NEWS: Disney+ hits 10 million subscribers after first 24 hours

Should they least wait until the free trial is over before pulling the party poppers?
 
Should they least wait until the free trial is over before pulling the party poppers?
I see that they cleverly said that no more figures will be released until Feb 2020, which gives enough time for later sign-ups to fill the holes left by the "7 Days free then bye bye" binge crowd :)
The Mouse is playing it well, publicity-wise
 
I see that they cleverly said that no more figures will be released until Feb 2020, which gives enough time for later sign-ups to fill the holes left by the "7 Days free then bye bye" binge crowd :)
The Mouse is playing it well, publicity-wise
I am being facetious really, it's not going to flop, and I don't think somehow Apple TV+ has 10m subs. But shouting and dancing at this stage is preposterous.
 
This pretty much sums up my thoughts on it...

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This pretty much sums up my thoughts on it...

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I think it’s slightly more complex than that. The biggest difference is that the US had multi-channel TV for decades before the likes of Sky launched in the UK, and were used to paying tens of dollars per month for these cable-type services. And premium add-ons, famously HBO took the concept further. This is in comparison to the UK where we we paid our TV license fee for 5 terrestrial channels.

The concept of IP and streaming delivery is completely changing the market, where subscription based services are replacing ad-based free services. Also the fact that these ad-free services are on-demand as opposed to scheduled broadcasts. So the transition from traditional services that you pay for as a fixed package cost, which still carries content you want/need, to the next-gen on-demand services that are subscription-paid is going to cost more, but at least these on-demand services allow you to binge-in, and opt-out as and when your appetite for shows emerges.

So for me, the difference between a US household paying $50-60 for cable, cord-cutting and instead opting for 7 or 8 on-demand services at the similar level, is quite different to the UK where we’ve paid £12 a month TV License, and are choosing to add 2-3 other services on top, because I think we probably have been used to paying a lot less for less than the US where the main streaming initiatives stem from.
 
Too much competition is definately very bad for the consumer. Forget terrestial TV, especially the BBC, and I have Netflix and Prime. Thats enough for me. The rest simply don't appeal. Even Disney + is a dubious outlay for me as I've seen the Marvel films once and dont really want to see them again. Same for most of the Disney films and Pixar. I have most of them on BluRay that I want so job done. Every series of the SImpsons ? So what.....
I know its individual but having Cancelled all Sky channels a couple of years ago and pondering the TV licence the last thing I want is to subscribe to multiple streaming services for all the different possible choices out there. I fear all the streamers are going to face a cliff edge soon. Consumers will decide they are paying too much for, in some cases, very specific preferences. The streamers will become even more insular and fragmented in the naive belief that people will pay anything. I don't believe thats the case and many will decide to do without. Netflix had it spot on until these newcomers starting pulling their shows. Disney should do a deal with Netflix for their content as should HBO and Paramont and Fox. But greed will out and they all want their snouts in the mythical bottomless trough they all believe exists
 
Too much competition is definately very bad for the consumer. Forget terrestial TV, especially the BBC, and I have Netflix and Prime. Thats enough for me. The rest simply don't appeal. Even Disney + is a dubious outlay for me as I've seen the Marvel films once and dont really want to see them again. Same for most of the Disney films and Pixar. I have most of them on BluRay that I want so job done. Every series of the SImpsons ? So what.....
I know its individual but having Cancelled all Sky channels a couple of years ago and pondering the TV licence the last thing I want is to subscribe to multiple streaming services for all the different possible choices out there. I fear all the streamers are going to face a cliff edge soon. Consumers will decide they are paying too much for, in some cases, very specific preferences. The streamers will become even more insular and fragmented in the naive belief that people will pay anything. I don't believe thats the case and many will decide to do without. Netflix had it spot on until these newcomers starting pulling their shows. Disney should do a deal with Netflix for their content as should HBO and Paramont and Fox. But greed will out and they all want their snouts in the mythical bottomless trough they all believe exists

Some of your points are valid on streaming in general, but Disney is unique in that they have a large stable of content, both original and acquired, that crosses a very significant audience and dynamic. Why should they have to sell their content to someone else to profit from when they can do it themselves? Netflix was pioneering in both the technology and recognising the market for second-viewing boxset binging, but ultimately they were just an aggregator, which means their whole business model relied on someone else’s business and success. This is why they had to turn into a studio to remain viable. It will be very interesting to see how Disney claiming back their content will affect subscriptions on terrestrial/satellite/cable and other streaming survivors, because they will now have to find content to replace the Disney offerings to remain viable.

