The launch of Disney Plus in November had many experts questioning if the Mouse House' entry into the streaming industry could cause cracks in Netflix's business model. Though Disney Plus amassed large numbers (10 million to be exact) within days of its release, Netflix still claimed that the company hadn't been hurt by the rising competition, in fact, it was expected way earlier.
Disney Plus pulled 1 million subscribers from Netflix in November
Disney Plus and Netflix have both steadily strengthened their library with binge-worthy licensed content as well as original titles (Film & TV). In the case of Netflix, the company had a history of depending on licensed IPs such as the Friends TV show to attract its subscribers. But that business model could be a thing of the past with new data revealing that Netflix has released more original content than it ever did.
A total of 371 original movies was released by Netflix in 2019, surpassing by over 50% of its total numbers from 2018. It's clear that the company benefited big with its own IP this year and is on road to continue with the same strategy.
Netflix not depending on licensed content like FRIENDS tv show?
The Lucifer TV show, an IP that belonged to Fox was canceled due to poor ratings after three seasons. But Netflix picked up the series to produce a fourth season and is currently working on bringing the fifth and final season. Fortunately, it only seems to have played out in their favor with Lucifer named as the most popular streaming show of the year.
Other Netflix TV shows such as Stranger Things, 13 Reasons Why were also among the list and were largely made up of the company's very own titles. That alone assures that 2019 was win but it didn't come without a few hurdles.
A part of Disney Plus's success came at the cost of its competitor with a new report from THR revealing that the Mouse House pulled in 1 million subscribers from Netflix. Disney's success is profoundly still new and it's important to note that growth in subscribers needs to be long-lasting with emerging SVODs like HBO Max.
Since its launch, report shows subscribers of Disney Plus seem to have enjoyed watching classic Disney films more than just Star Wars & Marvel. However, that could change in the near future as the media giant is in the process of bringing several original Disney Plus Marvel shows like WandaVision. Nonetheless, Netflix, as well as Disney, will end on a high note this year. 2020 will be the year of big blockbuster titles for video on demand.
