New Streaming Prices and Disney+ to Introduce Continuous Playlists in U.S.

[Vegas Disney Fan]

There will be some that do that for movies. But not all the content will be offered as an "a la carte" option on digital. There will always be exclusives that exist only the services behind the paywall.

I agree with this and also feel it’s D+’s biggest failure so far, they haven’t established enough binge worthy franchises yet. They almost had one with Mandalorian but season 3 fell off, they almost had one with Loki but season 3 fell off… I can’t think of any upcoming series on D+ I’m excited for.

On Netflix I went from bingeing White Collar, to the Jurassic Park cartoons, to Stranger Things, to currently Cobra Kai, I frequently open up D+ and can’t find anything worth watching, that doesn’t happen with Netflix. Even Hulu has only murders in the building that I’m impatiently waiting for.

D+ needs “must see” series to make it worth keeping the service.

As a Gen X who doesn’t get it, can you explain what you mean by this type of content? I mean, I watch stuff on YouTube all the time, but y’know a few minutes here or there. I don’t “sit down and watch” anything on there like I would a TV show or movie. Am I missing something? It feels like YouTube is a completely different thing than Netflix or Disney+ etc.

The beauty of YouTube is it has everything, I subscribe to several car channels (vice grip, Cleetus, etc), subscribe to a farming channel (Larson farms), subscribe to several Disney channels, several cruising channels, several travel channels, several history channels, etc. Most of them only put out an hour or 2 of context a week but between the couple dozen channels I follow it ends up being a couple hours worth every day, which is the majority of my “TV” watching.

Every TV in our house has either a firetv box or an AppleTV box so we don’t consider YouTube to be a phone/ipad app, it’s purely big screen TV for us.

 

[Disney Irish]

I agree with this and also feel it’s D+’s biggest failure so far, they haven’t established enough binge worthy franchises yet. They almost had one with Mandalorian but season 3 fell off, they almost had one with Loki but season 3 fell off… I can’t think of any upcoming series on D+ I’m excited for.

On Netflix I went from bingeing White Collar, to the Jurassic Park cartoons, to Stranger Things, to currently Cobra Kai, I frequently open up D+ and can’t find anything worth watching, that doesn’t happen with Netflix. Even Hulu has only murders in the building that I’m impatiently waiting for.

D+ needs “must see” series to make it worth keeping the service.

People need to stop seeing D+ and Hulu as separate services. They are now effectively one in the same, Hulu at this point is just an extension of D+ for all intents and purposes. And that line will blur even more as time goes on.

So the "must see" exclusive series like The Bear and Murders in the Building on Hulu that you mention, are essentially D+ exclusives also. So every time Hulu has a series like that its a win for D+ too.

What I think D+ will win is those live channels that are releasing next month. Those will be the constant viewership injection that D+ needs.

The beauty of YouTube is it has everything, I subscribe to several car channels (vice grip, Cleetus, etc), subscribe to a farming channel (Larson farms), subscribe to several Disney channels, several cruising channels, several travel channels, several history channels, etc. Most of them only put out an hour or 2 of context a week but between the couple dozen channels I follow it ends up being a couple hours worth every day, which is the majority of my “TV” watching.

Every TV in our house has either a firetv box or an AppleTV box so we don’t consider YouTube to be a phone/ipad app, it’s purely big screen TV for us.

Youtube is a good "general content" service. But what it lacks is the original programming that other services like Netflix and D+/Hulu have. They tried with their Youtube Originals, but that fell flat on its face and they stopped doing it. Google has failed to properly monetize their creators long term to be a viable threat to streamers. And I don't see that changing anytime soon, its why many creators have started to look for other platforms.

 

[Tha Realest]

People need to stop seeing D+ and Hulu as separate services. They are now effectively one in the same, Hulu at this point is just an extension of D+ for all intents and purposes. And that line will blur even more as time goes on.

