In a sign that the streaming wars are reaching a boil, the Walt Disney Company is reportedly banning all advertising from Netflix across Disney’s entertainment TV properties, which include channels like ABC and the Disney Channel.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Disney made the decision after talks with Netflix fell through. Disney had reversed an earlier decision that it wouldn’t accept ads from any rival streaming services. While Disney reached agreements with other competitors, the Journal said Disney failed to make peace with Netflix.
Disney’s ESPN will continue to accept Netflix ads, according to the report. Netflix is ramping up its advertising spending, shelling out $1.8 billion last year, with much of it going to TV commercials.
Disney will go head-to-head with Netflix when its Disney+ streaming platform launches November 12. The new service will cost consumers $6.99 a month, compared to Netflix’s most popular service that costs $12.99 a month.
The Disney-Netflix fight comes after the Journal reported yesterday that Disney and Amazon are locking horns over a similar matter that could result in Disney+ being blocked from Amazon’s Fire TV devices. Amazon reportedly wants the rights to sell most of the ad space on Disney apps, which Disney has so far refused.
Consumers are increasingly caught in the crossfire between big tech firms as they try to muscle their way into each other’s territory using aggressive means. Those fights have now spread to the entertainment industry as the worlds of Silicon Valley and Hollywood become increasingly blurred.
Disney CEO Bob Iger recently resigned from the board of Apple, which is launching its own streaming service, Apple TV+, also in November.
Amazon and Apple have long had frosty relations, with consumers often coming out the loser. The fight frequently manifests itself in compatibility issues, causing trouble for consumers when they want to purchase or download content from an Amazon service using Apple devices.
Follow David Ng on Twitter @HeyItsDavidNg. Have a tip? Contact me at dng@breitbart.com
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