In November 2019, the much anticipated ‘streaming wars’ begun in earnest after Apple launched Apple TV+, and some days later, Disney launched Disney Plus. Another product offering that is going to hit the market soon is Comcast’s Peacock.
However, despite all the new competition from well-capitalized companies, the biggest player in the streaming space, Netflix, has not been hurt much. The stock did underperform compared to previous years and the wider market, but it has not been hurt too badly yet. Some analysts believe that the reason behind that is the fact that streaming may not be a ‘zero-sum game’ after all.
Netflix is Still Leading
When Disney came up with its offering, it was believed that Disney Plus was going to prove to be a major challenge for Netflix. Considering the fact that it boasts of content from Pixar, Star Wars, and Marvel, among others, it would not be difficult for Disney Plus to garner subscribers. As a matter of fact, it signed up to 10 million consumers in its first week. The Disney stock jumped in the aftermath as well. Apple launched its services in the same month, and the offerings from Comcast, as well as HBO, are coming soon.
However, this seemed to have an opposite effect on the Netflix stock price. Many expected that the lower prices offered by Disney were going to see a migration of consumers to the new platform. However, it seems that many people simply added Disney Plus on top of Netflix. Hence, it is interesting to note that since Disney Plus was launched, the Disney stock managed to gain only 2%. In the same period, Netflix stock has gained as much as 22%. Considering the fact that Netflix’s earnings in the fourth quarter were rather mixed, it goes to show that the stock is still quite resilient despite the presence of new competition.