So the "must see" exclusive series like The Bear and Murders in the Building on Hulu that you mention, are essentially D+ exclusives also. So every time Hulu has a series like that its a win for D+ too.

those series are about to start their fourth seasons, respectively, which is when they start getting very expensive to produce (also, incidentally, Mandalorian has had three seasons…)

 

[Disney Irish]

those series are about to start their fourth seasons, respectively, which is when they start getting very expensive to produce (also, incidentally, Mandalorian has had three seasons…)

Not sure the point of this, as expense of the shows was not part of the conversation. However a fourth season is not specifically the threshold for when a show gets expensive, on average it can happen anytime after a second season.

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

I don’t mean this in a nasty way, but if you are that price sensitive and value their content so little, they actually don’t want you. They foolishly hoped to boil you, but you are one of those who were truly price sensitive and not one who came in on the promo and will stay long after.

One of the litany of businesses they are replacing is their home video sales and you are willing to pay them the equivalent of barely an inflation adjusted VHS per year for literally everything.

They don’t want consumers with those type of expectations, because it’s literally unsustainable. For proof - I point to India. Empty subscriber numbers paying pennies per hour of content. There’s a reason they divested. There’s a reason the free trials are drying up.

Oh, I get what you're saying and agree that's their thinking. But again, I don't understand any math that says $0/month is preferable to $5 or $7.

 

[Disney Irish]

Oh, I get what you're saying and agree that's their thinking. But again, I don't understand any math that says $0/month is preferable to $5 or $7.

Because you're only looking at from what you personally are willing to pay, not from what it takes to run a business. Its business 101, any business has to find an equilibrium between what the consumer is willing to pay and what it takes for a business to become profitable. And it has to raise prices until that equilibrium happens. Unfortunately that means losing some consumers that will only willing to pay the cheap prices, its the nature of business. Disney would love to keep all consumers, but unfortunately that is not possible if you want a business to be profitable.

 

[BrianLo]

Oh, I get what you're saying and agree that's their thinking. But again, I don't understand any math that says $0/month is preferable to $5 or $7.

Because they lose you at 5$ but keep someone else at 20$. Versus keeping you both at 5$.

It’s why chasing subscriber numbers was never the full picture. It’s about revenue, the optimal point where they don’t lose the actual core subscribers but can get them to pay for it.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Because they lose you at 5$ but keep someone else at 20$. Versus keeping you both at 5$.

It’s why chasing subscriber numbers was never the full picture. It’s about revenue, the optimal point where they don’t lose the actual core subscribers but can get them to pay for it.

That’s the theory, its the same plan their using with the theme parks, the key is finding the sweet spot... 50,000 people a day spending $200 each is $10 million a day, bump prices to make that spend $250 and you only need 40k people to break even… if you can keep 45k with the new prices you’re making an extra $1.25 million a day, the risk is if you push to far and only 35k show up you’re now losing $1.25 million a day.

 

[BrianLo]

I agree with this and also feel it’s D+’s biggest failure so far, they haven’t established enough binge worthy franchises yet. They almost had one with Mandalorian but season 3 fell off, they almost had one with Loki but season 3 fell off… I can’t think of any upcoming series on D+ I’m excited for.

On Netflix I went from bingeing White Collar, to the Jurassic Park cartoons, to Stranger Things, to currently Cobra Kai, I frequently open up D+ and can’t find anything worth watching, that doesn’t happen with Netflix. Even Hulu has only murders in the building that I’m impatiently waiting for.

I agree that “D+” is not a substitute for Netflix. But the actual whole service is, the endpoint service that we’ve been experiencing in Not America.

I’d say International D+ is somewhat superior to Netflix these days. Perhaps less ‘binge able’, but that’s a release strategy choice. To the slightly more objective measure of why, I think looking at emmys is somewhat objective. But FX is really doing heavy lifting.

I also will not disagree that Disney sans Hulu has a miniseries problem. They need to continue their shows earlier. We should have been watching an Ahsoka season 2 or Mando season 4 and not another stab at a series starter. Same goes for Marvel.

