The streaming service, which includes titles from the Disney and 20th Century Fox film collections, as well as National Geographic, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars, launched in November 2019. It swiftly established itself as one of the most-used new streaming services, surpassing rivals such as HBO Max and Paramount+ and earning revenues comparable to some of the industry’s largest platforms. Indeed, Disney+ may overwhelm Netflix in terms of overall subscribers by 2026.
Although the service encountered some hurdles in making their original content go places, particularly when the epidemic has broken out, they have significantly extended their brand in 2021 and early 2022. The Book of Boba Fett and the first two seasons of The Mandalorian did a very great job in the Star Wars universe, spurring at least a half-dozen further projects in production. Among their highest-grossing series are those set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which ranges from the highly praised WandaVision to the Christmas smash Hawkeye. Moon Knight, their forthcoming Oscar Isaac series, will introduce the platform’s first new solo character, received very positive initial reactions.
Following this announcement, Disney+ has revealed that they would be rolling out an ad-supported tier in the United States later in 2022. However, although both the exact price plan and start date have been still kept under wraps, the new tier will most likely be more affordable than the existing ad-free service. This move is part of the streaming service’s overall strategy to achieve 230-260 million users.
Disney+‘s forthcoming slate prioritizes original content, even outside of its two flagship brands. Turning Red, a new Pixar film in which a teenage girl finds out that she can change into a red panda when she faces strong feelings, will be available only on the platform without a theatrical release. Additionally, Disney is reviving a number of old properties, including a remake of Cheaper by the Dozen starring Neil Patrick Harris and Gabrielle Union, as well as a hybrid live-action/animated Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers.
This option by Disney+ may certainly entice additional users who are put off by the subscription fee. However, it may increase the apprehension of many of their present subscribers. Many audience members worry about ad-supported streaming services because they expect something they pay for to be intrinsically ad-free, which is a typical social media complaint about Hulu and other comparable streamers. Similarly, the schedule variations between the ad-free and ad-supported tiers may put a kink in their Watch Party offering, preventing users on different tiers from watching series or films together. Hopefully, Disney+ can iron out these bugs before launching, but it remains to be seen whether or not this change will draw new subscribers.
