Netflix suffers bruising Disney Plus defeat in fight for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour streaming rights

Bad Blood between the streaming titans

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Disney Plus might be losing the overall streaming battle to Netflix, but it has landed a telling blow on its fierce rival with the exclusive rights for Taylor Swift’sThe Eras Tour.

Yesterday (February 8), we reported thatTaylor Swift’sThe Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version)will exclusively stream on Disney Plus. The streaming titan will bring the concert film to people’s homes on March 15, 2024, and it’ll include bonus content in the form of five songs that Swifties didn’t see when the film was initially released on paid video-on-demand (PVOD) services in late 2023.

Now, it’s emerged that, according to a new report fromPuck News(and picked up byVariety), two of the world’sbest streaming serviceswent head-to-head to secure streaming rights for the movie version of the pop megastar’s billion-dollar-making concert. Unsurprisingly, the bidding was highly competitive, butNetflixended up losing out to Disney’s service, which gazumped its foe with a supposed $75 million offer.

Disney Plusis also believed to have faced competition from Universal Pictures, the studio that handledThe Eras Tour’s PVOD distribution on platforms such asPrime VideoandGoogle Play. Disney and Swift’s representatives declined to comment on the live concert movie’s rumored price when approached by Variety.

A streaming victory after a tough period

Taylor Swift is one of the world’s most popular and successful music artists of the 21st Century. So, the opportunity for any of the eight most notable streamers to land the exclusive rights to her most recent money-spilling live tour is one not to be passed up.

Disney, then, will be delighted to secure the rights to beamThe Eras Touron TVs worldwide, especially at Netflix’s expense. Despite being the home to franchise heavy hitters inMarvelandStar Wars, Disney Plus has struggled to rein in its biggest rival on the streaming landscape. Indeed,Disney Plus just revealed it lost one million usersbetween September 2023 and December 2023. Meanwhile, Netflix recently announced it had surpassed 260 million subscribers – a figure more than double the size of Disney Plus' subscriber list.

Considering the above, any streaming triumph, no matter how big or small, is something worth celebrating for Disney. It may be languishing in Netflix’s wake when it comes to the size of its userbase, but snatchingThe Eras Tourfrom under its competitor’s nose – even to the tune of $75 million – is undoubtedly a fillip for CEO Bob Iger and his fellow executives. Get ready to become the latest Swiftie, then, whenThe Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version)lands on the service – and, most likely, ourbest Disney Plus movieslist.

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As TechRadar’s senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You’ll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.

An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Tom also writes reviews, analytical articles, opinion pieces, and interview-led features on the biggest franchises, actors, directors and other industry leaders. You may see his quotes pop up in the odd official Marvel Studios video, too, such as thisMoon Knight TV spot.

Away from work, Tom can be found checking out the latest video games, immersing himself in his favorite sporting pastime of football, reading the many unread books on his shelf, staying fit at the gym, and petting every dog he comes across.

Got a scoop, interesting story, or an intriguing angle on the latest news in entertainment? Feel free to drop him a line.

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