I for a period of time felt the Fox purchase might have been extraneous. But Disney really didn’t have the ability to have true adult general entertainment without FX/Hulu.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Citing playlists as a justification for price increases is certainly a choice.

I'm okay with the value Disney+ provides at the moment, but that is not a selling point.

They need some original E-ticket programming.

 

[Miss Rori]

Citing playlists as a justification for price increases is certainly a choice.

Yeah, especially as there are only 4 and it's just going to be the same old stuff as could be pulled up on demand. (And I'd imagine they'd get old fast, especially the Seasonal Content one.)

Beyond the lack of original hits at Disney+ -- and even the successes they have had are pretty much limited to the fanbases for the MCU, Star Wars, etc. -- they have never fully capitalized on their library content. Going further back than the 1990s there's still a lot of TV and movies missing (especially '80s titles like Condorman and Something Wicked This Way Comes), hundreds of theatrical animated shorts remain in limbo, and the purge of original non-franchise shows in May 2023 just made the lineup smaller. To say nothing of how they haven't added any more vintage Muppets material since 2021. And while they have some interesting imports (Doctor Who, K-dramas, etc.) aside from Bluey they're barely advertised to the markets that would be most receptive to them.

Also, what was the last fresh-from-theaters film they put up on the service, Wish?

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

Because they lose you at 5$ but keep someone else at 20$. Versus keeping you both at 5$.

It’s why chasing subscriber numbers was never the full picture. It’s about revenue, the optimal point where they don’t lose the actual core subscribers but can get them to pay for it.

And if they could get 5 or 10 extra people at $5 or $7 each, it still beats that one person at $20. Not just mathematically, but for engagement with the content.

I don't know how many of those high-end subscribers they will wind up keeping in the long run vs. a larger group they could keep at a lower price point for an extended time. As noted above, they're pulling the same thing at the park, pricing people out. Perhaps good for the short term profits but not for the future of the parks or the company if people go elsewhere and the pool for Disney fandom shrinks with the subsequent generations who stop growing up on Disney content and experiences.

This latest earnings call acknowledged that with parks they're losing the lower end consumers to being priced out... AND the higher end consumers seeking better experiences. Who is going to be left if both the pennies AND the dollars float away?

 

[BrianLo]

And if they could get 5 or 10 extra people at $5 or $7 each, it still beats that one person at $20. Not just mathematically, but for engagement with the content.

I don't know how many of those high-end subscribers they will wind up keeping in the long run vs. a larger group they could keep at a lower price point for an extended time. As noted above, they're pulling the same thing at the park, pricing people out. Perhaps good for the short term profits but not for the future of the parks or the company if people go elsewhere and the pool for Disney fandom shrinks with the subsequent generations who stop growing up on Disney content and experiences.

This latest earnings call acknowledged that with parks they're losing the lower end consumers to being priced out... AND the higher end consumers seeking better experiences. Who is going to be left if both the pennies AND the dollars float away?

I think my point is someone who drops off after 5$ a month isn’t a low end consumer. They are barely a consumer.

This is replacing 80$ turn of the Millenium cable bills. Subscriber counts continue to be steady in spite of the series of price increases.

Again I blame Netflix for essentially the massive price erosion of traditional media that we are in a decade worth of price matching to undo it all.

What you suggest was tried, in India (millions of subscribers at basement prices)… and again failed miserably. There is an optimal price to subscriber curve and 5$ sure ain’t it.

 

[Hawkeye_2018]

I have the ad version and appear to no longer be streaming in 4K HDR. Is this new?

 

[MarvelCharacterNerd]

I think my point is someone who drops off after 5$ a month isn’t a low end consumer. They are barely a consumer.

This is replacing 80$ turn of the Millenium cable bills. Subscriber counts continue to be steady in spite of the series of price increases.

Again I blame Netflix for essentially the massive price erosion of traditional media that we are in a decade worth of price matching to undo it all.

What you suggest was tried, in India (millions of subscribers at basement prices)… and again failed miserably. There is an optimal price to subscriber curve and 5$ sure ain’t it.

