While its streaming service is a hit, Disney is considering launching a paid loyalty service, modeled on Amazon Prime. The goal: to win and retain subscribers while collecting data.
Disney has a veritable empire that extends into many areas and intends to take advantage of it! The big-eared giant continues to invest heavily in its video-on-demand (SVOD) service and is looking for a way to become even more attractive. It must be said that the platform has met with enormous success and, counting its other streaming services, the company has reached 221.1 million subscribers, placing itself ahead of Netflix! To reinforce this victory – and increase its margins – Disney+ recently increased the price of its subscriptions in the United States and is preparing to launch a “low-cost” formula with advertising. And the firm does not intend to stop there! According to wall street journal, she would prepare a paid loyalty service that would bring together the products and services from her immense empire – which does not stop at video productions. A way to create bridges between its various activities, and to attract and retain subscribers. His main source of inspiration? Amazon with its Prime subscription, but also Apple or Walmart.
Disney: a paid subscription similar to Amazon Prime
Disney+ is very successful, but it’s far from enough for the Walt Disney Company. When announcing its latest financial results, it announced that Disney+ alone had 152.1 million subscribers worldwide – without its ESPN+ and Hulu subscriptions – an increase of 14.4 million over three months. A result that exceeded the expectations of the firm, which expected “only” 10 million more subscribers. However, the company still lowered its forecast, estimating it would have 215 million subscribers by September 2024, down from 245 million – a drop believed to be linked to the loss of the right to broadcast Indian cricket competitions. popular.
To improve the company’s growth, Disney is currently considering a monthly or annual subscription codenamed “Disney Prime” – this will not be the final name. Bob Chapek, the CEO of Disney since 2020, would take care of the file in person. This type of formula is far from being a stupid idea and has already proven itself. For example, Amazon Prime offers, in addition to its SVOD service, fast and free delivery of its packages, exclusive promotions such as Prime Day, audio streaming with Amazon Music, access to a catalog of e-books and even a gaming service. In the same vein, Apple offers the Apple One subscription, which includes Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, iCloud storage and Apple Fitness+. As for Walmart, the supermarket chain known for its low prices, it has done the same with its 98 dollar subscription, which allows free delivery of products and benefit from discounts on gasoline, and announced that it has signed an agreement to offer the Paramount+ streaming service to its subscribers.
Disney Prime: an all-in-one package for services
The idea of a Disney Prime subscription is still in its infancy. The big-eared firm would offer, in addition to Disney+ and via a monthly or annual sum, exclusives in its online store as well as in its various amusement parks – a boon for Disney Pass holders. Subscribers would enjoy exclusive merchandise, such as a black lightsaber from the Star Wars series The Mandalorian – an idea that the leaders would have mentioned. Similarly, each program on Disney+ would have an associated QR Code which would refer members to derivative products – especially when we know that the firm includes “special marketing” characters in its productions, such as baby Yoda or baby Groot. In the end, the benefit is twofold: gain subscribers to Disney + and sell more derivative products.
Another idea would be discounts on its amusement parks – which also sell a whole range of products and clothing, but also Disney Premier Access to cut the queues – as well as on its hotels, cruise and train trips. private plane. Similarly, the firm is said to have discussed – again according to the Wall Street Journal – adding third-party perks, such as discounts on tickets to Disney shows on Broadway.
Disney subscription: the way to exploit customer data?
Disney already has a special program for its fans: the D23 Official Fan Club. It costs between $99.99 and $129.99 per year and provides access to exclusive events and products. In 2019, it also offered members a discounted three-year subscription to Disney+ – an idea that could therefore be taken up. However, this new program would target more casual Disney customers. Beyond generating new revenue and retaining customers, Disney Prime is proving to be a great idea for harvesting a phenomenal amount of information about consumers, knowing their tastes and habits – which attractions are the most popular and by whom, or the correlation between video products and derivative products, which periods are favorable for increasing sales profits – and therefore producing content that will appeal to the maximum, at the risk for subscribers of seeing their quality deteriorate sharply, creativity giving way to the appeal of money – much like with the latest Marvel series or the latest Star Wars trilogy….
