News The Walt Disney Company Board of Directors Extends Robert A. Iger’s Contract as CEO Through 2026

[HauntedPirate]

I've seen two or three people in an MCU Facebook group who will each personally contribute thousands of minutes per month to the streaming of "The Marvels" once it is released on Disney+. They are over-the-top obsessed with the movie, bragging about their dozens of theater viewings plus all forms of merchandise, but I suspect the obsession is with the actress who plays Captain Marvel.

Think they will single-handedly push 'The Marvels' to profitability? Nah, I don't think so, either, it's too far in the hole.

 

[monothingie]

Fun fact: If your goal is to sell stuff online…having a stable platform might be a wise investment

That poor guy must have so many ulcers by now.

 

[denyuntilcaught]

But that's just bragging rights for number of viewers. Revenue is what matters. And Disney has been publishing a full streaming spreadsheet these past few quarters showing income and expenses. Will wait for Prime Video's spreadsheet...

While Prime Video is focusing on revenue, like all streamers, I'd argue it's closer to an Apple TV+ than a Disney+ in terms of importance (and desparation) to push towards revenue. The new PV ad-tier will help, along with the consolidation of Freevee into Prime Video, but it still exists as a company darling due to its ability to drive most new Prime subscriptions.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I'd like to see a source for Amazon Prime Video. 200M is thrown around in the internet with no source that I can find (that isn't a guess).

And Prime doesn't reveal their numbers. So much so, most sites that track the streaming wars don't bother with Prime stats. And not only because of the lack of transparency, but because Amazon Prime customers are automatically enrolled in Prime Video.

If people want to discount all the Disney+ subs that come from deals with Verizon and other companies... Well, Prime Video says, "Hold my beer."

Anyhoo, Disney+ & Hulu are just about at that same 200M threshold, and goes over if you include ESPN+ (and by 2025, all of ESPN cable will be on ESPN+). By March, Hulu will be fully integrated into D+.

But that's just bragging rights for number of viewers. Revenue is what matters. And Disney has been publishing a full streaming spreadsheet these past few quarters showing income and expenses. Will wait for Prime Video's spreadsheet...

Amazon has the luxury of a loss leader

Disney…does not

 

[UNCgolf]

I'd like to see a source for Amazon Prime Video. 200M is thrown around in the internet with no source that I can find (that isn't a guess).

And Prime doesn't reveal their numbers. So much so, most sites that track the streaming wars don't bother with Prime stats. And not only because of the lack of transparency, but because Amazon Prime customers are automatically enrolled in Prime Video.

If people want to discount all the Disney+ subs that come from deals with Verizon and other companies... Well, Prime Video says, "Hold my beer."

Anyhoo, Disney+ & Hulu are just about at that same 200M threshold, and goes over if you include ESPN+ (and by 2025, all of ESPN cable will be on ESPN+). By March, Hulu will be fully integrated into D+.

But that's just bragging rights for number of viewers. Revenue is what matters. And Disney has been publishing a full streaming spreadsheet these past few quarters showing income and expenses. Will wait for Prime Video's spreadsheet...

Yeah, I'm technically a Prime Video subscriber since I have Amazon Prime, but I'm not sure I've ever watched a single thing on it. If I have, it was at least a couple of years ago.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

luxury of a loss leader

Disney…does not

Well. They did have a “Lost” Leader at one point. That count?

 

[Brian]

Fun fact: If your goal is to sell stuff online…having a stable platform might be a wise investment

To be fair, if you're going to make your entire $150+ per person per day (minimum) experience contingent upon successful navigation and utilization of a smartphone app, having a stable backend would be a wise investment as well.

 

[Disstevefan1]

That poor guy must have so many ulcers by now.

View attachment 764419

We can all agree, Disney makes great looking error pages.

When you think about it, the error pages need to be good looking pages as they get most of the traffic.

 

[Ayla]

I've seen two or three people in an MCU Facebook group who will each personally contribute thousands of minutes per month to the streaming of "The Marvels" once it is released on Disney+. They are over-the-top obsessed with the movie, bragging about their dozens of theater viewings plus all forms of merchandise, but I suspect the obsession is with the actress who plays Captain Marvel.

