The House of Mouse joined the streaming wars with the launch of Disney+ earlier this week. The platform is proving to be a huge competitor with millions of fans anticipating the release. On the other hand, Netflix has been in the streaming game for a while now, and the Chief Creative Officer shares his thoughts regarding the launch.
Ted Sarandos recently spoke at Paley Center’s International Council Summit (via Deadline). The topic regarding Disney+ was brought up and Sarandos talked about any changes since the platform's release.
He claims that even from the beginning, they have been competing with Disney “and all these other folks” who are yet to launch their own streaming services.”For us, nothing really changes,” says Sarandos. According to him, Netflix has always been “customer-first,” and that they don’t get distracted by competition. He admits that they figured everyone would be in the business at some point.
Sarandos compliments Disney for being great storytellers and becoming a “hugely successful company.” However, he’s surprised that the House of Mouse and other big companies took a long while to “go down this path.” “It’s a hard change,” he added.
He then went on to pose a question. He is curious if the companies “that have been built on making and selling content to other people” would be able to make more money this way since they’re selling content directly to the consumers. He claims that “it’s a hard bet, and it’s a bet-the-farm one.”
Do you think Disney+ will get more subscribers than Netflix in the future? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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