Cash-Strapped Disney

[skypilot2922]

You keep talking about this but I’m not sure what your point is. The Verizon and AT&T subs are “free” for the consumer but Disney absolutely gets money for them - it’s just the subscription free is paid for by Verizon and AT&T. Now obviously they are getting that at a discounted rate but it’s still added revenue for Disney.

I’d be curious as the the numbers (how many people get such “free” service and how much Verizon, etc pays for it) but it’s basically pure profit for Disney as the marginal expense of those new additional subs is minuscule. And the more subs/revenue, the easier it is to justify spending on more original programming. And more original programming is how you drive future subs and retention. As has been mentioned, there was no drop off when the (large) first round of Verizon “free” subscriptions ended so D+ seems to have good retention. (Or at least there’s been no evidence they have had retention “problems”)

here’s the thing though if you up your contract or buy a new phone you get ANOTHER year of D+,

if D+ was ONCE per cell subscriber. I’d have more confidence in the apparent dropoff scenario. But if you DO take D+ from your carrier once it expires its billed to your cell so customer ‘conversion’ is automatic. So there is some number of people who have a paid D+ subscription and are not aware of it.
Which is a brilliant move by Disney in my opinion

 

[ImperfectPixie]

I’ve got to say that I don’t really see the bolded. When it comes to back catalogue, we’ll liked brands (Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars), and well regarded original programming.

I don’t have either of those services so I’d be curious as to your thoughts on them. Certainly the subscription numbers don’t compare to D+

We still have cable and get HBO Max free because of it. They have the same issue most streaming services seem to have in that they don't add new content often enough. Other than that though, it has some pretty decent content (lots of DC Comics stuff that hubby loves), and they do "same day streaming" for some new films hitting theaters at no additional cost for 30 days.

 

[FruitSaladAndApplePie]

Don’t dislocate your shoulder patting yourself on the back.

Humility - A little goes a long way.

 

[WDW Pro]

Project Sparkle? Let me guess a new parade or two Was included in that?

Project Sparkle was the code for Disney Enchantment. Project Nugget was the code for the significant improvements to the pyro launch site.

 

[celluloid]

I’ve got to say that I don’t really see the bolded. When it comes to back catalogue, we’ll liked brands (Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars), and well regarded original programming that D+ seems superior to both of those. And HBO Max is a good bit more costly.

I don’t have either of those services so I’d be curious as to your thoughts on them. Certainly the subscription numbers don’t compare to D+

I go by bang for the buck. HBO is more costly, but there is a variety of programing. It is personal preference but the Marvel brand does not do anything for me and most of the Disney Plus original content outside of theme parks and classic movie talk falls flat for me. When it first premiered we had almost everything WB from DC comic based things to 80s Goonies and Gremlins like hits.
They also had the TCM curated library but that seems to have changed. This is not to mention the 30 day same release date as movies that has been a great value for my family to watch Space Jam at something more akin to the value it is worth rather than the theatrical price.

For a 90s Nick Fan, Paramount Plus is really great.

 

[WEDfan9798]

Well, one for example is that particular figures on Peter Pan are going to be removed. I haven't heard that Tiki Room is receiving changes in the near-term, and Country Bears is unlikely to be altered with Splash Mountain going down in (likely) 2023... they'll need something to eat crowds in Frontierland, even if it's not a popular attraction (apologies if you love it).



I would say that it doesn't matter if Iger is at odds with Chapek anymore. Iger is over and Chapek has put his people in place; he's been very surprising in just how well he has taken control of the company.



I think humility is a key part of a healthy person. I have been extraordinarily fortunate in the past two years in ways that I won't discuss on the forums, but needless to say I am humbled by opportunities I have had to impact the world at large. There have been a number of things that have happened in which I have had to say, "I can't believe this."

Thank you. Is the Haunted Mansion going to change, though?

I hope it doesn't because that's my favorite ride. As per Peter Pan, I do support that change. I am Native American and I feel weird going past the village with the caricatured "Indians". My mom was surprised that it was still in there when we went last March.

 

[LaughingGravy]

D+ simply needs the whole catalog of their older stuff, meaning all of it added.
The nostalgia return will be huge for little in the way of investment.
Every Mickey Mouse Club episode from every iteration, every live action and cartoon ( every Disney Treasures DVD+), all the questionable stuff with a disclaimer at the beginning ( but don't edit), and every Disneyland and Wonderful World of Disney episode!

