With The Lion King set to launch in cinemas and a new Netflix streaming rival coing soon, new research looks at how Brits view the Disney brand.
Disney is on somewhat of a rampage this year, with numerous announcements. Whilst broadening its audience, by remaking of classics (e.g. The Lion King releasing next week [19th July]) – appealing to the children of today, whilst keeping the now young adults engaged.
Possibly the most exciting news for 2019, is around the launch of Disney+, streaming service.
Slated to launch in Q4 2019. Competing against the Netflix, Amazon Prime etc, and now just announced this week, WarnerMedia/HBO’s streaming service- HBO Max
New research of 3,000 consumers in the UK (5,507 US/UK) by GlobalWebIndex, in the run up to the release of the star studded film – The Lion King, reveals:
· The Lion King is the most anticipated Disney film consumers in the UK are most excited to watch.
25% said Frozen 2 while 24 are most excited about the Star Wars finale
· 31% of UK describe themselves as “Disney Fans”
· 65% in the UK are unaware that Disney will be launching its own streaming service
· 57% of UK consumers claim they currently spend up to £20 per month on their TV/Film subscription services.
· Over half (51%) of Disney fans in the UK would be willing to spend up to £10 per month for a Disney Plus subscription.
· Streaming Wars: 71% of Disney fans use Netflix and 37% Amazon Prime video.
· Around a quarter of Disney fans state they would subscribe to Disney+ and keep their current film/TV subscription services.
· For UK Disney fans, the most enticing upcoming Disney content are from Pixar and Marvel. Disney shows and films exclusive to the Disney platform would entice them.
Conducted in the US and UK, the research finds that already 35% of UK consumers are aware Disney will be launching their own streaming service, Disney Plus, despite not being available yet.
With the service slated for launch in Q4 2019, Disney no doubt will be leveraging upcoming movie releases to effectively raise awareness, and encourage the 39% who currently do not plan on taking out a subscription.
Rivals to beat
Just over half (51%) of Disney fans in the UK would be willing to spend up to £10 per month for a Disney streaming service subscription.
However, currently 71% of Disney fans in the UK use Netflix and 37% Amazon Prime video. Around a quarter of Disney fans state they would subscribe to Disney Plus and keep their current film/TV subscription services.
Currently in the UK, 57% of consumers claim they currently spend up to £20 per month on their TV/Film subscription services.
Winning back hearts and minds
When it comes to content that would entice UK consumer to subscribe to Disney’s streaming services, Pixar content proves most popular, with 37% stating so, closely followed by Marvel content (32%). Over a quarter (28%) state new Disney shows and films exclusive to the Disney platform would entice them.
Chris Beer, senior trends analyst comments, “With Pixar proving most appealing among content that could entice consumers to subscribe to Disney Plus, the recent success of Toy Story 4 in the box office will give Disney a lot of confidence in their ambition to win a strong foothold in the UK video streaming market. The most important focus for the new service will be paying close attention to the content demands of its diverse, family-oriented audience.”