Disney+ Streaming Service Reviewed By A Dad, Not The Biggest Disney Fan.
2Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand (SVOD) streaming service owned by the Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International division of The Walt Disney Company. The service debuted on November 12, 2019 in the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands.
Disney+ is focused on the film and television content from Walt Disney Studios and Walt Disney Television. Original films and television series based on new and existing properties are also available, including content from Disney, 20th Century Fox, Lucasfilm/Star Wars, Marvel, National Geographic, and Pixar. The service competes with other general-interest subscription services, and complements ESPN+ and Hulu as part of Disney's over-the-top strategy.
History
In August 2016, Disney acquired a minority stake in BAMTech (a spin-out of MLB Advanced Media's streaming technology business) for $1 billion, with an option to acquire a majority stake in the future. Following the purchase, ESPN announced plans for an "exploratory [over-the-top] project" based on its technology (ESPN+) to supplant its existing linear television services.[2][3] On August 8, 2017, Disney invoked its option to acquire a controlling stake in BAMTech for $1.58 billion, increasing its stake to 75%. Alongside the acquisition, the company also announced plans for a second, Disney-branded direct-to-consumer service drawing from its entertainment content, which would launch after the company ends its existing distribution agreement with Netflix in 2019.[4][5] Soon there after, Agnes Chu, story and franchise development executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, was the first appointed executive, senior vice president of content, for the unit.[6]
In December 2017, Disney announced its intent to acquire key entertainment assets from 21st Century Fox. Intended to bolster Disney's content portfolio for its streaming products,[7][8] the acquisition closed on March 20, 2019.[9]
In January 2018, it was reported that former Apple and Samsung executive Kevin Swint had been appointed as the senior vice president and general manager reporting to BAMTech CEO Michael Paull, who leads development.[10][11] In March 2018, Disney's top level segment division was reorganized with the formation of Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International, which then included BAMTech, which contains "all consumer-facing tech and products".[12] In June 2018, longtime Disney studio marketing chief, Ricky Strauss, was named president of content and marketing, however reporting to chairman of Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International Kevin Mayer.[13][14] In January 2019, Fox Television Group COO Joe Earley was named executive vice president of marketing and operations.[15] In June 2019, Matt Brodlie was named as senior vice president of international content development.[16] In August 2019, Luke Bradley-Jones was hired as senior vice president of direct to consumer and general manager of Disney+ for Europe and Africa.[17]
On November 8, 2018, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that the service would be named Disney+ and that the company was targeting a launch in late 2019.[18] A September launch was reportedly planned,[19] but on April 11, 2019, Disney announced that Disney+ would launch on November 12, 2019, in the US. Disney stated that it planned to roll the service out worldwide over the next two years, targeting Western Europe and Asia-Pacific countries by late 2019 and early 2020, and Eastern Europe and Latin America during 2020. The timing of international launches is subject to the acquisition or expiration of existing streaming rights deals for Disney content.[20] On August 6, 2019, Iger announced that it will offer a streaming bundle of Disney+, ESPN+, and the ad-supported version of Hulu for $12.99 per month available at launch.[21] At the D23 Expo in August 2019, Disney opened up subscriptions to Disney+ at a discount rate for three years.[22]
On September 12, 2019, a trial version of Disney+ became available in the Netherlands with limited content available. This testing phase will last until the official launch on November 12, when trial users will be switched to a paid plan.[23][24] Disney+ became available for pre-order in September in the United States with a 7-day free trial upon launch.[25]
In October 2019, Disney released a three-and-a-half-hour trailer on YouTube to showcase their launch lineup.[26] It was also reported that Disney would ban advertisements for competitor Netflix from most of its TV platforms, except ESPN.[27][28]
Content
Further information: List of original programs distributed by Disney+ and List of original films distributed by Disney+
The service will be built around content from Disney's main entertainment studios, including Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios, National Geographic, and select films from 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, and Touchstone Pictures.