The entertainment world is abuzz with the news of the Disney Streaming service overtaking Netflix in the race for streaming customers. For the first time, Disney has surpassed Netflix in the number of subscriptions, and we have to wait to see if Disney can topple the streaming giant from its long help top position. Disney’s recent gain of 14.4 million subscriptions pushed its total subscriptions to 221.1 million against 220.67 Netflix subscribers. Although the numbers might excite fans of the Disney franchise, the numbers need scrutiny to make a fair comparison between the subscriber bases of the leading streaming services. After all, you must compare apples to apples to the standing of the streaming services in the race to the top.
Disney is an Umbrella of Streaming Services
Before analyzing the numbers, let us look at the streaming services from an organizational point of view. As a company, Disney is an accumulation of streaming services that includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. It means that subscribers of all the streaming services are Disney subscribers. On the other hand, Netflix is a single streaming service. Disney is ahead of Netflix, but counting subscribers makes it confusing.
Clearing the Confusion
On looking at the latest report, it might seem like Disney has overtaken Netflix. Still, you should note that Disney reported the number of subscriptions, whereas Netflix reported the number of subscribers. Disney lists subscribers of all the streaming services under its umbrella and reports not the number of subscribers but the number of subscriptions. Since a single subscriber can have multiple subscriptions across the three Disney channels, the number of subscriptions will be higher than the number of subscribers. And that’s what is happening now. As Netflix reports the number of subscribers, as it ought to be because it is a single-channel streaming service, the number of subscribers is the same as the number of subscriptions. Therefore, it is fair to assume that the numbers are a comparison of subscriptions only, and there is no doubt that Disney tops subscribers over Netflix.
Varied Content, more Entertainment outs Disney ahead
A massive variety of content has worked in favor of Disney and made it tough for Netflix. Since its launch in 2019, Disney+ has offered varied entertainment packages like Disney movies and Star Wars spin-offs like Ob-Wan Kenobi and The Mandalorian, besides Marvel Studios offerings like Wandavision and Ms. Marvel. The lineup proved challenging for Netflix. Netflix lost a million subscribers in Q2.
Despite the strong demand for Disney products, the company will likely experience a slowdown in subscription growth as it could not earn the streaming rights for cricket in India. However, adding 14.4 million subscribers in the last quarter, including viewers beyond the US, should help Disney retain the growth momentum.
Now that Disney is ahead of Netflix, it puts to rest the debate – will Disney overtake Netflix?
