- Disney鈥檚 marketing force is reaching beyond its traditional family audience to send a message that its $7-a-month subscription service Disney+ offers something for all ages
LOS ANGELES: During commercial breaks in a broadcast of World Wrestling Entertainment鈥檚 WWE SmackDown, fans were shown ads for Walt Disney Co鈥檚 new streaming service, Disney+. So were 鈥淢onday Night Football鈥� viewers and video gamers watching Twitch.
鈥淭ry to keep up,鈥� said Captain Marvel in one ad after a series of fast-paced clips from 鈥淪tar Wars,鈥� 鈥淭he Simpsons,鈥� 鈥淭he Avengers鈥� and other Disney-owned hits from outside of its deep catalogue of children鈥檚 classics.
Disney鈥檚 marketing force is reaching beyond its traditional family audience to send a message that its $7-a-month subscription service Disney+ offers something for all ages. The service debuted on Tuesday in the United States, Canada and The Netherlands.
鈥淚t鈥檚 incumbent upon us to market it the right way to emphasize the fact that it鈥檚 not just for kids,鈥� Disney executive Kevin Mayer said during a briefing at the company鈥檚 Burbank, California, headquarters. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all family friendly, but everyone can enjoy this product.鈥�
Disney has told investors it can hook 60 million to 90 million customers within about five years as it competes for customers in a crowded streaming market dominated by Netflix Inc.
Signing up adults who do not have children at home is part of that plan.
Consumers may not realize that after a series of acquisitions Disney is much more than classics like 鈥淐inderella鈥� and 鈥淢ary Poppins鈥� that charmed generations of families. The company now owns the celebrated 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� movie franchise; Iron Man, the Hulk and dozens of other Marvel superheroes; 鈥淭oy Story鈥� animation house Pixar, and nature programming channel National Geographic.
Previously released movies and TV series from all of those brands, plus 30 seasons of 鈥淭he Simpsons,鈥� are available on Disney+ alongside decades of Disney鈥檚 family-centric offerings.
Disney+ also offers new programming from those brands.
To raise awareness, the company is promoting Disney+ during sports and primetime TV telecasts to get in front of what Hollywood calls the four quadrants of viewers: male, female, young and old.
鈥淲e鈥檙e unmatched in quality and appeal across our four-quadrant audience spanning a variety of genres, formats and arenas, and will continue to build on that year after year,鈥� said Ricky Strauss, president of content and marketing for Disney+.
In addition to the wrestling, football and gaming contests, ads ran during the World Series and the ABC News late-night program 鈥淣ightline,鈥� and on social media networks.
Early testing in The Netherlands, where Disney offered a free two-month trial of Disney+, attracted a 鈥渧ery large and diverse audience,鈥� said Mayer, who runs Disney鈥檚 direct-to-consumer and international unit.
鈥淢arvel鈥檚 Agents of SHIELD,鈥� a series aimed at 18- to 49-year olds, ranked as the most-watched piece of content, Mayer said. Next was tween-oriented show 鈥淭he Suite Life of Zack & Cody鈥� followed by 鈥淒isney鈥檚 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,鈥� a cartoon for young children.
鈥淥ur hypothesis was we will have a lot of different types of viewership, that it鈥檚 not going to be centered among any one of our brands,鈥� Mayer said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 quite a nice confirmation of what we want accomplished.鈥�
The initial response in The Netherlands has cheered industry analysts.
鈥淭hey have some surprising and encouraging signs about this potential that Disney+ is not just kids and family,鈥� Forrester analyst Jim Nail said.
But unlike Netflix, Disney+ limits how far its programming will go to attract older viewers. To keep it family friendly, the service will not have any R-rated movies or TV shows designated TV-MA for mature audiences.
Programming considered too adult for Disney+ may stream on Hulu, which Disney also owns. That will include FX series such as 鈥淎merican Horror Story鈥� and 鈥淔argo鈥� and possibly movies starring Deadpool, a Marvel character known for foul-mouthed humor, when rights become available.
鈥淭here are boundaries to what we鈥檒l put on Disney+,鈥� Mayer said. 鈥溾€橠eadpool鈥� is definitely not for Disney+.鈥