Disney revenues surge as world waits for streaming service

Revenues at ‘The House of Mouse’ have surged more than 34% for its final quarter of 2019, collecting more than £69.5 billion for the full year.

While investors will certainly be happy with the news, perhaps the best is yet to come. Next week, Disney’s own streaming service will enter int frame for the first time, while it has also been confirmed the service will launch in the UK on March 31. With analysts expecting more than 15 million subscribers in the 12 months, 2020 could be a very profitable year.

“Our solid results in the fourth quarter reflect the ongoing strength of our brands and businesses,” said Robert Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company. “We’ve spent the last few years completely transforming The Walt Disney Company to focus the resources and immense creativity across the entire company on delivering an extraordinary direct-to-consumer experience, and we’re excited for the launch of Disney+ on November 12.”

Despite costs climbing 49% for the three months ending September 28, share price in overnight trading climbed more than 5%. With the launch of the $7 streaming service only days away, it is clear Disney is not shy about spending some cash to compete with the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime on a global scale.

Iger as bet big on the streaming service to lead a new wave of revenues at Disney, and for the sceptics out there, there are now several interesting partnerships to back-up an already packed content library.

On the telco side, Disney has teamed up with Verizon to offer free subscriptions to customers who have an unlimited data tariff, while iLifers will receive a free subscription for 12 months when purchasing a new Apple TV.

Although the content world is certainly looking congested already, Disney looks like a service which could challenge the leading pair. Disney has the brand awareness, content library and aggressive investment strategy to make it work, though delivering effective customer experience will be critical. November 12 will be the day customers first get the opportunity to taste Disney+, so judgement will be reserved until this point.