The News

The Disney Streaming Debacle

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News broke out recently that mega company Disney was going be pulling their content from streaming leader Netflix and starting their own streaming service with ESPN. This comes to a surprise to many people who are fans of the mouse and love Netflix above all things. Here at the News we’re going to be looking at whether or not it’s a good idea or if we think it’s a foolish move on Disney’s side.

Cost: Honestly whether or not this works, it will most likely fall back on cost. How much will this new streaming service cost? If you’ve got a streaming service, chances are you have Netflix, but some people also have Hulu+ or Amazon Prime. And in “Game of Thrones” season most people are shelling out the $14 for HBO, so will the new streaming be enough to add yet another cost? The beauty of Netflix was the ability to have multiple shows and movies, so is it worth paying a lot for only one type of content.

Location: Most of the streaming services are U.S.-based. It’s awful, but that’s the way things are. Is this new streaming site going to be location-based a la Netflix (as in different media for different countries) or like premium channels (Hulu+, Starz, etc., which are only available in the States)?

Content: Obviously this is the most important aspect. What is the content going to be? Disney holds a lot of properties (Marvel and Star Wars among the biggest), so are they going to include them all? Or just some of them. Will Star Wars and Marvel stay on Netflix as well as on the new streaming site? After all, a lot of Netflix’s original series are tied in with Disney, so that situation could be a bit curious. Are they going to bring out things from the Disney Vault or just shows on the Disney Channel right now?

It’s still too early to tell if it’s going to be a good idea or not, but Disney has the possibility of becoming a big competitor for Netflix if they play their cards right.