Top 19 Disney Competitors

Last updated: July 25, 2020

The Walt Disney Company, known as Disney, is one of the largest media and entertainment companies around the world. In 1923, the company was founded by Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney, beginning as a film and animation studio, creating the iconic Mickey Mouse.

Disney is headquartered in Burbank, California, and its reach spans from theme parks and resorts to movies, video games, television, and merchandise. Divisions of the media conglomerate include Disney Media Networks, Interactive Media, and Disney Resorts and Parks.

Large cable television and broadcasting networks such as ABC, ESPN, National Geographic, and of course, Disney Channel are all part of the Disney’s operations.

Fun Fact: 

Ever wonder just how many Disney theme parks there are globally? The answer is 12!

There are six Disney resorts around the world in California, Florida, Paris, Hong Kong, China, and Tokyo that has a total of 12 parks.

As of Sept 2019, The Walt Disney Company employs approximately 223,000 people and company’s total annual revenue exceeded $69 billion.

This article reflects upon different Competitors and alternatives to Disney based on the following business areas:

• Resorts and Theme Parks
• Media and Broadcasting Network
• Video Streaming

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Resorts and Theme Parks

1. Universal Studios Parks and Resorts

Year founded: 1964
 Headquarter: Orlando, FL

Universal Studios Parks and Resorts is a popular theme park in Orland, Florida. Tourists flock from everywhere around the world to experience Universal Studio’s attractions and rides.

Universal Studios theme park revenue is about $5.9 Billion (2019).

Universal Studios (a part of NBCUniversal) is split into three different parks at Universal Orlando being Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Volcano Bay.

NBCUniversal currently employs about 66,000 people, including resort and theme park employees.

2. Merlin Entertainment Group

Year founded: 1998
 Headquarter: Poole, United Kingdom

Merlin Entertainment Group is the world’s second-largest visitor attraction operator. The company created the famous Lego Land Theme Park and Resort with various other theme parks and resorts across Europe.

In 2019, Merlin Entertainment Group and its parks had over 67 Million visitors, an annual revenue increase of 1.7 Billion pounds. The company currently employs about 28,000 people worldwide.

Madame Tussauds, Lego land, the Dungeons, Sea Life, Gardaland resort, etc. are famous brands under Merlin Entertainment Group. 

3. Six Flags Entertainment Corporation

Year founded: 1961
 Headquarter: Grand Prairie, TX

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is a popular amusement park company based in the US. There are over 26 Six Flag amusement parks in North America with more than 940 rides and 150 roller coasters.

In the fiscal year 2019, Six Flags annual revenue came in about $1.5 billion, with 2,450 full-time employees and 48,000 seasonal employees and 32 million visitors.

4. Cedar Fair Entertainment Co.

Year founded: 1983
 Headquarter: Sandusky, OH

Cedar Fair Entertainment Company is an amusement and theme park company based in the US. The company has recreational and amusement attractions throughout 48 states and Canada.

In 2019, Cedar Fair hosted 28 million visitors and had annual revenue of about $1.5 billion.

5. SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment

Year founded: 1959
 Headquarter: Orlando, FL

SeaWorld is a popular theme park and entertainment company, specializing in aquatic life and sea animals. The Company has 12 theme parks across the United States, where visitors can experience a variety of attractions, rides, and shows.

The financial report of 2019 shows that the company hosted approximately 22.6 million visitors and had annual revenue of $1.4 billion.

6. Parques Reunidos

Year founded: 1967
 Headquarter: Madrid, Spain

Parques Reunidos is an international theme park company operating in 11 countries with over 60 parks across the world.

Their parks include theme and amusement, zoos, and water parks. Parques Reunidos reports over 20 million visitors annually.

7. OCT Parks

Year founded: 1985
 Headquarter: Shenzhen, China

Overseas Chinese Town Enterprises is a theme and amusement park corporation.

The company hosts over 30 million visitors every year with annual revenue of ¥50 billion.

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Media & Broadcasting Networks

8. ViacomCBS

Year founded: 1927
 Headquarter: New York City, New York
Founders: William S. Paley and Arthur Judson

ViacomCBS is a global media, entertainment, and broadcasting network.

The company has the following operating segments:

• TV Entertainment – CBS Television Network, CBS Interactive, CBS Sports Network
• Cable Networks – Showtime Networks, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central
• Filmed Entertainment – Paramount Pictures
• Publishing – Simon & Schuster, Atria Books

In 2019, CBS merged with Viacom as part of Viacom’s acquisition. Viacom is an entertainment and media company focused on film and television. Viacom’s has an excellent portfolio of streaming and digital video services.

The ViacomCBS’s 2019 annual revenue increased 2% to $27.81 billion. ViacomCBS employs approximately 23,990 people worldwide.

9. Comcast

Year founded: 1963
 Headquarter: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Founders: Ralph J. Roberts, Daniel Aaron, Julian A. Brodsky

Comcast is a telecommunication, media, and entertainment company. Subsidiaries of Comcast include Xfinity, NBC, Universal Pictures, DreamWorks, and Sky Limited. In 2019, Comcast reported annual revenue of $108.94 billion.

As of December 2019, the company employs approximately 190,000 people. Comcast is the largest cable TV and home Internet service provider company in the USA.

10. Warner Media

Year founded: 1990
 Headquarter: New York, New York
Founders: Stephen Jay Ross

Warner Media is a media and entertainment company, part of a conglomerate owned by AT&T. Warner Media was originally founded as Time Warner but changed due to a corporate merger.

