Disney+ continues to dominate. The streaming platform soared to 73.7 million subscribers, according to Disney’s earnings report yesterday, a milestone it expected to reach in 2024. It did it in its first year.
Even better: Thanks to its library of programming, including hits from Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars, it’s delivering those blockbuster numbers—relatively—on the cheap. Disney will spend just $1.3 billion on original content for Disney+ this year, including its breakout hit, The Mandalorian, according to a 2020 year-end forecast from analytics firm Ampere. That’s about a tenth of the $14.8 billion it will spend on films, television and sports content in 2020, much of which will also be shown on the platform. Netflix will spend $4.5 billion on original content from a total of $13.6 billion, the firm says, to keep its nearly 200 million subscribers tuning in. Amazon, which has more than 150 million Prime subscribers, is projected to spend $1.3 billion on original content and $7.6 billion overall, per Ampere.
Here’s the state of the streaming wars, following Disney’s latest results.
Netflix
Launch Date: January 2007
Number of Subscribers: 195 million
Price: Standard $13.99/month, Premium $17.99/month
Projected Total 2020 Content Spend: $13.6 billion
Projected Original 2020 Content Spend: $4.5 billion
Big Original Hit: Ozark
Amazon Prime Video
Launch Date: February 2011
Number of Subscribers: more than 150 million Amazon Prime subscribers
Price: $8.99/month (or included with Amazon Prime)
Projected Total 2020 Content Spend: $7.6 billion
Projected Original 2020 Content Spend: $1.3 billion
Big Original Hit: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Disney+
Launch Date: November 2019
Number of Subscribers: 73 million
Price: $6.99/month
Projected Total 2020 Content Spend: $14.8 billion (Disney total)
Projected Original 2020 Content Spend: $1.3 billion
Big Original Hit: The Mandalorian
Apple TV+
Launch Date: November 2019
Number of Subscribers: 40 million estimated users
Price: $4.99/month
Projected Total 2020 Content Spend: $1.9 billion
Projected Original 2020 Content Spend: $1.9 billion
Big Original Hit: The Morning Show
Hulu
Launch Date: March 2008
Number of Subscribers: 32.5 million (streaming only)
Price: $5.99/month, $11.99/month ad-free
Projected Total 2020 Content Spend: $4.8 billion
Projected Original 2020 Content Spend: $170 million
Big Original Hit: The Handmaid’s Tale
Peacock
Launch Date: July 2020
Number of Subscribers: 22 million
Price: Limited free version, $4.99/month ad-supported, $10/month ad-free
Total 2020 Content Spend: $1 billion*
Big Original Hit: Brave New World
HBO Max
Launch Date: May 2020
Number of Subscribers: 8.6 million (57 million when combined with HBO)
Price: $14.99/month
Projected Total 2020 Content Spend: $1.2 billion
Projected Original 2020 Content Spend: $1.2 billion
Big Original Hit: The Witches
CBS All Access
Launch Date: October 2014
Number of Subscribers: 17.9 million (combined with Showtime)
Price: $5.99/month, $9.99/month for the bundle with Showtime for Apple TV Plus subscribers
Total 2020 Content Spend: $800 million*
Big Original Hit: Star Trek: Discovery
Content spend projections are calculated on a P&L basis by Ampere. Data and 2020 forecasts as of 11/12/2020.
*Estimates according to Bloomberg Intelligence data.