Short Eassy 2_WANG XIN (1155222150)

 

Flanker brand empire of Disney’s streaming

 

Flanker brand refers to a new brand created or purchased by the parent company within the current category. It is designed to compete in the category without damaging the existing item’s market share by targeting a different group of consumers.

 

Disney is one of the most famous entertainment corporations worldwide. In fiscal year 2024, streaming created an income of $22,776 million, which accounts for approximately 25% of its whole revenue. Disney’s success in the streaming industry mainly consists of two components: takeover channels and content.

 

Disney reaches different markets and audience segments by creating and acquiring multiple streaming brands. While its self-constructed Disney Channel mainly targets children and families, providing animation, series, and original films, ESPN was designed for sports programs, including live streaming of sports events, sports news, and feature programs. The streaming business of Disney just captured a larger market share after the merger.

 

Disney prevents other competing brands from entering the market and competes with existing giants by taking over relatively small players. In 2019, Disney took full charge of Hulu, an online streaming platform providing long video and TV live service in America and Japan. After the combination, Disney’s streaming platform had more than 235 million total subscribers, higher than those of major competitors Netflix and Amazon. It also absorbed a large amount of Hulu’s Japanese subscribers and utilized them to open up more Japanese markets.

 

After combining with ESPN and Hulu, Disney came up with packaged subscriptions, aiming at mutually transforming regular customers. In the long run, Disney also plans to combine their applications and share each other’s copyright resources. They can also share the cost of hardware device maintenance, thus enhancing the net profit. Tangible elements, especially logos, are also about to be modified as they need to transmit consistent images to all platforms’ subscribers.

 

Besides multiple channels, IP management and content creation can function as fundamentals of its brand equity. Disney itself holds large amounts of well-known IPs, such as Mickey Mouse, which is a well-recognizable tangible element representing the corporate image. It also purchased Pixar in 2006 and Marvel in 2009. The former still operated as a separate brand after being purchased and continued to create high-quality animations suitable for all ages. The latter has various superhero IPs such as Spider-Man and Iron Man. By combining with Marvel, Disney has not only expanded its streaming audience cohort but also greatly enhanced its competitiveness in several areas, including film, television, gaming, and theme parks. After the merger, Disney utilized their existing IP and fan cohort to innovate and manage their intellectual property, enhancing the brand's attractiveness and awareness.

 

Under common circumstances, even though brands are targeting different consumer groups, they may still be competing with each other and taking market share. However, when it comes to Disney’s streaming empire, it does not happen. Not only does it have a packaged subscription promotion, but it also shares the resources with each other at almost every overlapping theme. With a strong IP and low price strategy, it has rapidly expanded its user base but is still struggling to become profitable.