Disney is preparing to make a deal with Netflix that would see them license out some of their content for streaming on their rival’s platform. The Disney CEO, Bob Iger, recently told investors of the prospective plans.
Shows and films from Disney’s catalogue are up for grabs by Netflix, although whatever they decide to share will not include any works from their core IPs.
“We’ve actually been licensing content to Netflix and are going to continue to,” Iger said during a call with investors. “We’re actually in discussion with them now about some opportunities, but I wouldn’t expect that we will license our core brands to them.
Iger continued, “Those are real, obviously competitive advantages for us and differentiators. Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, for instance, are all doing very, very well on our platform, and I don’t see why, just to basically chase bucks, we should do that when they are really, really important building blocks to the current and future of our streaming business.”
The two streaming giants had previously shared a handful of movies and Disney Channel originals, but this was back before Disney had a bigger stranglehold on the streaming industry.
Iger had previously expressed disdain for the idea of sharing anything with Netflix, saying back in 2022 that licensing any Disney shows or films to Netflix would be akin to “selling nuclear weapons technology to a Third World country, and now they’re using it against us.”
However, it looks now as though the Disney CEO has changed his mind somewhat, although he is still some way off what other streaming services bosses are willing to share.
