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Disney: We'll cost 'substantially' less than Netflix

The goal is to lure as many subscribers as possible.

Headshot of Jessica Dolcourt
Headshot of Jessica Dolcourt
Jessica Dolcourt VP, Content Operations and Commerce, CNET Group and CNET Labs
Jessica is a passionate content strategist and team leader across the CNET family of brands. She leads a number of teams, including commerce, performance optimization and the copy desk. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on the iPhone and Samsung devices. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began her leadership role managing CNET's How To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones to home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick in the UK.
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Disney's future streaming service will challenge Netflix, the reigning streaming champ, with lower prices, CEO Bob Iger said in an earnings call earlier this week.

In August, Disney announced its plans to pull movies like "Moana" from Netflix and instead stream them along with future films like the sequel to "Frozen" on its own service, which will launch in 2019.

Iger said:

"I can say that our plan on the Disney side is to price this substantially below where Netflix is. That is in part reflective of the fact that it will have substantially less volume. It'll have a lot of high quality because of the brands and the franchises that will be on it that we've talked about. But it'll simply launch with less volume, and the price will reflect that."

Watch this: A look at how Disney gave water a little sass in 'Moana'

Iger went on to say that the company's main goal starting out will be to attract as many subscribers as possible, diverting at least some of the wind out of Netflix's sales.

Disney-owned brands include Pixar, Lucasfilm (of Star Wars), Marvel Studios (think of all those "Thor" and "Avengers"-themed shows and films) and the ABC television network. While Marvel shows developed for Netflix are expected to stay on that service, such as "Daredevil" and "Jessica Jones," features like "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" will likely move to Disney's service.

Disney first signed a deal to stream content through Netflix in 2012.