The inevitable streaming war between Netflix and Disney+ will probably be won by consumers. Those two companies are not the only players in this game, but they are expected to be the titans clashing the hardest. Disney+ is launching in November 2019, and expectations are already high -- while the price is at least starting low. That new car smell has attracted many fans who are currently using Netflix (which just raised prices). A new survey suggests Netflix could lose a lot of subscribers -- and their money -- after Disney+ arrives.
The online survey polled 602 U.S.-based Netflix subscribers. So it wasn't a huge sample, but it offered a possible hint of what's to come.
According to the results, 2.2% of respondents said they will "definitely cancel Netflix" when Disney+ debuts, with 12.3% saying they "might cancel Netflix and get Disney+." According to Streaming Observer -- which partnered with Mindnet Analytics for the survey -- that suggests around 8.7 million U.S. Netflix subscribers might cancel Netflix when Disney+ comes out. In monetary terms, that reportedly suggests a potential revenue loss of around $116.9 million a month for Netflix.
That's assuming all of those "definitely cancel" and "might cancel" customers actually follow-through and cancel Netflix. You know Netflix sees all of this coming and will probably dangle some very enticing carrots in front of users in late 2019 and early 2020.
The survey results suggested 2 in 5 Netflix subscribes will try Disney+ when it comes out, and 1 in 5 Netflix users will subscribe to both services. That's based on 37.5% of users saying they'll try Disney+, with 40% saying they had no interest. It surprises me that more people had no interest.
Since we're talking about Disney, it's not that shocking that the survey showed Netflix subscribers with kids 15 and under were more than twice as likely to cancel Netflix for Disney+ than non-parents.
Disney recently revealed that Disney+ will launch in the U.S. on November 12 at $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year. That is less than Netflix's current options, as promised, but will it stay that low or is it just the Get Them Hooked price?
In January, Netflix announced (via CNN) that it had added 9 million new subscribers during the final three months of 2018, and reached 139 million subscribers globally, with another 8.9 million subscribers expected by the end of March.
Another recent survey, which polled more people than the Disney+ one above, put Netflix at the top of the viewer heap. When asked which streaming service or network they'd keep if they had to just choose one, 44% of users chose Netflix, with CBS taking second place. If they release the same poll next year, will Netflix still be on top, or will Disney+ dethrone it?
Netflix is clearly still very popular, and it has the current advantage of getting people hooked early on shows like Stranger Things and The Crown, etc., which are expected to continue past their highly anticipated upcoming seasons. Disney is busy working its own angles, releasing early details on content covering every base of pop culture from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Star Wars.
At the moment, I'm leaning toward at least trying Disney+ and probably getting both, if I can swing the cost. What I want is one streaming service that lets me pick a little bit of everything -- since there are individual shows I like on Amazon, Hulu, and CBS All Access as well, and I cannot afford to get them all.
As we wait for Disney+ to show up, Netflix already has plenty of April 2019 movies and TV shows for you to check out, with more premieres scheduled for later in the year.
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