Netflix and Disney+ are battling each other with around 750,000 subscribers on the line as Netflix loses a handful of hit shows to its rival Disney+ that has snatched the rights to popular and essential shows such as “Modern Family,” “How I Met Your Mother” and “Sons of Anarchy.”
Last week, Netflix forecast the lowest number of new global subscribers in the first quarter since 2010, has lost the UK rights to five popular titles to Disney+ this month, with more set to follow.
Netflix Loses Major Titles
Netflix has already lost significant titles, including Prison Break and New Girl, with Homeland expected to follow soon. That could cost Netflix UK as much as £90m annually if all of the 750,000 subscribers were to follow their favorite shows and leave.
As Modern Family was the most streamed Netflix show in Europe 2020, the loss of that show could have the most significant impact, with almost 270,000 subscribers deemed to be hardcore fans. A report shows that over half of Netflix’s top viewing was to major [Hollywood] studio content.”
Netflix is expected to spend more than $17bn on content this year, increasing a quarter over 2021. There will be an increasing focus on creating original productions as it attempts to replace TV shows and films licensed from third parties with its content.
New Hit Shows and Movies on Netflix in 2022
Netflix is bidding on the new SCI-FI movie “The Adam Project” and the return of the hit series “Bridgton” as well as “Stranger Things” to pull in and retain subscribers. At the same time, the company has increased the price of its monthly subscriptions in Canada and the US, its biggest market.
Now both Netflix and Disney+ are racing to grow their power in Africa, Netflix has signed a deal with Nigerian TV pioneer Mo Abudu’s EbonyLife Media, while Disney+ is expanding to 41 new countries this summer including countries in Africa and Asia, as well as, working on projects with Cape Town-based animation house Triggerfish, pan-African studio Kugali Media and Nigerian director Akin Omotoso.
Market Share
That said, Netflix remains the most popular streaming service in the UK, with an estimated 14 million subscribers as of the end of 2021, ahead of Amazon at 12.3 million and Disney+ at 4.7 million, according to Ampere Analysis.
What will happen with this battle? Let’s stand and keep on watching.