Introduction: On one side, Disney+, Netflix and Amazon Prime are competing for the global streaming market. On the other hand, the domestic streaming campaign has formed a three-legged situation of "i.e. You and Tencent". The content and business operation system are gradually mature and has begun to be deployed overseas. More and more competitors are entering the game, and the game may have just begun.
Author | Shen Danyang
Editor | Shi Can
There is more than a month left before 2019 ends. American Jenny feels that two days are destined to be "special", one day is Christmas, and the other is the day when Disney+ is launched. Children in the United States will be happy to dance.
Jenny's family, like many ordinary American families, like to sit around in their spare time, watch dramas and eat snacks. She and her husband have two children, the eldest son is 10 years old and the youngest son is 7 years old. The Jenny family is not a typical Disney fan. They will not watch Disney new movies as soon as possible, nor will they go to Disneyland to contribute tickets every year, but they are enthusiastic fans of other Disney works - "Star Wars" and "Marvel".
When Disney Group announced that it would launch the streaming platform Disney+ and put all the classic film and television dramas under the group into Disney+, the Jenny family seemed to have won the lottery, and the two children asked her every day when the new platform could be used.
However, on November 12, the expected happiness did not come as promised.
12 at 8 a.m. on the 12th, the Jenny family, who just woke up, sat cross-legged on the sofa in pajamas, and explored this newly launched streaming platform together. Jenny first downloaded Disney+ software on her mobile phone and tried to connect it to Google TV at home. An hour passed, and there was only one message repeatedly displayed on the mobile app, "Due to an unknown system error, the service could not be connected." Then Jenny was automatically logged out by the system and was prompted to try it later.
At this moment, the same problem occurs to thousands of users around the world who are trying to register and log in to the Disney+ platform. Disney Group's customer service phone number was blown up, and limited network manual customer service was unable to cope with massive information. Users began to spontaneously post inquiries on Twitter, and called Disney's official request for help from the platform.
The chaotic but eye-catching start
"The registration and login behavior from 10 million users around the world in a short period of time is the reason for the system overload and slow operation. We did not expect that consumers' demand for Disney content has become so strong." A Disney official spokesperson said that the technical problems will be solved soon.
(Disney+ user error rate remains high. Source: downdetector website)
But one wave has not yet settled, and another wave has started again. Less than a week after Disney+ was launched, the account information of tens of thousands of users was stolen by hackers and sold on the dark web for prices ranging from $3 to $11. Some of the account information can even be obtained for free on the hacker forum.
"We did not find any signs of system intrusion. There is a system inside the platform that will automatically detect suspicious and abnormal login behavior. Once discovered, we will guide users to reset their password to protect their account security." Disney+ officially denied the stolen account by hackers and stated that user information leakage incidents have precedents in many companies. A large number of Disney user information was sold on the dark web before the new streaming platform was launched. The reason for the information leakage of
is unknown. The technology news website ZDNet analyzed that users who have stolen information may have the habit of logging in to different websites with the same account password, and the hacker's intention is to use the user's behavior to obtain more important personal information and make profits. From Disney+'s perspective, the method to maintain user information security is to implement the "multi-step verification" login system.
(Disney+ user information is sold at a low price on the dark web Source: ZDNet)
As of November 21, Disney+ downloads have been steadily increasing, and among major App problem complaint platforms, Disney+'s user feedback has also continued to increase.
"Coordinates Washington, after using it for a week, I started to stutter. After uninstalling, I couldn't log in. I paid all the money..."
"It can be used on Samsung phones, but it can't be used on PS4. It's too difficult for me."
"Online customer service said that I would reply immediately. Now three days have passed, which is ridiculous."
even though it encountered a mess, Disney+'s online launch still attracted a lot of attention.
brings Disney's inventory of nearly 7,500 dramas and more than 500 movies around the world. The videos provided by Disney+ cover many IP content such as Pixar animations, Marvel Studios , Lucas Films , National Geographic and other IP content. " Simpsons ", "Aladdin", " Lion King ", as well as the to be released " Frozen 2", "Star Wars 9: The Rise of Skywalkers", and " Toy Story 4", will all go from Disney+ to the audience's vision.
At this stage, users can create up to 10 viewing lists by themselves and use 4 viewing devices at the same time. First-time users have a 7-day free trial period, and will be paid for at a price of $6.99 per month (or $69.99 per year). For users who have the need to watch cross-platform videos, Disney+ has also launched a "multi-platform binding package", including three platforms: Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+, with a unified binding price of US$12.99/month.
