Walt Disney Co. is ending its film distribution agreement with Netflix for new releases in one of the boldest moves a traditional studio has taken against the leading digital platform.
The Burbank company instead will launch a new Disney-branded direct-to-consumer streaming service in 2019. The decision represents a major shift in strategy for Disney, which for years has worked with Netflix to distribute its content — including hit films and original television shows.
No, Disney, I don’t want another streaming service. I get the company has a lot of hits, but damn, the number of streaming services is getting ridiculous.
“I get the company has a lot of hits, but damn, the number of streaming services is getting ridiculous.”
Disney has determined that you have disposable income that is not being spent on their product, therefore there will be a new streaming service. Be glad that at this time, enrolling in the service is voluntary.
Yeah. It sounds like a great idea internally I’m sure, but I buy the digital copy of disney movies I want, and don’t watch on netflix and won’t subscribe. I checked with several Star Wars and Princess movies friends and they already buy and won’t subscribe too. 5/5 in my anecdotal checking.
Not for nothing, but this is what proponents of the traditional bundle system of cable and satellite companies warned about. That once you unbundle everything, and you then have to pay individually for it, it will eventually be much more expensive to get all the content you want. What do most people already pay for? Netflix, Hulu, HBONow, Amazon Prime. Now you can add Disney content (Marvel, Star Wars, Disney) to the mix. I wonder what it’ll all cost us in the end.
Maybe. But in another sense maybe they’ve determined that you already are spending a lot of your disposable income to watch their shows, only someone else is getting the lion’s share of that money. If they’re right about that, then shouldn’t they consider alternative solutions? The problem is if they do pull their shows from Netflix (for instance), Netflix’s prices won’t go down.
Maybe you and I aren’t the viewers they have in mind, though.
This, right here, is why Dave Mark’s link to the”Apple TV Stuck In a Test Pattern” article missed the point entirely. It ignored the fact that these are all companies with stockholders and business plans and self-determination. Apple walking in to dozens / hundreds of TV-type networks and deciding that they’re going to decide how things will go was and is really unlikely.
Maybe if they rolled access to ABC content (without commercials, including complete news shows), I might be willing to bite. As it stands, this is not a compelling offer. Maybe I watch a Disney film once every 6 months. I’d rather rent it from iTunes than subscribe. Sorry Disney, not good enough.
Yeah, it could include ESPN (and associated networks), ABC, Marvel, LucasFilms, and Disney proper. Could be a compelling service depending on which of their properties they chose to include.
Probably one day 10 years from now, when everything’s been completely unbundled and we’re paying 4x as much for TV-based entertainment as we do now, some genius entrepreneur will come along and make a deal to package together a bunch of these services in a single subscription, at a discount. And they’ll call it something different than “cable” or “satellite,” and the people will be pleased.
You haven’t heard the offer, but you already know it’s not good enough? Maybe you ought to read some of those Macalope articles. All those pieces lampooning people talking about “iPhone 8 fails” prior to its even being announced… those criticisms apply to your reaction too. Also, if you rent or buy their movie, that’s probably quite fine for them. There’s no mention of them pulling out of rentals.
And thus the cord cutting experience collapses under its own weight.
This is exactly why I’ve argued that people who say they want to unbundle everything probably don’t really want that to happen. I’d rather see bundles that can be tailored to include the channels I like at a lower cost. I cut the cord because I was tired of paying $100+ per month just to get the channels I actually wanted to watch. I’d consider paying up to half of that though. Otherwise it’s cheaper for me to pay for the individual shows that I want to watch and can’t get over the air.
The pendulum will swing back the other way. I just hope is settles in the middle soon.
This is like newspaper subscriptions. I’d love to subscribe to the NYT, the WSJ, WP, etc. plus my own local papers but it would be price prohibitive. They really need to create a single subscription service that all content creators can join and be paid by article or program viewed.
Bit of a straw man although a good point. If someone wants most of what’s in a bundle then bundling is a good deal for them. But for people who don’t care about significant chunks of the bundled offering an Ala carte option lets them choose what they want. Also, this approach lets people tailor things over time – I want to watch American Gods on Starz so I can sub for a month, watch it, unsubscribe. I want to watch ESPN and the NFL network during the season so I sub to Sling, Hulu Live etc, then stop when the season is over.
But yes, if you’re going to buy most of the formerly bundled services by the piece and keep them year round, buy the bundle. Me, I like the choice – I can buy the bundle at Comcast or I can choose services I like individually.
Admittedly, I have not heard details about the final offer. Maybe they’ll surprise us. The article points out an ESPN service and a Disney movie/TV service. This could include ABC/ABC News, but I’m not holding my breath. If its Disney movies and TV, then renting a $6.99 movie is better than paying ~$15/mo for service since I don’t see that many Disney-owned producitons.
There is potential for the service to add ABC shows that are on Netflix now, like Last Man Standing & Grey’s Anatomy, but it would have to be better than that to compel me–like all the ABC News shows, current programming offered same day as live programming, etc.
Les Moonves and CBS Corp. seem to have grasped this concept. Hopefully, Bob Iger and Disney will too.
Ha! You’re likely not wrong.
I happen to be with you, and have knocked my DirecTV down to the bare minimum, keeping it for apps that require it and for SundayTicket. However, one thing we can all be sure of, they’re gonna get paid. If playing the subscribe and cancel game becomes the norm, you can bet there will be minimum subscription requirements or the like. They simply will not let us have our cake and eat it too.
But I think they’l lose in the end, FWIW. More and more, surprisingly so, I find myself watching YouTubers creating compelling content than I do the stuff produced commercially.
Agreed. Pity the parents of very young children who now have yet another monthly subscription fee to look forward to.