We compared Netflix's top assets to new rivals like Disney Plus and HBO Max as the streaming battle heats up
Netflix — most popular subscription plan (standard HD) is $12.99
Netflix's advantage in the streaming war is that it's the incumbent player, Beck told Business Insider.
"Netflix has over 150 million subs worldwide," Beck said. "Obviously it has demonstrated their ability to grow a subscriber base and it can create popular shows."
Netflix spent $12 billion on content in 2018 and is expected to spend up to $15 billion this year. It has cemented exclusive mega deals with superstar producers like Ryan Murphy and Shonda Rhimes worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But as it loses licensed content, Beck said that makes the streaming giant vulnerable.
"Its originals investment is robust," Beck said. "But its success has been primarily driven by the content of others ... Do I think that the 'Seinfeld' catalog is more valuable than a relationship with a producer? Yes."
Aside from "Seinfeld" and the Murphy/Rhimes deals, Netflix's major properties include:
- The third season of its hit sci-fi series "Stranger Things" debuted in July to the best four-day debut of any Netflix original series.
- Its comedy lineup is essential, primarily a deal with Adam Sandler worth millions. The streamer renewed a four-movie deal with the actor in 2017, and his latest Netflix movie, "Murder Mystery," was viewed by 73 million households in its first month of release.
- Netflix struck a multiyear deal last year with former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama and their production company Higher Ground. The first project out of this deal, the documentary "American Factory," debuted last month.
Disney Plus — launches November 12 for $6.99 a month
Disney Plus launches November 12 at a competitive price point and Disney's many wildly popular assets make it a formidable player against Netflix.
- Despite "Solo" disappointing at the box office last year, Disney's focus on "Star Wars" content for Disney Plus shows that it's not worried about potential fan fatigue. "The Mandalorian," the first "Star Wars" live-action series, will be available to stream at launch. A "Rogue One" prequel, a new season of the animated "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," and an Obi-Wan Kenobi series starring Ewan McGregor are also in development for Disney Plus. The service will also include every movie in the "Star Wars" saga, including the original trilogy.
- Disney is developing original TV series spinning out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for Disney Plus. With $22.5 billion worldwide across 23 movies, the MCU is the biggest movie franchise ever and Disney will try to capitalize on that success in a different format. The TV shows in the works include "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," "WandaVision," the animated What If?," "Hawkeye," "Loki," "Ms. Marvel," "Moon Knight," and "She-Hulk."
- Disney Plus will include Pixar theatrical releases as well as original content, including a "Monsters Inc." series, "Monsters At Work."
- Disney Plus will include every classic Disney animated movie at launch.
But Disney Plus could still face obstacles, particularly in the balancing of Disney's other assets.
"It has vulnerabilities in terms of how Disney balances Disney Plus and Hulu, and having to consistently make decisions about where to place content," Beck said. "Disney will also have to really think about the relationship between theatrical releases and streaming, and there might be some interesting trade-offs. Insurmountable? No. But they'll have to wrestle with it."
Disney will offer a bundle of Disney Plus, Hulu (with ads), and ESPN Plus on November 12 for $12.99 a month.
HBO Max — launches spring 2020 (price not yet announced)
WarnerMedia not only paid millions for "Friends," but dropped "billions of dollars" on "The Big Bang Theory," according to The Hollywood Reporter, which includes both streaming and syndication. But like Netflix's "Seinfeld" deal, Pachter said this will be worth it.
"If they give [subscribers] a lot of stuff — 'Friends,' 'Big Bang Theory,' every Warner Bros. movie — I might pay an extra few bucks for that, especially if I'm already an HBO customer," Pachter said. "They have potential to get that money back."
WarnerMedia has yet to announce how much HBO Max will cost, but the company is considering a $14.99 monthly price (the same as a normal HBO subscription), according to NBC News.
Aside from "Friends" and "The Big Bang Theory," here are more essential properties that will be available on HBO Max:
- WarnerMedia announced a five-year agreement with "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" director J.J. Abrams and his production company Bad Robot last week to create exclusive movies and TV for all of the company's platforms, including HBO Max.
- HBO Max will include an extensive catalog of Warner Bros. and DC Comics movies. For its DC superhero movies, Warner Bros. has recently pivoted from a shared universe to more standalone stories, which has worked in its favor with the $1 billion-grossing "Aquaman" and the critical hit "Shazam." Next up is "Joker," which is already getting rave reviews and could break box-office records in October.
- A "Gossip Girl" reboot is in the works for HBO Max with Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, the creators of the original series, returning to produce.
- HBO Max will also include content from the fan-centric streaming service DC Universe (though there are no plans right now for the service to be rolled into HBO Max), Cartoon Network, TNT, TBS, The CW, and more.
READ MORE: We compared Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and HBO to find the best service for every kind of viewer
Peacock — launches April 2020 (price not yet announced)
Peacock, NBCUniversal's streaming service that will launch in April, will include 15,000 hours of content compared to HBO Max's 10,000 hours. But of the streaming newcomers, Beck said he is the "least bullish" on Peacock's prospects in the streaming war.
"They don't have as many assets to leverage and it will have to overcome that," Beck said.
Peacock will be the exclusive home of "The Office" and "Parks and Recreation" once they leave Netflix in January 2021 and next October, respectively. Those are strong assets, as they are two of Netflix's most popular shows, but the rest of the Peacock library is lacking compared to the competition, Beck said.
- A new "Battlestar Galactica" series is in the works for Peacock from the "Mr. Robot" creator Sam Esmail.
- A "Saved by the Bell" reboot is in the works.
- Peacock will include Universal movies, such as the "Jurassic World" and "Fast and Furious" franchises, as well as Dreamworks animated movies like "Despicable Me" and exclusive originals ("it's no Pixar," Beck said).
Venture capitalist and former Amazon Studios executive Matthew Ball tweeted this week that Peacock "could and should have launched four years ago." Pachter agreed with this assessment.
"Cable providers never saw streaming as the alternative," Pachter said. "But if you quit cable, how many streaming services can you afford? Comcast [NBCUniversal's parent company] should have moved on that years ago."
Disney Plus leads the way in original content for new streaming services, according to a study from Ampere Analysis.
In a report released on Tuesday, Ampere Analysis looked at the new players in the streaming war and how they compare in original content. Disney leads with 47 original TV shows and 13 movies in the works for Disney Plus, according to Ampere.
HBO Max has 18 original TV shows in the works and Peacock has just four, according to the analysis. Ampere said that it expects Peacock to be "mainly catalog-focused."
Ampere said HBO Max leads the way in female-led content at 43%, while "Disney Plus' focus on spin-offs and reboots from older titles has left it with a more male-centric set of commissions."
"Several of the services are setting out to target specific audiences. Disney Plus is focused particularly on family content, with nothing higher than a 13-years age rating, with more mature content left to the bundle-able platforms Hulu and ESPN Plus," Fred Black, an Ampere Analysis analyst, said in the report.
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