
Disney to Bundle Disney+, Hulu, & ESPN+ for 12.99, Same Price as Netflix - fomopop
https://thestreamable.com/news/disney-announces-12-99-bundle-for-disney-hulu-espn
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RcouF1uZ4gsC
In streaming services, content is king. If you look at the box office, Disney
is killing it, and it's not even close.

According to
[https://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/?debug=0&view=parent&p=...](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/?debug=0&view=parent&p=.htm)
Disney was responsible for 38% of all movie gross revenue so far this year!

The other thing is that anecdotally, the biggest viewers of streaming video
services are children. Disney is especially strong in content aimed at
children.

Disney is going to be very hard to compete against.

~~~
cheez
Another way to think about this: huge potential for a competitor. It's not
like Disney has a moat for creativity. Blair Witch project cost something like
$100K

~~~
RcouF1uZ4gsC
Compare the number of times you or your kids have sat down in front of your TV
and wanted to watch Blair Witch, vs the number of times you or your kids have
wanted to watch Beauty and the Beast, Alladin, Frozen, Lion King, Star Wars,
or Avengers.

For me it is not even close.

~~~
tcbawo
If I count the number of times my kids have watched other people unwrapping
toys/playing Minecraft on YouTube, it's a tough call.

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skissane
Are they going to offer their service outside of the US?

One thing I appreciate about Netflix, is they try to offer their services in
as many countries as possible. (Unfortunately the availability of content
across countries is quite uneven, but Netflix has expressed an intention to
improve that over time, and certainly with their original content the
situation is much better than with their acquired content.)

~~~
fomopop
Yes, they plan to roll out globally over the next 2 years.

[https://thestreamable.com/news/disney-plans-to-expand-
intern...](https://thestreamable.com/news/disney-plans-to-expand-
internationally-over-the-next-two-years)

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gnicholas
Is there more information about what the Disney+ catalog will include? It says
that 2019 and future releases will be exclusive to Disney+ (though of course
you can still buy individual movies, just not stream them), but I wonder about
the rest of their catalog. Will all Star Wars movies be available? All other
Disney-owned movies?

I can't tell whether I'm surprised the price is so low (three things for the
price of Netflix!) or just cynically expecting that the price will go up as
the value of the Disney/Hulu catalog increases. After all, Netflix has tons
more content (much of it junk, admittedly) compared to the Disney catalog. So
it would be pretty surprising if Disney thought they could charge very much
for just the Disney+ piece. Hulu with ads is hard to value (and they could
bloat it out with even more ads...). And are there local restrictions on
ESPN+? Seems like there are lots of opportunities for add-on charges, such
that a family could end up paying $20 or more each month for ad-free Hulu,
ESPN including local, the entire Disney catalog, and multiple simultaneous
screens.

Basically, it seems like this price announcement could be primarily meant to
scare NFLX investors by making it seem like the be-all, end-all price for the
Disney bundle will be 13 bucks. Or perhaps I'm too cynical?

~~~
Mindwipe
It's fairly obviously a lower price to build share that will be ratcheted up,
especially as the content offering improves.

But the same can be said for Netflix's current pricing.

~~~
scarface74
The difference is that Netflix depends on subscription revenue (and a ton of
debt) to pay for content. Most of the content on Disney+ has already made
millions from being in the movie theatre, home releases/VOD, etc.

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necubi
This apparently includes ads (at least for Hulu--unclear for the rest) so not
really comparable to Netflix.

~~~
berbec
Yet

[https://thenextweb.com/contributors/2018/10/20/netflix-
tests...](https://thenextweb.com/contributors/2018/10/20/netflix-tests-ads/)

~~~
pureliquidhw
Article claims there is no interruption to viewing experience. I disagree. HBO
ruins immersion with shows like GoT by having random shitty HBO content promos
between each episode. Prime Video does the same thing.

Sure you can skip it, but that breaks the flow of just sitting and immersing
yourself in another world. Infuriating that there isn't a setting or option to
buy out of promos. I'd gladly pay $X to not have them, with $X being ~20% the
sub price.

