Why Movies Anywhere Is Huge for Walt Disney Co (DIS) Stock

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So much for the Magic Kingdom. Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) stock keeps heading lower. DIS stock now trades at a new 2017 low.

Why Movies Anywhere Is Huge for DIS Stock

But while the stock is selling off as cord-cutting pressures mount, Disney is gradually building out the streaming video platform of the future. Investors don’t seem to be paying attention, but between acquiring a majority stake in the highly touted digital media company BAMTech, pulling all its content from Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX), announcing forthcoming ESPN and Disney over-the-top streaming services, and building out its own all-in-one streaming video platform that has the backing of Hollywood’s biggest studios, Disney is well on its way to solving its cable sub churn problem.

In fact, Disney is well on its way to turning that headwind into a secular tailwind. Disney is successfully positioning itself to be a dominant player in the rapidly growing streaming-video-on-demand (SVOD) space.

While investors are looking in the rearview mirror and seeing troublesome losses of ESPN subscribers, they’re missing out on DIS stock’s future and the compelling opportunity it offers.

Why Disney Will Win in the SVOD Market

Netflix was right. There is a colossal shift in the marketplace happening right now from linear entertainment to Internet entertainment. Everything is going over-the-top and on-demand. Netflix saw it first. It jumped on the trend, and now, it is dominating the SVOD space.

But Netflix achieved that dominance by collecting all the best content and aggregating it on a single platform. That was never a sustainable business model. Eventually, those content creators (like Disney) would catch on and figure out a way to deliver their content Netflix-style to consumers.

That is exactly what’s happening right now, and it is why Netflix is spending so much on original content. As all content moves to be delivered over-the-top and the marketplace gets crowded, distribution channels will gradually get commoditized. The only thing that matters is owning content.

And guess who has the best content?

Disney.

Just look at box office results. Between Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm, DIS is responsible for the top three grossing films in 2016, three of the top four grossing films in 2015, and two of the top four grossing films in 2014. And the films aren’t exactly targeted at any specific audience. Pixar captures families. Marvel and Lucasfilm capture sci-fi and action moviegoers. Disney captures those who are suckers for uplifting tales.

Everyone wants to talk about how good Netflix’s original content is. But Disney owns far better and far more diverse content. Plus, Disney has been doing it for a lot longer, so they have a far superior track record.

And now, Disney is finally getting its act together on figuring out how to optimize distribution for its rich content. The recent launch of Movies Anywhere (a digital locker that will act as a virtual one-stop movie-watching stop) underscores just how quickly Disney can leverage BAMTech’s technology to create over-the-top offerings.

Movies Anywhere is just the first step for Disney. In three years, Disney will have Movies Anywhere, an ESPN streaming service, and a Disney streaming service. The amount of content that will be available across all three of those platforms ensures that Disney will one day be a big player in the growing SVOD market.

Bottom Line on DIS Stock

In investing, it’s always best to get in on a trade before others do.

Right now, one of the best opportunities to do that is to buy DIS stock at a deep discount before its over-the-top streaming tailwinds kick in. The launch of Movies Anywhere illustrates that these tailwinds could come soon, so now seems like a opportune time to get in before the upcoming rally.

As of this writing, Luke Lango was long DIS and NFLX.

 

 

 


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2017/10/walt-disney-co-dis-stock-movies-anywhere/.

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