In the last days, the blood pressure of Netflix leaders may have increased a bit. First Disney announced that they would cancel their cooperation with Netflix from 2019, and the second is the arrival of Facebook Watch.
At the moment you can stream lots of Disney movies on Netflix in different Netflix regions all across the world. But, Disney movies are not just animated films for children. Do not forget that Disney has bought the Star Wars series, and they also own the super heroes in the Marvel universe. Disney wants to start their own streaming portal soon (probably late 2017, or in 2018), and that will be the new place to stream Disney content online. Will they remove all Disney material from Netflix? We do not know that yet, but we do know that animated material will be deleted. If they decide to bring Star Wars and the Marvel universe with them, it will be a big-time blow for Netflix.
Will the new Disney streaming service be available as a worldwide service? Disney better create their streaming portal as worldwide service, but we do not know anything specific about this yet. How much will the Disney streaming service cost? Will it be a US only service or a worldwide service? Will all content be available in all regions, or will it vary? These are all questions we would love to receive an answer to, but we do not know the answer to these questions yet.
Another punch in the face for Netflix
While Disney decided to remove their content from Netflix, Facebook will start their own service named Watch. This is still in the testing phase (for people in the USA), but it will be made available all across the world in the coming months (hopefully). The goal with this product is to keep people inside the Facebook-empire for a longer period, and it will also make communication while watching and connecting with fans of the same program/movie easier.
The Disney product might seem tougher for Netflix to bear with, but whenever Facebook moves, the world pays attention. This might seem like a small step at the moment, but in a few years, everyone streams TV programs and movies on Facebook.
Do we need to worry about Netflix?
Not at all! They reached more than 100,000,000 subscribers earlier this year, and they have a strong name in the industry. They are not the leading streaming service by coincidence. Netflix stands ready, they have a plan, and they will for sure fight to keep all opponents at a far distance.