Whether it is Disney+'s content layout or Disney's strategic binding to its short video platforms, it all reflects its consistent style of "all users are caught in one place".
uses Marvel and Star Wars to consolidate male users, Disney animation is responsible for attracting fans of female users, and as for the few elite groups that are difficult to please, it will conquer the brain-burning original dramas. The membership packages bound to the three platforms of
are similar. Disney+ is responsible for connecting users from the "all-age" layer and taking the family route; the professional sports streaming platform ESPN+ seizes male users; as for the content that "unspeakable" for children and challenges adult minds, it is left to the Hulu platform to control.
Disney+ has been officially launched in North America, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other places. According to official news, Disney+ will also be launched in the UK and most European countries in 2020, and the Asia-Pacific region has not yet been opened.
Disney+ Fight against Netflix at the top of the world? Will
Disney+ endanger the status of Netflix, the global streaming industry giant? The issue of
attracted attention from all walks of life in August. At that time, Disney began to preheat Disney+.
According to the official Netflix report, the number of paid members worldwide has reached 140 million, which is equivalent to the total population of cities such as Shanghai, Tokyo, Delhi , Mumbai and Sao Paulo, and this number is still increasing steadily. By comparison, Amazon Prime has about 100 million paid users worldwide, and music streaming Spotify has about 40 million paid users worldwide.
Even though he firmly sits in the world's number one streaming media, Netflix is still feeling a crisis about Disney+'s launch.
"Disney is definitely a respectable and learning opponent because they are a group of experts who truly understand content creation," Reed Hasting, the founder and CEO of Netflix, publicly stated, "Their (Disney) entertainment methods are always amazing."
However, in terms of downloads, installations, and user usage time, the launch of Disney+ has not had any impact on Netflix. The latest data given by
Credit Suisse points out that although Disney+ maintained an average daily download volume of 1.5 million in the first week of launch, Netflix's global average daily download volume during this period was also stable at 70,000, which was the same as previous download volume, while the average daily download volume in the United States was even 7% higher than the previous four weeks.
"How the long-term battle is still unknown, but in the short term, Disney+ has caused 0 damage to Netflix." Wall Street investment analysts said investors can relax for the time being, and there is nothing abnormal in Netflix's stock.
But there are still many variables in the global streaming media landscape.
Disney+ From the early stages of its launch, in addition to the technical problems exposed and user information security risks, the bigger shortcoming is the lack of a large amount of new original content. This disadvantage pales in comparison to Netflix, because Netflix has a massive amount of self-made and acquired content.
"I download Disney+, more for those lost childhood memories, and to share the Disney animation I watched as a child with my children." After Todd used Disney+, he wrote in the blog, "But there are few new original dramas on the platform. Currently, the only ones I am chasing is " Mandalorian ", which is a live-action drama of Star Wars."
(Disney+ original drama "Mandalorian" stills Source: Disney+)
In addition to "Mandalorian", there is also a "Marvel's Hero Project" on the Disney+ platform. Project), although under the banner of Marvel, is a story about a new generation of young people who take Marvel heroes as their example and are committed to contributing to society. As for more original content that Disney promises to be limited to Disney+ platform, it will not be launched as early as next year.
Netflix seems to be more calm in meeting users' exploration of new content.
For a long time, Netflix has spared no expense to acquire the copyrights of film, TV series and TV programs around the world, and focuses on self-made original content. This layout has given it the advantage in the early stages of the streaming campaign.
But as the streaming business form gradually matures, major companies realize that online platforms will become the main battlefield, and "content is king" is the key. Faced with being "cut off the ground" by many copyright partners, Netflix is accelerating its content revolution.
Since 2018, Netflix has tried to shift its focus to content original works, increasing production costs by 30%. Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Salanders also said at an event recently that in the current streaming competition, Netflix will rely more on original programs and even create its own IP to win the content battle.
According to the latest data in November, most of the most viewed shows on the Netflix platform were acquired. The most popular "Office" is licensed by NBC, " Academic Grey " is licensed by ABC, " Friends " and "Six People" are licensed by ATT Warner. Only "Women's Prison" and "Black Money Resort" are self-produced dramas by Netflix. These authorized dramas that are currently popular on Netflix will be transferred to their own streaming media platform that will be launched due to the expiration of copyright and the authorized party will no longer renew the contract.
Disney has also terminated its content distribution agreement with Netflix. Star Wars and Marvel series of movies previously authorized to Netflix will be withdrawn from next year and will only be broadcast on the Disney+ platform.
"We estimate that film and television shows authorized by ATT Warner, Disney, Comcast and other companies account for nearly 65% of users' viewing time on Netflix. Once the copyright is reclaimed, Netflix will have a great impact. Of course, Netflix can also continue to acquire other popular content. With the original drama being produced, users may still buy it, but it is not a long-term solution after all." analyst Michael Pache explained.
