No one has read the evolution of streaming services as well as Reed Hastings. After all, the Netflix CEO and co-founder had transformed a movie rental-by-mail business into a streaming giant. Hastings’s talent has now been put to its biggest test with Disney announcing that its streaming service, Disney+, will start in November.
Disney+ already looks like a winner—it will offer content from Disney Studios, Pixar, Lucasfilms, National Geographic, Marvel Studios and Twentieth Century Fox. That is movies and shows worth a fortune. Disney has been withdrawing its movies from other platforms after its own streaming plans shaped up. Netflix reportedly paid Disney $300 million a year for pay TV rights of its movies.
Content, however, is unlikely to be a problem for Netflix. It spent $12 billion in 2018 on producing its own shows and buying from others. This year it is likely to go up by 25 per cent. Hastings says this investment fuels a “virtuous cycle”—the more you invest, the more people will find content that they love.
Hastings sees Disney+ as what it is—a competitor, rather than a threat or a challenge. He thinks there is enough space for both—like Coke and Pepsi, or Nike and Adidas. The catch, however, is that it is not going to be a two-horse race. Amazon already has a strong presence in the streaming industry. Apple and YouTube have big plans for subscription-based video services. And they all have deep pockets. Viewers, it seems, will be spoilt for choice.