Disney boss streaming: – There is a limit

The battle for electricity customers is intensifying in Norway. Several of the major international players, such as Netflix and HBO, are already well established in the Norwegian market.

And now Disney is fully engaged as well. Last fall, they launched Disney +, and on February 23, the offering will expand even further when Star is included in the service.

Here, Disney will offer more content to its adult audience, be it old and well-known series and films, or new productions from some of the television studios that Disney owns.

The Disney power giants are now a serious challenge, which in the first instance are Netflix and HBO, they have 200 and 142 million subscribers, respectively. The latest figures from Disney show they have 94.9 million.

Disney movies are screened from children’s profiles.

With no goal to become number one

The stock exchange has received a digital audience with Disney’s Danish-Dutch Nordic CEO Hans van Rijn ahead of Star’s launch.

Van Rijn tells Børsen that for them there is no goal in itself to become the biggest player in the electricity market.

For them, it is about launching the Disney service in the Nordic countries, and that the user experience must be first class.

– It is less important to us if we are number one, two or three. It is more important to us if we meet the goals we have set for ourselves. Number of subscribers, how much time people spend on the service, loyalty to the service.

In Norway, there are just over five million inhabitants, but there is no shortage of electricity services, be it paid services, ad-supported services or free services. These are Netflix, HBO, Viafree, Dplay, TV2, NRK, Amazon Prime, and many more.

Disney heiress sounds the alarm

– there is a limit

The natural question then is whether there is room for all players, in a small market, at least in a global perspective, such as Norway.

– Right now, with the corona effect, it’s a bit difficult to tell how the market is in relation to a normal state. In general, it can be said that the electricity market has been boosting more and more year after year. This applies both to the paid part, but also to the ad-funded part that we are fighting, says van Rijn.

– I think that this year and also next year we will see continued growth in Norway and the Nordic countries in general, but I also think there is a limit to the amount of services that can be.

He believes that there are two things in particular that will be particularly important for development.

– Number one is consumers as such. Do they really want fewer services, are there too many options between services, is there too much content to choose from? Do any of your consumers want more content aggregation? Rhine ornament.

– Must have content

The second factor that stands out, and that you believe is the key to success, is creating and owning your own content.

– I think that services that depend on the purchase of content and rights have a greater challenge.

– Are they largely the classic linear TV channels, which buy content?

– Some do. There are some who are very adept at Norwegian content, which they possess. It’s also a position to take, as NRK is fantastic at Norwegian content for good reason. When you move on to other genres, in which you do not own your own rights, or you move to the purchase of international content that does not belong to you, it is difficult if that is what you depend on, says the prediction of the Disney boss.

Disney kicks 28,000

Optimistic

For exactly the same reason that you think someone may face challenges, you are optimistic on Disney’s part. They explain that they and Star add the second part of what Disney is, which is the content of various television studios that have successfully released movies and TV series over the years.

– We are a company that creates and owns content. All the studios that will now deliver to Star, and Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic, are content that over time has proven its worth. Therefore, we believe that the content is our strong point, and that we own the content is also a clear advantage.

Among the content that will now be available through Star are new and old movies and series, such as “Titanic”, “Everyone Loves Mary”, “Lost”, “24” and also series that are currently available on streaming services from the competition. like “Sons of Anarchy”.

– Will this series be exclusive to you when you launch Star?

– Good question. Our business before, besides movies and everything else, was about licensing content, says van Rijn.

– We have some agreements that are still in force and we respect the agreements we have with partners that we have had for many years.

The Disney boss divides the old content into three parts.

• Content that Disney retrieves and publishes exclusively on its own platform.
• Agreements that are still in effect and that expire later, and that will then be part of the content that Disney retrieves and puts exclusively on the service.
• Content that can live well on both Disney and other streaming services. There may be titles that help expand energy service, but do not in themselves bring new customers.

Disney’s coup de grace

Stor bakkatalog

– Everything new will be exclusive. There will be titles that will be exclusive, then there will be content that will later be exclusive and content that is not.

– How important is it for you to have a back catalog with many known and loved series?

– Before launching Disney +, we had a lot of discussions internally about the importance of new material, new originals and the library. During the Christmas period, which of course is special because Disney has the history that it has in Norway and the Nordic countries, many of our classic Disney films were seen, says van Rijn and continues.

– In general, at Disney + we have been surprised by how balanced it is between old and new. When we launch something like Mandalorian, which powers the service, we see what the new content can do. Then we also look at the consumption of movies and series from the past, for example Frozen 1 and 2, then we can see that it is seen again and again, and especially by children.