Research Predicts Netflix Will Still Outpace Disney+ For Years

The UK media consultancy Omdia has just shared the results of a research study about streaming service subscriptions, and it looks like the Walt Disney Company streaming service Disney+ still has plenty of competitors even as more and more people cancel subscriptions!

According to Deadline, the Omdia study “found 45% more streaming services were cancelled in the UK in the past 12 months as a number of deep-pocketed players entered the market, but resubscriptions rose by a colossal 84%. Alongside Netflix and Amazon Prime, consumers had access for the first time to Discovery+ and Peacock in 2021, while Disney+ firmly established itself as a key player and Paramount+ will roll out imminently.”

From this study, it’s apparent that people in the United Kingdom were canceling their streaming service subscriptions, but resubscribing to the same streaming services shortly after canceling. Disney+ did grow faster than Netflix in 2021, with 21% growth compared to Netflix’s measly 8% growth, but overall Disney is still coming in third with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video taking the lead.

Most homes in the UK apparently have some kind of streaming service subscription (even with the ongoing “cost-of-living crisis”). During the Connected TV Summit, Omdia Senior Director Maria Rua Aguete explained that “in terms of dealing with rising costs, consumers prefer to cut other expenses than their own entertainment at home.”

“In fact,” she continued, “as the survey reveals, cuts in other spending has allowed them to subscribe to extra services.”

The Omdia study also “predicted that the streamer will shrug off the competition from Disney+ to remain the world’s most-subscribed-to SVoD in five years”. Omdia predicts that Netflix will have something like 260 million global subscriptions by 2026, while Disney+ will only have 240 million. Disney+ is predicted to grow faster than Netflix, but Netflix is still expected to take the lead.

Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek recently implied that the Walt Disney Company has high hopes for Disney+ and its profits, especially since Disney+ is going to have some advertisements soon and price increases are expected. It sounds like Disney+ is here to stay, then — even if it stays one or two steps behind Netflix for the next several years!

Are you a Disney+ subscriber? Do you prefer other streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, or Paramount+ to Disney+ — or has the bevy of new Pixar and Marvel content on Disney+ made you a loyal fan?