Disney has just announced that it will be starting its very own streaming service. It will be called Disney+ and by the looks of it, it will be giving existing streaming services a run for their money. With subscriptions starting as low as $6.99/month, it may be a bargain considering its vast media library when it comes out on November 12th this year.
The Walt Disney Company, better known as just Disney, started off as an animation firm after being found by Walt Disney in 1923. Over the years, it has grown significantly to the point where it has become the world’s largest mass media conglomerate. Like every large company, it has even acquired subsidiaries to improve business and dominate the world of entertainment.
However, to Bob Iger, Disney’s current CEO, that simply wasn’t enough. Online streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime were gaining popularity among the masses. For Disney, it was an opportunity to step in and thus Disney+ was born.
Content
For any streaming service, quality content is crucial and Disney has exactly that. For you see, Disney’s subsidiaries include PIXAR, Marvel, Star Wars, 20th Century Fox, Blue Sky, and National Geographic. All content, ever produced by these and Disney itself, will be available on this new service.
This means that, along with your favorite childhood Disney movies, you’ll also be able to access all movies, shows or even documentaries produced by any of the aforementioned services.
Surprisingly enough, Disney’s contract with Netflix ends at the same time as the launch of Disney+. Which means that Disney will probably be pulling all of its content off from it. Hulu, another streaming service, is also owned by Disney, will retain all of its movies. In addition to that, it will also be getting a new Marvel TV show, that is being developed currently.
Platforms
Needlessly to say, a streaming service is useless without having the right support for multiple platforms. Fortunately, Disney understands this and has confirmed that the service will be available on Roku and PS4. Although there hasn’t been any formal mention of any other platform, I guess it’s understood that it will get relevant support on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, iOS, and Android. Like Netflix, you might even be able to stream directly on laptop browsers as well, however, that isn’t yet confirmed.
Pricing
As mentioned earlier, Disney+ will have a basic monthly package of $6.99/month. In addition to that, you’ll also get an option to pay yearly for just $69.99/year, which equates to $5.83/month. Compared to that Netflix’s current rates are $8.99/month, $12.99/month and $15.99/month for Basic, Standard, and Premium packages respectively.
Now I’m no mathematician but it does seem like Disney+ clearly blows Netflix out of the water in terms of pricing. Sure, you get more quantity of content with Netflix. However, in terms of quality, Disney+ will surely take it. Netflix does have a cheaper mobile-only subscription coming out that may cost you less. However, its region and platform constraints are enough to remove it from the equation.