In the fiscal year 2019, Warner Media’s annual revenue was $33 billion. Warner Media employs more than 25,000 people.

Divisions of the company include Warner Media Entertainment (HBO, TruTV), Warner Media News (CNN) and Sports, Warner Bros., Warner Media Sales, and International. Warner Media produced many popular television programs, films, and games.

11. Sony

Year founded: 1946
 Headquarter: Tokyo, Japan
Founders: Akio Morita and Masur Ibuka

Sony Corporation is a media and entertainment company involved in electronics, gaming, and entertainment. Subsidiaries of Sony Corporation include Sony Mobile, Sony Pictures, So-net, and Japan Display.

Sony is one of the world’s largest entertainment and media companies; As of fiscal year 2019, Sony employs about 114,400 people.

Popular products from Sony include gaming consoles, controllers, and various entertainment technology.

12. Fox Corporation

Year founded: 2019
 Headquarter: New York City, NY
Founders: Robert Murdoch

Fox Corporation is a mass media and entertainment company. Divisions of Fox include Fox Entertainment Group, Fox News, and Fox Sports. Through the company’s entertainment division, Fox is one of the largest producers of television programs and movies.

In 2019, Fox Corporation employed more than 12,000 people, and annual revenue is over $11 billion. Fox is one of the most valuable brands and companies today.
Fox Corporation was formed recently as part of an acquisition of the well-known 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company.

13. Lionsgate

Year founded: 1997
 Headquarter: Santa Monica, California
Founders: Frank Giustra

Lionsgate is an entertainment company focused on the productions of films and television programs.

Subsidiaries of the company include Lionsgate Films, Starz, Summit Entertainment, and Epix.

In the fiscal year 2020, Lionsgate employed more than 3500 people, and the company reported over $3.8 billion in annual revenue. Popular films produced by the entertainment giant include John Wick, The Hunger Games, Rambo, Saw, and American Psycho.

14. Universal Pictures

Year founded: 1912
 Headquarter: Universal City, California
Founders: Carl Laemmle, Jules Brulatour, David Horsley, Mark Dintenfas, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, and Robert H. Cochrane

Universal Pictures is a movie and film company owned by its parent company NBCUniversal. The entertainment conglomerate Comcast owns NBCUniversal.

The widely popular DreamWorks Animation and Illumination are subsidiaries of Universal Pictures. Universal’s theme park and the resort is also a major competitor to Disney’s theme parks and resorts.

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Video Streaming

15. Netflix

Year founded: 1997
 Headquarter: Los Gatos, CA

Netflix is the most popular movie and tv streaming service, with over 167 million memberships in more than 190 countries.

As per 2019 financial report, Netflix employs over 8,600 people and has an annual revenue of over $20 billion.

16. Amazon Prime Video

Year founded: 1994
 Headquarter: Seattle, WA

Amazon prime is a movie and television streaming service on a membership basis called Prime. Amazon has over 150 million Prime subscribers and continues to gain more and more members each year.

17. YouTube

Year founded: 2005
 Headquarter: San Bruno, CA

YouTube is a popular streaming and video-sharing platform created by three former PayPal employees. YouTube gained popularity even in its early years, with users uploading millions of videos.

In 2019, YouTube’s annual revenue came in just over $15 billion.

18. Apple TV+

Year founded: 1976
 Headquarter: Cupertino, CA

Apple is a long-standing technology company, most known for their computers and phones. The company began a movie and television subscription based service in Nov 2019 called Apple TV+.

Apple has been expanding its services portfolio. Apple TV+ is a newcomer to the streaming service competition but is likely to grow. 

19. HBO

Year founded: 2015
 Headquarter: New York, NY

HBO is a popular video subscription company, servicing users with on-demand film, television, and entertainment. HBO grew exponentially last year due to the success of HBO Max.

As of june 2020, the streaming service has reported 36.3 million subscribers with HBO Max and HBO.

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References & more information

• Amazon. (n.d.). Retrieved from Amazon Investor Relations: https://ir.aboutamazon.com/investor-relations
• Apple. (n.d.). Retrieved from Apple Investor Relations: https://investor.apple.com/investor-relations/default.aspx
• Bilbao, R. (2019). Comcast’s Universal theme parks grew revenue 4.4% in 2018. Retrieved from Orlando Business Journal: https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2019/01/23/comcast-s-universal-theme-parks-grew-revenue-4-4.html
• Bloomberg. (n.d.). Warner Media LLC. Retrieved from Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/1629048D:US
• Merlin Entertainments. (n.d.). Midway Attractions. Retrieved from Merlin Entertainments: https://www.merlinentertainments.biz/our-brands/midway-attractions/
• Netflix. (n.d.). Retrieved from Netflix Investors: https://www.netflixinvestor.com/financials/quarterly-earnings/default.aspx
• Parques Reunidos. (n.d.). Investors. Retrieved from Parques Reunidos: https://www.parquesreunidos.com/en/investors/
• Seaworld Entertainment. (n.d.). Retrieved from Seaworld Entertainment Investor Relations: https://www.seaworldinvestors.com/annual-reports/default.aspx
• Six Flags. (n.d.). Retrieved from Six Flags Investors: https://investors.sixflags.com/
• Universal Studios. (n.d.). Contact. Retrieved from Universal Studios: https://www.universalstudios.com/contact/departments
• ViacomCBS. (n.d.). Investor Relations. Retrieved from ViacomCBS Investor Relations: https://ir.viacbs.com/investor-relations
• Featured Image by bunzellisa from Pixabay