I agree though that the individual networks and studios, going solo is well is bound to end in merges and consolidation, much like the UK channels are doing with Britbox, because they don’t have the pockets and content depth necessarily to compete solo. Also with plummeting media sales, all the content providers are desperate to replace that revenue stream, and selling content to Amazon and Netflix meant that potential earnings were running into someone else’s pockets, which wasn’t viable and their downward spiral, including reduced advertising revenues, meant something else is needed.
 
I agree Disney could probably be classed as the exception due to their wide ranging content as you say. The reason why they should merge with the likes of Netflix is for ease of access from a potentially more cynical public as the choice of films and shows only appear on one service and reduces market. I understand the business model and the drivers behind it but they must see sooner rather than later that its the road to apathy and confusion and even faster disappearing profits.
The likes of HBO, Fox and Paramount are more likely to see the light before others. But personally I cant see any attraction for Apple TV but they do have bottomless pits of money and maybe they would be better off buying Netflix or similar. But even for them that would be an astronomical price.
So for me the annoyance is the many, many choices and each has something even if its only one show I would watch but certainly not worth a subscription for.

I think it may well have the effect of reversing the trend away from physical media. If you only watch the odd Disney/Pixar film like the Toy Story collection then buy them on Bluray/4k and ignore the rest rather than pay a subscription for The Simpsons or Frozen

Perhaps I should just read a book....
 
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I agree Disney could probably be classed as the exception due to their wide ranging content as you say. The reason why they should merge with the likes of Netflix is for ease of access from a potentially more cynical public as the choice of films and shows only appear on one service and reduces market. I understand the business model and the drivers behind it but they must see sooner rather than later that its the road to apathy and confusion and even faster disappearing profits.
The likes of HBO, Fox and Paramount are more likely to see the light before others. But personally I cant see any attraction for Apple TV but they do have bottomless pits of money and maybe they would be better off buying Netflix or similar. But even for them that would be an astronomical price.
So for me the annoyance is the many, many choices and each has something even if its only one show I would watch but certainly not worth a subscription for.

I think it may well have the effect of reversing the trend away from physical media. If you only watch the odd Disney/Pixar film like the Toy Story collection then buy them on Bluray/4k and ignore the rest rather than pay a subscription for The Simpsons or Frozen

Perhaps I should just read a book....

I do see a scenario where Netflix gets acquired as part of the streaming wars. I don’t claim to know how these things work, but on the one hand they are worth nothing other than their original content ip, and brand. Their majority content has an expiry date, and the technology can be replicated, I doubt they own any ip or patents in the technology. Whilst they have millions in subscribers, I believe they are still in startup mode with loads of investment to pay back, they may not even be operationally profitable?

In many cases Amazon and Apple are the most viable dominators in the medium term. They both have the technology/platform expertise fir continued innovation and scale, and the ecosystems and relationships with the content 3rd-parties, already vending their content, as well as creating their own as studios. Both already have concepts of apps/channels for 3rd-party content providers to launch on their platforms.

Side-by-side Disney will be dominant, and Warner’s have enough IP and content to compete, but I can’t see any of the other studios successfully going solo. So yes, I can see Netflix being bought, and I suspect the only company rich enough, with the Technology infrastructure and ecosystem to go against Apple and Amazon is Google. I am discounting Microsoft because I think they have strategically given up on the direct-to-consumer entertainment ecosystem space other than XBOX and gaming.
 
Can't really agree on Amazon, if it wasn't for next day deliveries I would have canceled Prime ages ago. I can't believe their service looks so poor considering how much cash they have.
 
Can't really agree on Amazon, if it wasn't for next day deliveries I would have canceled Prime ages ago. I can't believe their service looks so poor considering how much cash they have.
They definitely have the poorest apps currently, but can’t help thinking a major reworking will come, but they don’t necessarily need the strongest app for navigation, so long as the quality is there in playback, and based on their latest homegrown shows coming in UHD and Atmos, surely the content quality is the major buying decision.
 
I thought a lot of these companies had been brought out or merged with others, I was under the impression for example that Fox was now owned by Disney or part of it was at least as well as ABC, ESPN and others.

AT&T and Time Warner merged so they will "own" HBO, CNN, Warner Brothers Studio and others.

I would expect more mergers and buyouts over the next few years, you might find the like of Netflix, Prime fall by the wayside or become the niche market for shows like The Stranger Things.

We also only have Prime because it's included with the next day delivery service that my wife wants for some reason, why she cannot wait a day or 2 is beyond me otherwise we wouldn't bother with it either.
 
I thought a lot of these companies had been brought out or merged with others, I was under the impression for example that Fox was now owned by Disney or part of it was at least as well as ABC, ESPN and others.