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gaoshan
Sports are a big part of why some people hesitate to cut the cable cord. ESPN+
comes up quite short on some big time sports events and is kind of the 3rd
string bench warmer of the sports streaming services because of this. It is
almost pointless by itself and is really only suitable as a way to fill gaps
in ones primary sports coverage.

~~~
MrMember
It's pretty great for US soccer fans (almost all MLS and Serie A matches for
$5 a month is a steal) but it's definitely lacking otherwise.

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holy_city
(disclaimer without details, I have a horse in this race)

This is a really good deal, frankly. Tons of content on demand on virtually
every platform, good quality streaming, and with decent UI/UX.

I know a lot of folks are put off by the consolidation in the media industry,
and the whole question mark over how streaming services don't violate the
Paramount consent decree, but still. I don't feel like I'm getting had by
streaming services when I subscribe, unlike cable.

Hopefully it doesn't turn into cable TV, but for the moment, it's a great time
to cut the cord.

~~~
dvfjsdhgfv
I'm realistic and I know that the purchase of Lucasfilm and Marvel gave these
studios a new life. But let's fce it: without these two, Disney is just an
animation studio from the previous epoch with to attractive content to offer
for people who aren't kids.

That said, maybe it's better if small kids watch the newest Lion King rather
than hundreds of unboxing videos...

~~~
scarface74
As long as you ignore the theme parks, ABC, ESPN, and the other movie studios
under Disney. It’s also because Disney doesn’t screw up acquisitions like most
companies do.

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esaym
I didn't realize that Disney+ would have so much content and honestly that
somewhat puts me off. Coupled with Hulu, my kids would never get away from the
TV. Yea yea I know, "restrictions". But still, everything on there seems to be
for entertainment only, not much educational.

~~~
481092
Hulu has some educational documentaries as well as Netflix. There's also
curiositystream if you want all docs and even some on youtube. There's tons of
educational streaming online, it's about all I watch.

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sergiotapia
Don't know about you guys, but I'm back to sailing the high seas. Netflix was
terrific when it had a deep backlog of old good content. Now it's mostly junk
originals with the sheen of cheap that's hard to qualify. And I won't
subscribe to Disney+ on principle haha - I can't see myself supporting and
encouraging more power to the huge blob corporation.

~~~
scarface74
But you were okay supporting Netflix when they were funneling money to the
same huge blob corporations?

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techntoke
Most Disney movies are terrible IMO, minus some of the classics and
occasionally good animation. I don't really care for sports. These services
are still way cheaper than cable but no where as customizable as I'd like. I
think they rely on bored people willing to watch whatever is suggested or
available. I'd gladly pay $15 a month for a service that really focuses on
quality educational content.

~~~
majewsky
> I'd gladly pay $15 a month for a service that really focuses on quality
> educational content.

[https://curiositystream.com/](https://curiositystream.com/) starts at $2,99
per month. (Not affiliated, but I've heard good things about it.)

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mrbonner
Hulu with ads? Thanks, but I’ll bail. Pump it to $15 or even $18 without ads
and we’ll talk.

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rlv-dan
Will people accept paying for yet another streaming service? The selling point
of Spotify is that for a low price you get everything in one place. Netflix
was like that (from what I heard), but now you have HBO, Disney, CMore etc. Do
you want to subscribe to (and use) multiple services (provided you can afford
it)? Or will there be a backlash soon?

~~~
Mindwipe
> Netflix was like that (from what I heard)

It wasn't. Never even close tbh, and anyone who claimed otherwise is wearing
glasses so rose-tinted as to be opaque.

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ycombonator
This is the beginning of the end of Netflix.

~~~
CyanLite4
Spending billions of borrowed dollars on junky “original” content was the
beginning of the end for Netflix.

~~~
skissane
I always thought they should have spent some of those billions to acquire some
existing entertainment companies and get some more back catalog. Not everyone
likes to watch new stuff. (And even when it comes to making new stuff–a lot of
what Disney is doing is building on stuff they already own rather than totally
new content-easy for Disney when they own outright so much back catalog.)

~~~
RcouF1uZ4gsC
You are right in regards to building on stuff that they already own. All the
movies this year that have grossed over $100 Million have been based on older
content.

1 Avengers: Endgame

2 The Lion King (2019)

3 Captain Marvel

4 Toy Story 4

5 Aladdin (2019)

6 Dumbo (2019)

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haunter
ESPN Player (their not-for-US streaming service) is €11.99 in Europe so I
guess if that ever makes it to Europe it will be really expensive + with ads.

[https://i.imgur.com/3LcRC72.png](https://i.imgur.com/3LcRC72.png)

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polskibus
Will we see a profitable, cash flow positive company destroying a VC-fueled
giant?

