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Walt Disney announced Monday that its Disney Plus subscription streaming service will be premiered on November 12 on devices such as Apple (AppleTV, iOS), Google (Chromecast, Android TV) and Roku .
According to TDG Research, the list is particularly noteworthy because of what it omits: Amazon's FireTV, the most popular range of streaming devices, had 34 million active users, compared with 29 million for Roku, which occupies second place.
Whether in the form of a box or a key, streaming devices perform most of the functions of a traditional cable box, but transmit programs via the Internet instead of the cable. They are part of a broad and ever-growing trend towards "cord cutting": consumers leave cable for online services.
According to TDG, nearly 30% of US broadband users have a streaming device.
The advance of FireTV is not huge, and although companies do not disclose their number of users per region, Roku could still have a slight advantage in the United States. That's because, as TDG says, Amazon sells Fire TV hardware "aggressively" around the world, while Roku, a much smaller company, focuses on the US
The omission of FireTV in the Disney Plus product line may be temporary and relatively unimportant. "It's more like a last-minute negotiation on" shipping costs "and not a deliberate blocking of Amazon or Disney," said Stephan Paternot, CEO of the Slated film financing platform.
The worldwide tilt of FireTV, however, could cause Disney to push harder in all negotiations. Disney Plus will be deployed in a limited number of countries, starting with the United States, Canada and the Netherlands on November 12, followed by Australia and New Zealand on November 19. This progressive rollout comes as Disney enters into content licensing agreements with broadcasters and streaming services around the world, including removing a series of its own films and broadcasts from rival Netflix. Putting Disney Plus on FireTV may be less attractive, while Disney is still preparing for a truly global deployment.
But FireTV still has millions of users in the United States, probably exceeding the number of people watching less popular devices, including the PlayStation 4 or even Chromecast, which is in decline. A willingness to let these subscribers on the table, even temporarily, suggests that the absence of FireTV in the debut of Disney Plus could have a bigger strategic motive.
Amazon may have concluded that giving Disney real estate on fire would hurt its own video offerings via Prime. Alternatively, Disney may have decided to harm Amazon by refusing its content to Fire.
Disney and Amazon have not responded to requests for comment.
"In the end, it's in the interest of both parties to work together and they will probably succeed," said Ian Morris, CEO of Likewise, a website that helps people find streaming video content. "But when is another question. In the short term, this obviously affects the largest number of Amazon subscribers and can leave them to fend for access to Disney Plus content. "
By 2021, Disney Plus is expected to be available almost worldwide, but no other deployment date for specific countries has been announced. It will cost you $ 6.99 a month or $ 12.99 as part of a bundle with Hulu and ESPN +, at the same price as Netflix.
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