AT&T and Time Warner merged so they will "own" HBO, CNN, Warner Brothers Studio and others.

I would expect more mergers and buyouts over the next few years, you might find the like of Netflix, Prime fall by the wayside or become the niche market for shows like The Stranger Things.

We also only have Prime because it's included with the next day delivery service that my wife wants for some reason, why she cannot wait a day or 2 is beyond me otherwise we wouldn't bother with it either.

Disney strategically have played a blinder, acquiring the ABC/ESPN networks fir TV, then Pixar, then Marvel, then Lucasfilm, and now Fox TV and Film studios. As I said Warner is in a position to compete, and Amazon will only accelerate now Apple is in the game, as they are its major competitor fir sales of digital entertainment content, and Amazon can’t afford to cede customers to the all-in Apple ecosystem. The problem with Prime is that it is a multi-benefit, varied subscription, and unless you use more than 1 or 2 of the overall Prime services, it can be a hit or miss perception of value.
 
If I had to only have one it definitely wouldn't be Disney but then again I don't have kids. I like Marvel and Star Wars but not to the point of it being my only entertainment, the likes of HBO, Netflix, Apple (maybe) still have many days of prosperity ahead.
 
They definitely have the poorest apps currently, but can’t help thinking a major reworking will come, but they don’t necessarily need the strongest app for navigation, so long as the quality is there in playback, and based on their latest homegrown shows coming in UHD and Atmos, surely the content quality is the major buying decision.
With the free shipping on many items, Prime being included has worked out very cost-effective for us - we are not big "TV" watchers, so the content in Prime is enough for us. But, yes, the apps are not so good - I tend to search out items on the Computer & then add them to the Watchlist so we don't have to muck about too much with the App. I still don't get why they don't state that an item is Atmos on the Web interface - you kind of find out by playing it! I would have thought that this was something they would push as a feature. At least it's now easier to find 4K content than it was! :)
 
Yeah agree not going to pay for numerous amounts. Some will go bust i imagine

Netflix has name recognition and an established fanbase going for it
 
Netflix has name recognition and an established fanbase going for it
So did Nokia once upon a time ;)

Where Netflix is currently right now, at the top, doesn’t guarantee their future. Prices & (future) content will decide who survives :)
 
I'm not sure you can be a fan of a service, esp. Netlfix. You can be a fan of a particular series, or of whole franchises like Disney have. Even the most stubborn 12 month subscriber to Netflix will eventually look at the reviews of new stuff this year and think again..
 
Am I the only one who spends more time ‘flicking’ trying to find something to watch rather than actually watching!! I’ve got Sky, Netflix and Prime but across all 3 I find the content somewhat lacking.
 
I'm not sure you can be a fan of a service, esp. Netlfix. You can be a fan of a particular series, or of whole franchises like Disney have. Even the most stubborn 12 month subscriber to Netflix will eventually look at the reviews of new stuff this year and think again..

I'm 12 month subscriber to Netflix, but only because it's still got loads of stuff I want to watch, if I ever catch up and nothing new appeals, I'll have no hesitation cancelling. They certainly need to keep producing/acquiring new content.

Disney may have a lot of content, but they still need to get a lot of new stuff. There's only so many times you want to watch SW, Marvel, Pixar... whatever. I don't think their massive library is the be all and end all, especially as a lot of people will own the stuff they really like already.
 
Disney may have a lot of content, but they still need to get a lot of new stuff. There's only so many times you want to watch SW, Marvel, Pixar... whatever. I don't think their massive library is the be all and end all, especially as a lot of people will own the stuff they really like already.
This is how I feel as well. If you've got kids, I can absolutely see the value of Disney+, but we have a bunch of the Marvel & Pixel Movies on disk already. Some of them are Blu Ray so I would enjoy seeing them in 4K / Atmos if available, the older Disney Movies, some titles we didn't get around to yet, plus I want to watch The Mandalorian .... but I would say, after about a Month, two tops, we wouldn't be going there much. However, we are not big TV watchers, so we're definitely not your average Disney+ (Or any of these services) subscriber.
 
I don't know about anyone else, but aside from Amazon Prime (which gives other benefits like free delivery and Twitch Prime) we only stay subscribed to a streaming service for the length of time it takes to binge the shows we haven't seen yet. A month's subscription to Netflix covers pretty much everything good they release in an entire year, so long as you don't mind waiting.

Disney+ will be the same thing - a month or two per year to catch up on the films we haven't seen yet. Far, far, far cheaper than buying 25+UHD blurays.
 

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