 

[celluloid]

D+ simply needs the whole catalog of their older stuff, meaning all of it added.
The nostalgia return will be huge for little in the way of investment.
Every Mickey Mouse Club episode from every iteration, every live action and cartoon ( every Disney Treasures DVD+), all the questionable stuff with a disclaimer at the beginning ( but don't edit), and every Disneyland and Wonderful World of Disney episode!

Agreed. There is a problem when we can't even get Tommy Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet on there.

 

[doctornick]

D+ simply needs the whole catalog of their older stuff, meaning all of it added.
The nostalgia return will be huge for little in the way of investment.
Every Mickey Mouse Club episode from every iteration, every live action and cartoon ( every Disney Treasures DVD+), all the questionable stuff with a disclaimer at the beginning ( but don't edit), and every Disneyland and Wonderful World of Disney episode!

Sure I think that would be good and I’m not sure why they don’t add more back catalogue stuff (unless there’s rights issues). Maybe they just want to hold stuff back so they can add them in the future whenever they have a lull of new original releases and want to still have “new” content for D+

That said, I can’t imagine that the stuff super fans on here are requesting would even slightly a minuscule amount move the needle on new subs or retention. So maybe Disney is more like “what’s the point?”

 

[ImperfectPixie]

D+ simply needs the whole catalog of their older stuff, meaning all of it added.
The nostalgia return will be huge for little in the way of investment.
Every Mickey Mouse Club episode from every iteration, every live action and cartoon ( every Disney Treasures DVD+), all the questionable stuff with a disclaimer at the beginning ( but don't edit), and every Disneyland and Wonderful World of Disney episode!

Agreed. There is a problem when we can't even get Tommy Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet on there.

Sure I think that would be good and I’m not sure why they don’t add more back catalogue stuff (unless there’s rights issues). Maybe they just want to hold stuff back so they can add them in the future whenever they have a lull of new original releases and want to still have “new” content for D+

That said, I can’t imagine that the stuff super fans on here are requesting would even slightly a minuscule amount move the needle on new subs or retention. So maybe Disney is more like “what’s the point?”

You can request a film or show!

Subscribers can request TV shows and movies to be added to the streamer if they know where to look. Once you're logged in, click on the drop down menu with your avatar and click "Help." Click "Give Feedback" and you'll see the option to "suggest a new feature" or "request a film or show."

 

[skypilot2922]

I wish everyone understood that whether or not Disney+ is profitable has nothing to do with the fact that the Walt Disney Company is much more profitable with Disney+ than they were with Netfilx paying them $300 million a year. Disney+ is still losing money because they pay the various Disney owned studios for the content and hundreds of millions more a year. As for the revenue from Disney+ vs Hulu, Hulu still exceeds Disney+.

How does pouring cash into a bottomless streaming hole make Disney more profitable than getting 300 million in cash in exchange for doing absolutely nothing except sending a few digital files to a remote server on a one time basis. internet transit costs about 0.01 per gigabyte a 4K HD movie is about 100 GB so it costs at least a buck to send it to you... Multiply that by millions of subscribers each streaming 1 movie per day...

 

[WDW Pro]

Thank you. Is the Haunted Mansion going to change, though?

I hope it doesn't because that's my favorite ride. As per Peter Pan, I do support that change. I am Native American and I feel weird going past the village with the caricatured "Indians". My mom was surprised that it was still in there when we went last March.

It's super cool that you're Native American - what nation are you a part of? I was in Oklahoma City recently and heard a language being spoken that I was very unfamiliar with... turns out the family was speaking Shawnee. I just thought that was so cool that they were keeping that language alive, even using it publicly so their kids would continue to use it.

I have not heard of any changes coming for Haunted Mansion. One of the things to consider is that there was a very large list of modifications being recommended by the Story Matters Group. However, that list does not seem to be on the fast-track for changes at the moment. Because of that, I don't know how many of the recommended modifications are coming down the pike soon -- next week they might all be green lit, or very few might ever be approved. The relative silence about Splash Mountain over the past months would seem to indicate Disney is aware that some modifications are likely to cause more turbulence than they'd like to continue moving into. So will recommended changes like Peter Pan come to fruition? Almost certainly. Will recommended changes like equitable female and minority names on the Main Street "credits" come to fruition? That's harder to forecast now because of the slowing of the roll out.

