Disney is not toying around when it comes to competing in the streaming market, as Disney+ will launch with over 300 movies, as well as over 7,000 television episodes. In late 2018, Disney confirmed reports that it was starting a streaming subscription service, tagging it with the title of Disney+ and pricing it out at $6.99 per month. Since this announcement, Disney has slowly revealed more information about the service, which is set to launch on November 12.
Most assumed that Disney+ would include a lot of the company’s existing content, mainly its renowned collection of animated movies. While this is true, the Mouse House also has plans to release a slew of new content on the service, including shows based on both the Marvel and Star Wars franchises, along with previously released Pixar films and content from National Geographic. Disney plans on investing big in their Marvel and Lucasfilm properties as well, as each show is said to have a budget of $100 million. With some of the company’s most anticipated series expected to premiere on the service, including Star Wars’ The Mandalorian, Disney is already betting big on their original content.
In addition to that, though, Disney+ will also have a vast back catalog of movies and TV shows, especially after its recent acquisition of Fox. Disney announced in its Q3 FY19 earnings results call that it had plans to launch Disney+ with over 300 movies, with additional plans to add over 400 films by the end of 2020. On the TV side, the service will have over 7,500 episodes of Disney-owned content.
As was said on the earnings call, a lot of the company’s new content will mainly be coming in from Fox. Disney recently announced that it’s planning reboots of four major movie franchises from Fox for example that will debut on the service: Home Alone, Cheaper by the Dozen, Night at the Museum, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The Mouse House also revealed a plan to bundle Disney+ with Hulu and ESPN+ for subscribers who would like a deal on all three services, pricing the bundle at a competitive $12.99 per month. This price is the same as the most popular Netflix plan and less than the estimated $16 to $20 per month that HBO Max will charge subscribers. Not only does this give all three services a competitive edge, but it also offers value to consumers who already have subscriptions to Hulu and ESPN+.
Unfortunately, many consumers are starting to experience streaming fatigue. With more companies jumping on the streaming bandwagon, many consumers feel that there are too many services to choose from. Likely, only those with competitive pricing and a wide variety of content will have what it takes to get subscribers. Thankfully for the Mouse House, their streaming service is already shaping up to do just that. Disney+ will probably end up being the only streaming subscription service that can go toe-to-toe with Netflix, the current king of streaming. Their competitive prices and an array of popular content could leave other services in the dust, including WarnerMedia’s HBO Max.
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Source: Disney