Think they will single-handedly push 'The Marvels' to profitability? Nah, I don't think so, either, it's too far in the hole.

 

[Tha Realest]

Amazon has the luxury of a loss leader

Disney…does not

Wrong. D+ has turned the once vaunted studios into a loss leader.

 

[orky8]

This. Direct-to-Consumer gives Disney total control and all the user behavior data. Data is the real key here. They KNOW what people actually watch (not just what they say they watch), when, where, and on which devices. They know which content are effective gateways to other content.

I read once this neat article about how Netflix used A/B testing to figure out the optimal thumbnail to show different types of users that would make them much more likely to click and to watch.

And yet they keep producing flops. But at least they have the data to know it….

 

[Tha Realest]

And yet they keep producing flops. But at least they have the data to know it….

Computer scientists call this “garbage in, garbage out.”

 

[JoeCamel]

Computer scientists call this “garbage in, garbage out.”

When you think your data is infallible you fail

 

[orky8]

The biggest streamer is actually YouTube.

And YouTube got that big because of... algorithm.

Same with TikTok.

So, you bet the streaming data from D+ and Hulu are being datamined.

Plus, third party companies monitor all the data they can get from they're poling and participants (think Nielsen). And this gets sold to all the streamers so they know what their competitors are doing.

Of course, datamining isn't going to accurately forecast how a new piece of content is going to do.

A Zach Snyder version of Star Wars? YES!!! WE ALL WANT THAT!!​

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Oops...​

I disagree. You are trying to connect two similar but very different models. TikTok and YouTube aren’t content creators. Their algorithms allow them to mine the millions of junk videos to find the viral ones. They spend nothing on content creation and have literally millions of videos made for them for free. Disney tried going gangbusters on content and it cost them a fortune. When you are paying to create the content, algorithms to mine out the junk still leave you broke.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I disagree. You are trying to connect two similar but very different models. TikTok and YouTube aren’t content creators. Their algorithms allow them to mine the millions of junk videos to find the viral ones. They spend nothing on content creation and have literally millions of videos made for them for free. Disney tried going gangbusters on content and it cost them a fortune. When you are paying to create the content, algorithms to mine out the junk still leave you broke.

And even the junk gets views, part of the genius of YouTube is they only pay for the hits, the duds are absolutely free. I think I read it was 100,000 views before any channel makes a single cent, YouTube has some overhead but otherwise are guaranteed to make money because they only pay for content that makes YouTube money.

 

[_caleb]

I disagree. You are trying to connect two similar but very different models. TikTok and YouTube aren’t content creators. Their algorithms allow them to mine the millions of junk videos to find the viral ones. They spend nothing on content creation and have literally millions of videos made for them for free. Disney tried going gangbusters on content and it cost them a fortune. When you are paying to create the content, algorithms to mine out the junk still leave you broke.

I'm pretty sure we all know how YouTube works.

It's a competitor for consumer eyeballs. Customer attention is what's finite here, not content (or even money).

 

[MrPromey]

We got D+ free through Verizon and I cancelled it. We can now get it free as Spectrum customers ~ still not interested.

Sweet - didn't realize the Spectrum thing was live.

Time to stop paying Disney my $2 a month for the Disney+ add-on to my $.99 Hulu!

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

, but I suspect the obsession is with the actress who plays Captain Marvel.

Well I’ll agree with this one…she ain’t daisley Ridley

 

[Disney Analyst]

Stock climbing?

 

[denyuntilcaught]

This. Direct-to-Consumer gives Disney total control and all the user behavior data. Data is the real key here. They KNOW what people actually watch (not just what they say they watch), when, where, and on which devices. They know which content are effective gateways to other content.

I read once this neat article about how Netflix used A/B testing to figure out the optimal thumbnail to show different types of users that would make them much more likely to click and to watch.

This is all valid and true, but where this argument falls apart is the knowledge that what happens at the development side is typically vastly disconnected from the platform side that has all of the data you mention above.