Digitalization can help suppliers cut ties with their intermediaries and offer products directly to consumers. Such a digital disintermediation strategy likely affects both digital and non-digital incumbents in ways difficult to predict by current marketing theory. In our empirical investigation of digital disintermediation in the multibillion-dollar filmed home entertainment industry, we draw on consumers’ viewing behaviors before and after the launch of the streaming service Disney+. The findings show that access to Disney+ substantially increased the streaming category in the short run, accelerating the demise of non-digital linear television. However, only the new digital service benefited, while streaming incumbents suffered negative outcomes, despite public claims to the contrary. In addition to foreshadowing Netflix’s subsequent difficulties in defending its leadership position, these findings offer suppliers successful ways to liberate themselves from powerful intermediaries and help incumbents brace for the competitive upheavals that a digital disintermediation strategy is likely to trigger.

数字化可以帮助供应商切断与中间商的联系，直接向消费​​者提供产品。这种数字脱媒策略可能会以当前营销理论难以预测的方式影响数字和非数字现有企业。在我们对价值数十亿美元的电影家庭娱乐行业的数字脱媒进行实证调查时，我们利用了流媒体服务 Disney+ 推出前后的消费者观看行为。调查结果显示，短期内，迪士尼+的访问大大增加了流媒体类别，加速了非数字线性电视的消亡。然而，只有新的数字服务受益，而流媒体现有服务则遭受负面影响，尽管公众声称情况恰恰相反。