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 The blizzard of new content
announcements in a marathon investor day
presentation also came with bold new business
targets - and programming costs of up to $16
billion in fiscal 2024 - as Disney races with
U.S. entertainment industry rivals to catch up
to video streaming pioneer Netflix Inc.
By the end of fiscal 2024, Disney expects to
attract as many as 350 million global
subscribers across all of its streaming
services, easily more than double the 137
million it has today. Armed with fresh content,
Disney will also raise the price of Disney+ by
$1 in the U.S. to $7.99 per month and by 2 euros
in continental Europe to 8.99 euros ($10.92).
The aggressive push comes as Disney taps into a
home entertainment boom stoked by the global
coronavirus pandemic, with more people staying
indoors and seeking out new shows. Launched less
than a year ago, Disney+ has already hit 86.8
million subscribers, Disney said, nearly
reaching the upper end of a goal its previously
set for 2024.
"It is clear our strategy has already positioned
us as a leading global streaming service
provider, and that is within just one year of
launching Disney+," Disney Chief Financial
Officer Christine McCarthy said.
Disney said it plans to release 10 new TV series
each in the Marvel and Star Wars franchises,
including two spinoffs of "The Mandalorian,"
over the next few years..
Another 15 live-action Disney Animation and
Pixar shows and 15 Disney Animation and Pixar
feature films will be available on the Disney+
streaming service.
Customers should expect about 100 or more titles
every year, executives said in the presentation
to investors.
The company announced new programming for Hulu
and Star, a general entertainment service it
will launch overseas in February. This will
include content from the popular Kardashian
family, which this year announced it was ending
its long-running reality show on NBCUniversal's
E! network..
Disney said it continues to expect Disney+ will
reach profitability in 2024, and shares rose 4%
in after-hours trading during the investor
presentation.
CLOSING THE GAP
The U.S. entertainment industry has scrambled to
match Netflix this year. Disney, AT&T's
WarnerMedia and Comcast Corp's NBCUniversal have
all restructured operations to focus on
streaming video services.
On Thursday, Disney set higher subscriber
targets, fueled by billions of dollars invested
in new programming. The company estimated it
would spend between $14 billion to $16 billion
on content in fiscal 2024.
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|
 Disney+ is now expected to
reach 230 million to 260 million customers by
2024, up from a previous projection of 60
million to 90 million. The
company said between 30% to 40% of the new
subscriber forecast came from Disney+ Hotstar in
India.
Disney+ has been boosted by the popularity of
"The Mandalorian" TV series, a Star Wars spinoff
featuring the character popularly known as Baby
Yoda. On Thursday, Disney said it planned two
further spinoff series, "The Rangers of the New
Republic" and "Ahsoka."
Including upgraded expectations for Hulu and
ESPN+, Disney said it could reach 300 million to
350 million streaming subscribers worldwide.
Those numbers would challenge Netflix, which
pioneered streaming in 2007 and had 195 million
paying subscribers at the end of October.
Shares of Netflix slipped 0.6% during Disney's
presentation.
Hollywood is closely following Disney's plans a
week after AT&T Inc's Warner Bros upended the
film business by saying it would debut all 17 of
its 2021 movies on its HBO Max streaming service
on the same day they hit theaters..
That left cinema chains including AMC
Entertainment Holdings Inc, Cineworld Group and
Cinemark Holdings Inc disgruntled about losing
the window when they can screen movies
exclusively in theaters before productions hit
streaming services.
Disney said on Thursday two films - "Pinocchio"
and "Peter Pan & Wendy" - would skip theaters
and go straight to Disney+, but it did not
announce sweeping changes to its movie release
strategy as Warner Bros. did.
It also said "Wonder Woman" director Patty
Jenkins will also direct the next Star Wars
theatrical film, "Rogue Squadron," expected to
arrive by the end of 2023.
($1 = 0.8230 euros)
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Kenneth
Li, Cynthia Osterman and Kenneth Maxwell)
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