In streaming services, content is king. If you look at the box office, Disney is killing it, and it's not even close.<p>According to <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/?debug=0&view=parent&p=.htm" rel="nofollow">https://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/?debug=0&view=parent&p=...</a> Disney was responsible for 38% of all movie gross revenue so far this year!<p>The other thing is that anecdotally, the biggest viewers of streaming video services are children. Disney is especially strong in content aimed at children.<p>Disney is going to be very hard to compete against.
Are they going to offer their service outside of the US?<p>One thing I appreciate about Netflix, is they try to offer their services in as many countries as possible. (Unfortunately the availability of content across countries is quite uneven, but Netflix has expressed an intention to improve that over time, and certainly with their original content the situation is much better than with their acquired content.)
Is there more information about what the Disney+ catalog will include? It says that 2019 and future releases will be exclusive to Disney+ (though of course you can still buy individual movies, just not stream them), but I wonder about the rest of their catalog. Will all Star Wars movies be available? All other Disney-owned movies?<p>I can't tell whether I'm surprised the price is so low (three things for the price of Netflix!) or just cynically expecting that the price will go up as the value of the Disney/Hulu catalog increases. After all, Netflix has tons more content (much of it junk, admittedly) compared to the Disney catalog. So it would be pretty surprising if Disney thought they could charge very much for just the Disney+ piece. Hulu with ads is hard to value (and they could bloat it out with even more ads...). And are there local restrictions on ESPN+? Seems like there are lots of opportunities for add-on charges, such that a family could end up paying $20 or more each month for ad-free Hulu, ESPN including local, the entire Disney catalog, and multiple simultaneous screens.<p>Basically, it seems like this price announcement could be primarily meant to scare NFLX investors by making it seem like the be-all, end-all price for the Disney bundle will be 13 bucks. Or perhaps I'm too cynical?
Sports are a big part of why some people hesitate to cut the cable cord. ESPN+ comes up quite short on some big time sports events and is kind of the 3rd string bench warmer of the sports streaming services because of this. It is almost pointless by itself and is really only suitable as a way to fill gaps in ones primary sports coverage.
(disclaimer without details, I have a horse in this race)<p>This is a really good deal, frankly. Tons of content on demand on virtually every platform, good quality streaming, and with decent UI/UX.<p>I know a lot of folks are put off by the consolidation in the media industry, and the whole question mark over how streaming services don't violate the Paramount consent decree, but still. I don't feel like I'm getting had by streaming services when I subscribe, unlike cable.<p>Hopefully it doesn't turn into cable TV, but for the moment, it's a great time to cut the cord.
I didn't realize that Disney+ would have so much content and honestly that somewhat puts me off. Coupled with Hulu, my kids would never get away from the TV. Yea yea I know, "restrictions". But still, everything on there seems to be for entertainment only, not much educational.
Don't know about you guys, but I'm back to sailing the high seas. Netflix was terrific when it had a deep backlog of old good content. Now it's mostly junk originals with the sheen of cheap that's hard to qualify. And I won't subscribe to Disney+ on principle haha - I can't see myself supporting and encouraging more power to the huge blob corporation.
Most Disney movies are terrible IMO, minus some of the classics and occasionally good animation. I don't really care for sports. These services are still way cheaper than cable but no where as customizable as I'd like. I think they rely on bored people willing to watch whatever is suggested or available. I'd gladly pay $15 a month for a service that really focuses on quality educational content.
Will people accept paying for yet another streaming service? The selling point of Spotify is that for a low price you get everything in one place. Netflix was like that (from what I heard), but now you have HBO, Disney, CMore etc. Do you want to subscribe to (and use) multiple services (provided you can afford it)? Or will there be a backlash soon?
ESPN Player (their not-for-US streaming service) is €11.99 in Europe so I guess if that ever makes it to Europe it will be really expensive + with ads.<p><a href="https://i.imgur.com/3LcRC72.png" rel="nofollow">https://i.imgur.com/3LcRC72.png</a>