Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the most anticipated streaming showdown in South African history.
Weighing in at over 43 million subscribers worldwide, packing thousands of local and international blockbusters while donning red, black, and white – we have Netflix!
And in this corner, your debut challenger, taking to the stage on 18 May, harnessing the powers of the world’s superheroes and the Jedi power of “The Force” – Disney+!
The showdown between Netflix and Disney+ has been made possible thanks to the latter’s entry into South Africa on 18 May.
This matchup is a culmination of the four-competitor tournament, which started with Netflix vs Disney+ vs Prime Video vs Showmax. Prime and Showmax were knocked out of top spots for lack of local and international content, respectively.
Showmax has shown support for Disney+ by including it as part of its subscription offering for DStv subscribers, as the satellite service and its sister-streaming service have both been known to be long-time partners of Disney.
The rivalry between Netflix and Showmax has deeply entrenched roots stemming from the local streaming service’s launch on 15 August 2015, in an attempt to pip the US video platform’s launch in South Africa in 2016.
IOL previously reported that since its launch, Netflix had treated South Africans to localised content such as the globally popular Blood and Water teen series and franchise favourites like The Kandasamys. Netflix has also announced plans to pump funding into the local film industry.
Netflix is home to scores of its original productions like the Breaking Bad series. It makes for a versatile offering, despite the lack of content from other production houses like Walt Disney and HBO.
Streamed for a monthly fee across smartphones, tablets, Smart TVs, or laptops from R49 to R199 a month, Netflix goes against a single subscription offering from Disney+ for R119 per month.
Meanwhile, Disney+ is set to bring back on-demand streaming of highly-rated movies and series to local audiences after a brief scarcity, thanks to content rights.
This means South Africans can now look forward to favourites, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise and Lucas Films’ Star Wars movies, as both production houses make up part of Disney’s catalogue.
