Disney Is Not Trying To Kill Netflix According To Chief Strategy Officer

More about Disney's streaming service is coming to light these days, but just because the IP giant is heading into competition with Netflix doesn't mean they want to push it out of business.

Far to the contrary actually, at least according to Disney chief strategy officer Kevin Mayer. Mayer spoke to Deadline about Disney's upcoming service, including that they don't view it as a Netflix killer.

"I personally like Netflix," Mayer said. "They've got a great product. They do exceedingly well in the marketplace," said Mayer. "What we're doing, we're not trying to hurt or kill Netflix."

Disney decided not to renew their deal with Netflix, which was previously the home of most of Disney's movies and TV content. While new films won't premiere on the popular streaming platform, Marvel isn't abandoning it altogether, as they recently revealed certain properties will stay on Netflix for the foreseeable future.

Disney sees this as a way to build off its brand without cannibalizing its other products. It's approaching ESPN with a similar brush. ESPN Plus will stream sporting events but will focus on smaller avenues that many have issues finding on regular TV. Things like smaller college games, smaller tennis tournaments, etc, will have a home there without eating into their core business.

"We're well served by the pay TV ecosystem," Mayer said. "Tens of millions of consumers are well served by it. But we also want to offer consumers the options to buy more, and set us up for the future."

Disney saw an opportunity to also bring its many franchises together with its new streaming service, especially since they've already done so outside of television.

"We have Marvel and Star Wars in our theme parks and on our Disney Channel," Mayer said. "We don't think there's brand dissonance."

If the Disney 21st Century Fox deal goes through, Disney would then own around 60% stake in Hulu, another popular streaming service. That will also far from spell the end of Hulu, a service that Mayer sits on the board of directors for.

"We're very much in support of growing Hulu. It's' going to be a big, profitable service."

Disney's streaming service is looking to launch in 2019.