Disney+ Streaming Service To Launch In November, Priced At $6.99 Monthly (variety.com)

Disney has announced that its highly anticipated new streaming service, Disney+, will launch in the U.S. on November 12 with a price of $6.99 per month. Variety has more details: The subscription VOD service represents Disney's next major foray into the video-streaming wars. By pricing it well below Netflix, the Mouse House is betting it can rapidly drive up Disney+ customer base with a melange of content that appeals to multiple demographics, including movies and TV shows from its Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and Disney brands.

At launch, Disney+ will include 7,500 episodes, including from 25 original series; 400 library movie titles; and 100 recent theatrical films releases, according to Agnes Chu, senior VP of content, Disney+. That includes exclusive rights to all 30 seasons of "The Simpsons," which Disney obtained through the acquisition of 21st Century Fox. In year five of Disney+, the company expects to have an annual production slate of some 50 originals, Chu said. Disney+ will be an ad-free service, supported solely by subscription fees. It's going to have a wide platform footprint, spanning game consoles, smart TVs and connected streaming devices, including Roku and PlayStation 4, said Michael Paull, president of Disney Streaming Services (formerly BAMTech). "After Disney+'s initial North American launch in the fourth quarter of 2019, the service will roll out to Europe, Latin America and Asia as Disney's international rights return to the company from licensees," the report adds. Kevin Mayer, chairman of Disney's Direct-to-Customer and International business segment, also said that the company will "likely" offer a discounted bundle combining Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu.

All of Disney+'s content will be available to download for offline viewing and will be available in 4K. Some of the content subscribers will have access to includes all of the Star Wars films, 250 hours of NatGeo content, and hundreds of episodes from Disney Channel shows as well as a brand-new "Phineas and Ferb" movie.

Comments

Star Wars?

[alaskana98]

"Some of the content subscribers will have access to includes all of the Star Wars films" - well this will definitely entice some folks.

DoA

[slashmydots]

Sorry, I have enough subscription services right now and the whole point of cancelling cable was to stop paying tons of money per month so I'll pass, as will everyone else who's not rich or unbelievably irresponsible with their money. Dead on arrival.

Re:I think it may be for real

[Anonymous Coward]

By the time we have to subscribe to Disney, BBC, Netflix, HBO, Prime, and the sports package of your choice to get most of what we want to see... well, cutting the cord doesn't save much dinero over a Comcast monopoly area.

But it's much easier to start and stop the various streaming services, unlike, say, getting locked into a 2 year contract with Comcast.

If cost per month is a concern, and it is, remember that there's no need to subscribe to all of the services all year round.

Re:$6.99 now and

[Anonymous Coward]

Disney's about going to discover that bingeing is a thing. Expect the price to sky-rocket, and/or expect them to require you to pay for 6 months in advance, or agree to a 24 month contract.

I'm planning to binge-watch the entire Disney catalog in one month for $7 once every 10-15 years.

Re:Will probably subscribe

[rtb61]

Nope, not even close. Disney, although is doesn't know it yet, has introduced the great streaming churn. People will swap streaming services upon a regular basis, as none of them will end up with sufficient content, ignoring all the filler crap no one watches, people will not pay for multiple services, they will simply swap on a quarterly or half yearly basis, depending upon how many they want to go with.

Churning streaming services will become the norm and they will all go hungry trying to eat each others lunch. They will end up trying all sorts of manipulative corporate shit to lock people in to block churning.

$6.99 FOR NOW

[Rick Schumann]

First taste is cheap, people. Just like everyone else, they'll let you get all settled in, then start jacking up the price. 'Cord cutters', indeed.

Re:$6.99 FOR NOW

[garcia]

I've been on Slashdot since 1996 or 1997 and I have gone through my phase of using any number of p2p software pieces for obtaining whatever media I preferred to watch; however, these ended when I became an adult who could easily afford any of these services.

What do I do now that Disney isn't on my preferred streaming services? I either choose to pay for it or I don't and my kids don't watch it. But, even though I did it in the past, I *never* once consider torrents as an option for consuming this and, if I think this way, the vast majority of people in the world do as well.

So, to answer your question, no, they don't consider it as as a factor.

Re:Will probably subscribe

[AmiMoJo]

Disney knows it can rely on kids to keep parents subscribed for at least 10 years.

Re:Will probably subscribe

[Hodr]

People will swap streaming services upon a regular basis, as none of them will end up with sufficient content, ignoring all the filler crap no one watches, people will not pay for multiple services, they will simply swap on a quarterly or half yearly basis, depending upon how many they want to go with.

You clearly underestimate both my laziness and my capacity to forget what I pay for things collectively.