Everyone loves a good Disney film. My favourite ‘old school’ Disney would have to be Aladdin from 1992. I also love The Incredibles, Wreck It Ralph and I think Tangled is awesome. I have a heart for the Disney Pixar shorts too! With the new streaming services arriving in March 2020, what impact is Disney+ going to have here in the UK?
What is Disney+?
It’s possibly one of the biggest new streaming services to arrive since Netflix started. With that said, it’s probably Netflix’s new biggest competitor because of the wealth of content it has at it’s fingertips. Whilst the likes of Amazon and Apple are making their own content, Disney have a massive back catalogue of TV shows and movies they can add straight to their streaming service. This is as well as the new content it’s avenues continue to create. Did you know that Disney owns National Geographic, 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios? Think of that mass of content they could pull the trigger on and add to their new streaming service.
Content Vanishing From Other Services
According to reports, Disney owned content is already vanishing from Sky. We have Now TV at home. The likes of Grey’s Anatomy and some Marvel stuff has started vanishing from Sky’s services. Looking at the stats we can see that 30% of the movies on Sky’s services are owned by Disney. This is in addition to 8% of TV shows. Sky Cinema is the go to channel for new movies once they’ve had their time in cinemas, with Bumblebee and Mary Poppins Returns appearing this Christmas. Disney+ will start operating their own service from March. Usually we’d seen new Disney owned films like Toy Story 4 and Frozen 2 on Sky Cinema. They might be absent with the arrival of Disney+. With Sky increasing prices (we’ve noticed Now TV hike in price!) how much can they actually raise prices whilst losing so much content to the likes of Disney+ UK?
Impacting The Market
The impact is already starting and Disney+ hasn’t yet launched in the UK. The United Kingdom isn’t the first place to get the service though. It’s already available in places including the USA, Netherlands and New Zealand. Price wise, in the States it comes in at $6.99 a month or a years pass for $69.99, giving you 12 months for the price of 10. The Disney+ UK price will likely be similar, pricing it at around about the same price as other streaming services.
Will You Sign Up?
I have no idea if there will be a trial period of Disney+. It might be worth checking it out if there is. With so much great content from amazing channels, it could be the best alternative to Netflix and Now TV. If you haven’t watched the likes of Avengers: Endgame and you’re a Sky subscriber, get it watched before it vanishes! If you’re in the middle of a box set which might find its way into the ether before appearing up on Disney+, finish as much as you can. I consider Netflix to be the leading contender in the streaming world. With Amazon Prime Video and Now TV in second place and Apple trying their best too. There will soon be a new contender for that number one position as Disney+ comes to the UK.
