Amazon and Netflix boasted subscription numbers during their in-person debuts at the 2024 Upfronts, and Jimmy Kimmel roasted Disney CEO Bob Iger at the company’s presentation. What else were the biggest takeaways from this year’s Upfronts?
Also: Netflix announced that it will be streaming two NFL games on Christmas Day. Will this lead to more sports acquisitions for the streamer? And what’s up with the announced streaming bundle between Netflix, Apple TV+, and Peacock? Kim Masters and Matt Belloni break it all down.
Huge streaming numbers? Netflix and Amazon hosted their first live upfront presentations this year, and made a big splash by touting their subscription numbers. “I gotta say both of their presentations were really compelling because they give you scale,” says Belloni. “Netflix's Bela Bajaria stood up there in front of a 500 million number. And that is the number of people they say they reach because it's 270 million subscribers worldwide. They say that with households, that's 500 million. And Amazon did the same. They kept saying, ‘we have 200 million subscribers.’”
Disney still competitive? Disney’s upfront presentation included a spicy routine from Jimmy Kimmel and an appearance by CEO Bob Iger, but the big revelation was in the TV usage numbers posted outside the company’s presentation. “Nielsen put out a new data point the day of the Disney upfront, and it was very positive for Disney because it was a media distributor gauge, which is the total TV usage by media company, not by platform,” Belloni explains. “That very much benefits Disney because they have ABC, they have Disney+, Hulu, etc. And Disney gets 11.5% of viewership according to Nielsen, That is above YouTube, which is at 9.6%. And most importantly to Disney, it is way bigger than Netflix, which is at 7.6%.”
Bundle with a catch? Comcast announced a streaming bundle between Netflix, Apple TV+, and Peacock, but the details appear to hamper expectations. “They haven't told us what that costs. And the really the issue is, there are these caveats. Like, if you're gonna be a consumer and say, ‘I want that bundle, Netflix, Apple, Peacock,’ you can't get it unless you're a Comcast subscriber, and you cannot get ad free Netflix,” Masters clarifies.