How Much Money Will Netflix Lose On Disney's Pull From Streaming Service?

Walt Disney Company's (WDC) CEO Bob Iger wants to take part in the online streaming service competition as the company announced its plan to pull all Disney films from Netflix to launch its own streaming service Tuesday, according to a press release published on WDC's website.

Disney's direct-to-consumer streaming service is slated to launch in 2019, with an ESPN streaming service to arrive before it in 2018. It will include films from Disney and Pixar past and present, with 2019 titles like "Toy Story 4" and "Frozen 2" slated to hit the service. To make the magic possible, Disney will acquire an additional 42 percent stake in BAMTech — the video streaming company founded by Major League Baseball — by way of $1.58 billion.

Myles Worthington, a press representative for Netflix, issued a statement Tuesday to International Business Times about how WDC's streaming services plans will affect Netflix.

"US Netflix members will have access to Disney films on the service through the end of 2019, including all new films that are shown theatrically through the end of 2018," Worthington told IBT. "We [will] continue to do business with the Walt Disney Company globally on many fronts, including our ongoing relationship with Marvel TV."

So how much will Disney gain from this transition? And how much will Netflix lose from Disney's absence?

Forbes reports that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings' net worth is to $2.1 billion, with CNN reporting in May that the company is worth $70 million. However, according to CNBC, Netflix's stock reportedly dropped by 5 percent after the WDC confirmed the news. Yahoo! Finance shows that the streaming service's stock price is at $178.36, which dropped to $174.20 at close 5:12 p.m. EDT. Disney's stock increased to $106.98, but Yahoo! Finance shows that company's stock dropped by 4 percent at 5:16 PM EDT.

By doing a thorough count of Disney films on Netflix, the streaming service will have to give up over 100 titles. Netflix acquired Disney's content in 2012, however, it didn't arrive online until 2016. Forbes reported in 2012 that the deal cost $300 million, but it ensured that Netflix was the sole streaming service to distribute Disney's new film content online.

Disney's departure would likely be a setback for Netflix at first with a decrease in subscribers. The Fiscal Times reported in March that this has occurred in the past when the streaming service has cut content. However, Netflix will likely make up for this setback as it continues to be a leader in producing successful original content like "Stranger Things" and "Orange Is The New Black." According to Business Insider, Netflix told shareholders in April, "We have a large market opportunity ahead of us and we’re optimizing long-term FCF by growing our original content aggressively."

Iger sees the departure from Netflix as "a strategic shift in the way we distribute our content," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Further explaining the shift in a press release Tuesday, Iger said, "The media landscape is increasingly defined by direct relationships between content creators and consumers, and our control of BAMTech’s full array of innovative technology will give us the power to forge those connections, along with the flexibility to quickly adapt to shifts in the market."

He added, "This acquisition and the launch of our direct-to-consumer services mark an entirely new growth strategy for the Company, one that takes advantage of the incredible opportunity that changing technology provides us to leverage the strength of our great brands."

WDC's plans for ESPN will feature "a robust array of sports programming, featuring approximately 10,000 live regional, national, and international games and events a year," according to the press release. Games from Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer and other sports will be accessible through the multi-sport service. It will also offer consumers the option to purchase individual sports packages to view select sports.

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