Except wasn't India something like .50 per sub not $5 (and my understanding is their priority was cricket rights not Disney content, so when Disney lost those rights, they also lost the interest of the subs there)? Agreed Netflix changed the game AND they subsequently set the price bar high, but I don't think it's sustainable for anyone else.

I would've likely stayed being a boiled frog with Disney+ if they'd raised me from $80 to $90 for the year. But not from $80 to $140. That's not boiling the frog; that's shoving it right out of the pot. lol

And again, that kind of behavior, whether on streaming or at the parks is not IMO good longterm strategy. If people get used to NOT being Disney consumers, then so will their kids, and there will be no future customers for the company.

But I guess we'll see in the coming years whether their current thinking helps or hurts.

 

[Hawkeye_2018]

Can anyone who has the ad version (USA) confirm if they are still getting 4K HDR?

 

[DKampy]

On Netflix I went from bingeing White Collar, to the Jurassic Park cartoons, to Stranger Things, to currently Cobra Kai, I frequently open up D+ and can’t find anything worth watching, that doesn’t happen with Netflix. Even Hulu has only murders in the building that I’m impatiently waiting for.

My wife and I find ourselves watching Netflix the least of all our streaming services… we have actually talked about canceling Netflix, but there are still a couple of series we like( Stranger Things, Cobra Kai) but we can usually binge a new season in a weekend… In cobra Kai’s case the first part of the final season was only 5 episodes so it could be binged in only 2 and 1/2 hour… so approximately the length of a movie

We may sign up for the new bundle with Disney+, Hulu, and Max as we still watch all 3 of those a decent amount

Our favorite Streaming service might be Apple +… it has most of my favorite shows of the last few years… Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Severance, Servant, For All Mankind, Platonic etc… and we just started watching a new show…. Bad Monkey….which shows promise

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Our favorite Streaming service might be Apple +… it has most of my favorite shows of the last few years… Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Severance, Servant, For All Mankind, Platonic etc… and we just started watching a new show…. Bad Monkey….which shows promise

Good to know, this highlights one of the biggest problems with streaming, there’s too many services, we have Netflix, D+, and Amazon prime, we’ve debated HBO and Paramount but haven’t found them worth the price… I haven’t paid any attention to the Apple offerings.

With a dozen services to choose from (and basic cable still being kind of necessary) we’re kind of stuck picking and choosing because we aren’t willing to pay several hundred dollars a month for all of it.

 

[BrianLo]

My wife and I find ourselves watching Netflix the least of all our streaming services… we have actually talked about canceling Netflix, but there are still a couple of series we like( Stranger Things, Cobra Kai) but we can usually binge a new season in a weekend… In cobra Kai’s case the first part of the final season was only 5 episodes so it could be binged in only 2 and 1/2 hour… so approximately the length of a movie

We may sign up for the new bundle with Disney+, Hulu, and Max as we still watch all 3 of those a decent amount

Our favorite Streaming service might be Apple +… it has most of my favorite shows of the last few years… Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Severance, Servant, For All Mankind, Platonic etc… and we just started watching a new show…. Bad Monkey….which shows promise

I feel like we’re watching the dregs of Netflix. Most of their big series I’ve followed are basically in process of ending.

I guess they do have Wednesday and three body problem. But I’ve fallen off their reality tv offerings in a big way. I don’t see myself stopping subscribing per se as I’m not much of a churner, but I find myself opening Netflix less and less and less.

In addition to being also a fan of Apple TV, I’ve got a lot of mileage out of crunchyroll.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Netflix has thrived, in my opinion, because even at current prices it's not hard to get one's money's worth. Watching a movie a week alone is cheaper than renting things.

It's also not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things.

Of course, now that competition is growing and people are looking at their total streaming cost per month, that's where Netflix could be in danger of losing customers. Especially with their quantity over quality approach.

Apple TV is great for anyone who likes sci-fi. They're leading the charge in the department. While they don't have a lot of content their track record of quality has been great.