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Disney Is Pulling Star Wars and Marvel Films From Netflix (arstechnica.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the subscribe-to-save dept.

Disney CEO Bob Iger announced on Thursday that his company will pull the full catalog of films from the Star Wars franchise and Marvel universe from Netflix after 2019. Last month, Disney announced it would be pulling a number of Disney titles from the Netflix catalog, but left the door open to keeping the Star Wars franchise and Marvel films. That door has since been slammed shut, "choosing instead to use movies like Iron Man, Captain America, and the forthcoming Star Wars: Episode IX as a draw to a new Disney-owned streaming service," reports Ars Technica. From the report: It's not clear exactly which films are affected by Iger's announcement. A Netflix spokesperson told The Verge last month that "we continue to do business with the Walt Disney Company on many fronts, including our ongoing deal with Marvel TV." That refers to a collaboration between Disney and Netflix to produce several live-action television series based on lesser-known Marvel characters Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage. Some of those series are still being actively developed. It's a high-risk gamble for Disney. It makes sense for Disney to bring its best-known franchises back under its own roof to give the Disney streaming service the best possible chance of success. But Disney is leaving a lot of money on the table by not doing a deal with Netflix or one of its competitors. It could be an expensive mistake if the Disney streaming service doesn't get traction.

8 of 195 comments (clear)

  1. So long... by Known+Nutter · · Score: 4, Insightful

    And nothing of value was lost. For me anyway.

    --
    Beware of the Leopard.
    1. Re: So long... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      this doesn't put new players on the floor, this fortifies old players and raises the bar of entry to new players to a level that is unachievable for all but the largest mega companies should it succeed. This is fucking terrible for the common man.

    2. Re:So long... by stealth_finger · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No big loss. Then NExt it will be all the universal movies...no big loss.... then all the WB movies... then soon after Netflix and other generic streaming services are all dead and you are back to having to buy individual packages from overpriced services where you get no choice or flexibility. I agree there is no big loss for Disney content, but the precedent and trend it sets is awful, especially if it is successful.

      Pretty soon every studio or production house will have their own streaming service, all wanting a tenner a month and everyone will flock back to thepiratebay.

      --
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  2. I can't wait to pay $20/m for a disney streaming by hsmith · · Score: 5, Insightful

    service. said no one ever. The rates they'll charge itll be cheaper to buy the titles you like, or simply pirate them. My price elasticity has already tapped out for these services.

  3. Re:I can't wait to pay $20/m for a disney streamin by Mike+Van+Pelt · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This. Every dang studio and every dang TV network is planning to have their very own subscription service for $$/month, just to see the one program of interest that they have, and I'm not doing it. I would probably have watched the new Star Trek series, but I'm not paying CBS $$/month subscription for their package of crap I'll never watch just for that one program.

    I hadn't been tempted to go pirate before, but this is making me waver...

  4. They're counting on the kids by Solandri · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Any other studio wouldn't try this because of the potential backlash from upset consumers. Disney thinks they can get away with it because kids are going to bug their parents into getting a subscription so they can watch the Disney stuff, principles be damned. And I suspect they're right.

    1. Re:They're counting on the kids by tlhIngan · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Any other studio wouldn't try this because of the potential backlash from upset consumers. Disney thinks they can get away with it because kids are going to bug their parents into getting a subscription so they can watch the Disney stuff, principles be damned. And I suspect they're right.

      Yes, you're right.

      Think about it. Disney is the #1 entertainment company in the world. They make a crap load of money selling entertainment.

      What Disney makes pretty much turns the rest of Hollywood as a rounding error.

      It's why they can co-opt the public domain, get "mickey mouse" laws passed and all sorts of other things. And they've carefully crafted their image as a family friendly child-safe zone, so billions of people happily hand over trillions of dollars.

  5. Re:I can't wait to pay $20/m for a disney streamin by markdavis · · Score: 5, Insightful

    >"If you're in the US, not sure that's an issue. Isn't CBS still free over the air??"

    CBS has explicitly said they are NOT going to air the new Star Trek and have it ONLY on their streaming service. There are absolutely ZERO other shows most of us want from CBS, so this is likely to go over like a lead balloon. So they will have very little streaming revenue and zero ad revenue. I suspect they will give up and air it anyway after they discover people will not tolerate it and it ends up very popular on illegal file sharing.