A new feature piece in trade paper Variety has gone into detail about what’s going on behind-the-scenes to get the upcoming Disney+ streaming service up and running. The most interesting fact? Spending.
The report indicates Disney will spend roughly $16.4 billion this year alone on content, with over $500 million of that earmarked just for original content for Disney+. That doesn’t include their sports budget which is a further $7.4 billion on top of that.
The studio’s expenditure is expected to account for roughly 22% of the total $107 billion estimate to be spent on global content in 2019 by large media companies. Its closest rivals are AT&T/Time Warner which is expected to spend approximately $14.3 billion, and Netflix which will spend $14 billion.
At present, the Mouse House is rumored to have a rudimentary working version of Disney+ in place by April to show off to investors, with an official launch to take place in the back half of 2019. Disney Plus is expected to boast a library of more than 5,000 hours of the studio’s films and TV programs.
Disney’s purchase of Fox is expected to be completed by March.