Disney Negotiating with Netflix
Did you know that The Walt Disney Company has returned to its old ways despite what Bob Iger had previously said? It’s true!
Disney has gotten back into business with Netflix!
Iger Identifies an Emerging Threat
Netflix. Marvel’s Jessica Jones
A few years ago, Disney CEO Bob Iger famously had the epiphany that he was “selling arms to the competition” by licensing Disney content on Netflix.
As Disney built the path to its Disney+ streaming service, it stopped selling all content to Netflix.
Disney even paid more than $1 billion to reclaim the rights to various Marvel characters like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Kingpin.
Photo: Netflix
Well, that was then, and this is now.
Disney has since famously suffered repeated massive losses with its Direct-to-Consumer service, which is a problem since Disney considers itself a digital company now.
In an attempt to monetize existing intellectual properties, Disney has once again started licensing content to Netflix this year.
Questions and Answers about Disney-Netflix
Photo: Netflix
The topic came up during Disney’s most recent earnings call when a financial analyst asked the following:
“Warner Brothers basically made some news recently by licensing some of their — what would be considered some of their tentpole content, their DC Universe to Netflix.
Source: Netflix
Is that something you think that Disney can do or can lean into, more, at least more of that, so than you’re doing now without diluting the Disney brand or the Disney+ growth prospects?”
That’s a polite way of asking whether Disney would return to licensing Marvel content to Netflix to make more money.
Anyone who knows Bob Iger realizes that question is a non-starter, but Iger’s response still included some intrigue. Here’s what Disney’s CEO said:
“We’ve actually been licensing content to Netflix and are going to continue to.
We’re actually in discussion with them now about some opportunities, but I wouldn’t expect that we will license our core brands to them.
Those are real, obviously, competitive advantages for us and differentiators. Disney Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, for instance, all doing very, very well on our platform.
And I don’t see why, just basically to chase bucks we should do that when they are really, really important building blocks to the current and future of our streaming business.”
Iger’s Plan for Streaming and Content Licensing
Photo: binged.com
Iger’s response shouldn’t surprise anyone who has been paying attention. The CEO has indicated virtually all of this in previous comments.
Basically, Disney owns plenty of intellectual properties and existing content. Some of it matters more than the rest.
Iger and his team have identified the core brands that Disney has zero interest in licensing.
Photo: Disney
In his reply, he mentions Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars. We could also include Disney’s Sensational Six characters, aka Mickey Mouse and friends.
Unless Disney grows absolutely desperate, it will maintain exclusivity for those characters.
Everything else has a price, one that Netflix might be willing to pay. And Disney isn’t averse to this idea.
Why Disney May Expand Netflix Relationship
Photo: Marvel Comics
If Netflix expresses interest in any catalog content, Disney would happily sell non-exclusive licensing rights. And that’s the vital aspect here.
When Disney offers content to Netflix, the expectation is that Disney+ and Hulu can also keep streaming the content.
Such programming would simply be available on multiple platforms, which isn’t unusual on streaming these days.
Netflix. Marvel’s Jessica Jones
As an extreme example, S.W.A.T. currently streaming on Hulu, Netflix, AND Paramount Plus!
Over the past three months, Suits has dominated streaming ratings on Netflix.
Photo: Netflix
The funny part is that it never earned a spot on the ratings charts before Netflix acquired the license.
Peacock had owned exclusive rights, but few people watched the series. Then, Netflix added it and hyped it, at which point Suits became THE show this summer.
Source: comicbook.com
That’s the other part that might interest Iger. Netflix often elevates customer awareness for various films and television series. So, it’s like a free marketing campaign, too.
For all these reasons, Iger has understandably softened from his former stance against licensing to Netflix.
Don’t be surprised if Disney licenses more content to Netflix soon.
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