Global streaming battle, players are far more than Disney+ and Netflix.
Apple TV+ was launched in more than 100 countries around the world with four original dramas such as "See" and "Morning News" at a lower price of $5 per month than its competitors. In early November, Amazon Prime, which is already the world's second largest streaming media platform, has also produced original boutiques such as " Awesome Lady Maisel " and "Manchester by the Sea". Amazon Prime's paid membership package can be tied to e-commerce platform members to enjoy a series of user rights including free Amazon logistics and fresh shopping discounts; ATT Warner will soon launch the streaming platform HBO Max in 2020; NBCUniversal will also launch the streaming platform Peacock, which focuses on comedy film and television content in 2020, and is preparing to take over "Office", which is popular on Netflix.
More and more competitors are entering the game, and the game may have just begun.
Chinese streaming media goes overseas
On the other hand, Disney+, Netflix and Amazon Prime are competing for the global streaming market. Judging from the third-quarter financial reports of several companies, although some of their profit indicators are lower than expected, their overall revenue has risen by about 30% compared with the same period last year. This means that the global streaming cake is still large and there are plenty of seats in the track.
On the other hand, the domestic streaming campaign has formed a three-legged situation of "i.e. You and Tencent". With the full development of the domestic market and the sluggish Internet advertising throughout the year, the growth rate of revenue of the three streaming media has been slowing down. From the acquisition of film and television copyrights, to self-made original works, and forming an IP industry chain, Chinese streaming media, whose content and business operation system are gradually mature, has begun to deploy overseas.
The global war in streaming media is getting more and more intense
Tencent and iQiyi , which were the first to go overseas, both chose the Southeast Asian market.
In June 2019, Tencent Video launched the overseas version of WeTV in Thailand, providing Thai dubbed versions of original content from its Penguin Film and Television, and launched local content created with local partners. On November 6, iQiyi reached a strategic cooperation with Malaysia's No. 1 media brand Astro. Malaysia users can use Astro account to log in to iQIYI App, or register and log in through email, Facebook, and Google accounts.
and the streaming media platform also go overseas, as well as high-quality original content from each platform. Southeast Asia has a geographical and historical culture similar to China. As early as a few years ago, the popularity of dramas such as "My Fair Princess", "The Legend of Zhen Huan", and "A Smile Smile" verified the possibility of content going overseas in Southeast Asia.
"iQiyi International" official stated that the original content such as "Ice Breaking Operation", " Fire Military Academy ", "China's New Rap", " Strange Talk " and other cooperation with Astro in 2019 have become a hot spot in Malaysia. Currently, more than 2 million users have watched iQiyi International Channel.
is also attracted by many young audiences in Southeast Asia, and global streaming giants.
Netfix has entered Asia in 2017 and has successfully harvested more than 58 million Asian paid users in one year, more than its number of users in the United States. At the end of 2018, it announced that it will soon establish 17 film and television production centers in Asia.
Disney also publicly stated in April that the Asia-Pacific region will be the top priority of international business in the future and one of the driving forces for the growth of streaming business.
In addition, Amazon Prime has also invested in Asia and cooperated with film and television companies such as Bollywood in India to use local content to attract product traffic.
is different from European and American users’ habits and recognition of “paid videos”. Users in the Asia-Pacific region, especially Southeast Asia, prefer the free mode. Even though Netflix tried to reduce paid prices in India, South Korea, Malaysia and other places, it won a surge in user volume in the short term, it still showed weakness in the future.
The current situation of the Southeast Asian streaming media market is quite similar to the early stages of the development of the Chinese streaming media market. From providing users with free videos, to increasing the ad time between videos, to paying members to advertise, and then developing self-made original content into paid viewing platforms, Chinese users' video payment habits have grown together with the evolution of streaming media platforms.
combines the successful experiences in China with the localized operation of Southeast Asia, which may be a feasible way for Chinese streaming media to go overseas and challenge global industry giants.
has been 10 days since Disney+ was launched in the United States, and the Jenny family is still enjoying it and experiencing the new platform.
Once, the youngest son insisted on watching Disney animation "Lego Star Wars". Jenny did not have this video. With the youngest son insisted, she did find it and spent the whole afternoon with her son to watch all five episodes.
"We underestimated Disney's inventory and had a lot of content that I haven't seen." Jenny wrote in the blog that one of her favorite Disney animations is "Sleeping Beauty", which Jenny intends to leave for herself to enjoy. When I finally finished reading the inventory of
, the Jenny family did not cancel the Netflix subscription because of downloading Disney+.
"I'm looking forward to Disney+'s original comedy movie "Noelle" will be launched on Christmas, but I'm not sure if the kids will like it." Jenny wrote.
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