Bob Iger has ten times better ideas.
So, let us say everything goes right: Disney rolls all of their IP, which there is a titanic amount of, into one streaming platform. The margins would be bonkers, the consumer appeal would be bonkers, and then… Disney could use the Netflix effect. A streaming service’s strength is creating a culture. There is nothing more popular in the world of streaming than a cultural effect. TV shows that are cultural movements like Succession, Queen’s Gambit, and Stranger Things can drive so much traffic to your platform. Despite having the least amount of IP out of all the big boys, Netflix again and again has been able to create these cultural movements. Disney has only been able to do it once with The Mandalorian, which fell off hard this third season. That is Disney’s biggest weakness: lack of movements. Now I know what you are saying, “Well, obviously, Henry. You are trying to make the biggest hit possible.” In the past, Disney was not suited to make those cultural moments. To create a cultural moment, you must create something fresh, bold, and new. The Mandalorian was bold, Invincible was bold, and The Boys was bold. Fifty mediocre Marvel shows and movies were not bold, The Rings of Power was not bold, and any sequel Star Wars movie was…bad. Again, you say, “Well, obviously, Henry, we knew this a while ago; Disney is not making good media.” And I say to you, they were not; they will be soon. Whether it happens this year or the next, Disney is primed for a creative renaissance. Disney has cooled it with productions, they have cooled it with political beef, and they have found their audience. I believe Disney is ready to start pumping out a couple of phenomena per year, something you would expect from the most storied media company in history.
Disney is ready for something massive. They will beat Netflix, but not at Netflix’s game.
