Disney doesn't need PR, goodwill or even a bit more money. They have all of those things that is needed for them to assert complete control. And that will bring them more power and money than anything else. It's the same strategy every company has been going for a while but it's very obvious with the internet companies now.
YT has control over online video, so it's cracking down anyone avoiding paying them. Reddit controls most text-based communities, so it's preventing the same. Google knows it's the overwhelming majority of browsers, so it's trying to inseminate the entire internet to prevent anyone from seeing anything it doesn't like, or pay them for.
I think they mean that most text-based communities are on Reddit, but considering this same article is also on Reddit I don't know what point they're trying to make.
If we've seen anything, it's that companies always need more money. But this probably doesn't move the needle enough to make it at all worth it. Or it fucks with their marketing plan simply, they seem to be pretty keen on following the plan charts set for them.
Someone with more gung-ho attitude might jump at the chance though. even if it wouldn't really make a measurable impact for them either.