Netflix Is About To Lose The Streaming War

In 2017, Netflix rivaled all the combined cable subscriptions in terms of subscriber count, and in 2018, it officially became an undisputed leader in the streaming industry.

Well, that’s about to change because the combined Disney+ and Hulu service will own one-third of the most popular titles in the US.

According to Deadline, the combined Disney+ Hulu app will leapfrog Netflix on both popularity and volume in the US because the combined platform has one-third of the 100 most popular Q3 titles in the domestic market.

This places the pair at the top of the popularity list, with Netflix’s figures showing the streamer has 29 of the most popular titles, while Disney+/Hulu has 33 combined titles. MAX currently ranks third with 18 titles, and Amazon Prime has only 11.

Of course, a higher number of popular titles easily translates into more subscriptions.

At the same time, Disney+ and Hulu combined will overshoot Netflix in terms of content volume by more than 1,000 titles. The combined app will have nearly 9,600 titles, 7,250 of which come from Hulu alone.

This also positions the Disney+ Hulu combination behind Amazon Prime, which has nearly 11,000 titles, well ahead of Netflix’s 8391 titles (at the time of writing).

So, should Netflix be worried about the Disney+ Hulu combination? Well, perhaps it should since Disney has the might of many a franchise to rain upon its adversaries.

We’re talking about the whole Star Wars lineup, including perhaps all the Star Wars releases. Then, there’s also Pixar and various Hulu hits such as American Horror Story.

One of Disney+’s biggest strengths is the mass of family- and children-oriented content and several sci-fi releases from some of the biggest franchises.

These would collectively represent 81% of the top 100 popular titles on the combined platform—including the aforementioned 1/3 of the most popular Q3 titles—which could kick Netflix into the back end of the playground.

According to analysts, the combined Disney+ Hulu catalog will provide one of the most well-rounded and popular offerings on a single platform and, most importantly, under a single subscription.

This does two things: it ups the content stake at a time when many platforms are pulling back on content investments and unifies it all under a single subscription, thus eliminating the headaches of having to juggle multiple subscriptions at once only to watch your favorite shows.

But there’s still hope for Netflix.

Netflix has some of the world’s most popular series, and the power of original programming shouldn’t be neglected.

Not to mention the whole slew of original content and popular IP adaptations that would ensure, at the very least, that the streamer remains relevant if Disney+ and Hulu combined ever manage to dethrone it as one of the largest streamers in the US, and perhaps the world.