Disney is serious about taking on Netflix in the streaming space. Consumers are anxiously awaiting the launch of Disney+, The Walt Disney Company’s streaming service. It promises to be full of original content.

These aren’t low budget shows, either. Disney is spending millions upon millions of dollars on content. 

Walt Disney probably never imagined anything like Netflix when he started the company in 1923, but the future is here, and Disney will not be left behind. They’ve seen the direction that consumers are heading, and they’re trying to ride that wave. They’re bringing everyone’s favorite characters out for the launch. The Mandalorian, a show based in the Star Wars universe about an interplanetary bounty hunter will be one of its first premieres on the platform. 

As with The Mandalorian, Disney is using its streaming service to create content for characters in the Marvel Universe. These shows should be amazing, considering Disney is sparing no expense. 

The numbers are impressive

Disney isn’t just spending millions on the infrastructure for its new streaming service. It’s spending millions on content for it too. It’s a bold move, especially considering Disney already has content that people watch. All their classics will be available on the platform, as will the Star Wars series and eventually all the Marvel movies will be there too.

It seems like more than enough to make a robust catalog for their streaming service.

Disney didn’t want to rely on its history to grow a new streaming service. That’s probably smart, but it means spending a lot on new content to entice consumers. When it comes to wooing potential Marvel fans, they went all out.

The company’s entire content budget for 2020 is just a hair shy of $1 billion dollars, and a good chunk of that is dedicated to Marvel shows. There are three that will be on the platform next year. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Hawkeye, and WandaVision will all take place in the Marvel Universe, and reportedly cost up to $25 million per episode.

That means 20 episodes of these shows could have cost as much as $500 million. 

They’re spending the most cash on Marvel, but they’re not exactly pinching pennies for the rest of their shows either. The Mandalorian cost up to $15 million per episode. Those content costs are on top of the millions Disney spent on getting a new streaming service operational. 

Setting up Disney+ was no easy feat 

Even though Disney is a behemoth in the entertainment industry, they were in the same spot as everyone else when it came to starting a streaming service. They lacked the talent, the infrastructure, and the technology to start something like Disney+. 

To catch up to Netflix, they had to spend billions. Approximately $2.6 billion, to be exact. And that’s just for the tech to be able to get shows online. Honestly, Disney has spent so much on this venture it’s hard to count. 

They’re giving up a sure thing 

Disney wasn’t exactly in the red before coming up with the Disney+ concept. They’re taking a huge risk here, especially because moving shows away from Netflix means giving up guaranteed revenue. Disney would have made $150 million annually from Netflix if they had kept the status quo. 

What Disney is attempting is a little inspiring. Plenty of well established companies have failed in the internet age because they can’t keep up with rapidly changing consumer patterns.

Disney has decided they won’t be one of them, and they’re definitely putting their money where their mouth is.