In Streaming News, Netflix is Crushing It, New Bundles Has Amazing Price and Gets a Name, and Disney Downsizes
Netflix gets exclusive football games and dominates subscriber acquisition numbers, live sports bundle get a name, Comcast bundle of 3 major services is really cheap, and Disney keeps cutting.
It’s been a big week in streaming news.
Netflix, the largest entrainment platform in the world, signed its first major sports deal with the NFL, and acquired the rights to broadcast two Christmas Day games this year. The announcement marked Netflix’s long anticipated debut into the world of live sports, which is extremely attractive to advertisers and guarantees subscribers from the most reliable demographic in the country: sports-obsessed fans.
Netflix also said that its ad-supported tier now has 40 million monthly active users, up from 5 million subscribers this time last year and 15 million in November 2023, suggesting incredible growth. Both the success of this tier and the foray into live sports will only further burnish Netflix’s relationship with advertisers and solidify its position as the world leader in entertainment for both marketers and consumers.
In other sports streaming news, the recently announced sports-focused combined streaming service from Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox has a name, logo and website. It will be called Venu Sports (pronounced “venue”) and the companies say that it is still on track to launch this fall.
StreamSaver, the new streaming bundle available Comcast customers only and consisting of leading platforms Netflix, Peacock and Apple TV+, will cost just $15 a month, a discount of at least 35% when these platforms are subscribed to separately.
While Netflix soars and other platforms combine with rivals to remain relevant, the Walt Disney Company keeps downsizing in a continuation of CEO Bob Iger’s to cut costs and eliminate bloat. In the biggest restructuring in company history, approximately 14 percent of Pixar’s workforce, or around 175 employees, will be let go.