Agreed. There is a problem when we can't even get Tommy Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet on there.

For sentimental reasons, I'd like to see The Wuzzles be available. That really was the precursor to shows like Gummy Bears, Goof Troop, Duck Tales, etc, and almost nobody remembers it. It's a neat little show, even if it was ultimately a flop financially.

 

[MisterPenguin]

How does pouring cash into a bottomless streaming hole make Disney more profitable than getting 300 million in cash in exchange for doing absolutely nothing except sending a few digital files to a remote server on a one time basis. internet transit costs about 0.01 per gigabyte a 4K HD movie is about 100 GB so it costs at least a buck to send it to you... Multiply that by millions of subscribers each streaming 1 movie per day...

Because they'll get to a place in which the increasing number of subs will turn D+ into the realm of profitability. A realm that is more profitable than renting their IP to other streamers.

 

[skypilot2922]

You keep talking about this but I’m not sure what your point is. The Verizon and AT&T subs are “free” for the consumer but Disney absolutely gets money for them - it’s just the subscription free is paid for by Verizon and AT&T. Now obviously they are getting that at a discounted rate but it’s still added revenue for Disney.

I’d be curious as the the numbers (how many people get such “free” service and how much Verizon, etc pays for it) but it’s basically pure profit for Disney as the marginal expense of those new additional subs is minuscule. And the more subs/revenue, the easier it is to justify spending on more original programming. And more original programming is how you drive future subs and retention. As has been mentioned, there was no drop off when the (large) first round of Verizon “free” subscriptions ended so D+ seems to have good retention. (Or at least there’s been no evidence they have had retention “problems”)

The marginal cost of ADDING a user is nominal but the cost of a user actually streaming a 4K HD movie is about $1.00 in internet transit fees as transit costs about $0.01 per gigabyte, OTOH a DVD quality movie is about $0.06-$0.08 so adding subscribers costs REAL money.

 

[skypilot2922]

Because they'll get to a place in which the increasing number of subs will turn D+ into the realm of profitability. A realm that is more profitable than renting their IP to other streamers.

Do you mean the classic 'we'll lose money on every sale but make it up in volume' fallacy perhaps?

 

[UNCgolf]

Because they'll get to a place in which the increasing number of subs will turn D+ into the realm of profitability. A realm that is more profitable than renting their IP to other streamers.

That's the hope, at least.

I don't think Disney really has to worry about it with Star Wars, Marvel, the animated catalog, etc. -- it's hard to imagine Disney+ failing to eventually turn a profit. Some of the other streaming services are going to have a rough time, though.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Do you mean the classic 'we'll lose money on every sale but make it up in volume' fallacy perhaps?

If you want to mischaracterize it as such, you may.

Apparently, you don't understand the business practice of a loss leader. Or how all the big internet companies has losses for years and years before turning a profit once they had enough market penetration.

But, it's clear you have a hatred for D+ or Disney and won't let facts inform you.

 

[skypilot2922]

If you want to mischaracterize it as such, you may.

Apparently, you don't understand the business practice of a loss leader. Or how all the big internet companies has losses for years and years before turning a profit once they had enough market penetration.

But, it's clear you have a hatred for D+ or Disney and won't let facts inform you.

It's content is not compelling for anyone who has little interest in Disney Princesses, Star Wars or the MCU. If had the entire Disney back catalog I'd be a enthusiastic supporter of D+. But right now unless you are looking for Iger era IP it's the least compelling out there and Amazon is the buggiest which is a surprise.

 

[celluloid]

For sentimental reasons, I'd like to see The Wuzzles be available. That really was the precursor to shows like Gummy Bears, Goof Troop, Duck Tales, etc, and almost nobody remembers it. It's a neat little show, even if it was ultimately a flop financially.

My sister and I had the toys. Probably still or two stained in storage somewhere.

 

[Brer Panther]

I'd be okay with Peter Pan's Flight taking out the Native Americans. I would not be okay with them removing the entire ride over the Native Americans.