Disney Plus was released Nov, 12. After release Disney says they have more then 10 million users.
By Logan Somers [1]
A week after the introduction of Disney’s new streaming service, Disney Plus, many Loyalist College students have positive things to say, but are unsure how long the new service will last in the limelight.
Nicholas McConville, currently in the Film and T.V Production program, has had Disney Plus since its release on Nov,12.
“I’m real enjoying it. I’m a huge Star Wars person, so that’s the main thing that drew me to it,” he said.
Disney has had exclusive rights to Star Wars since it purchased the property from Lucas films in 2012 for $4.05 billion. Since then they have made five films and released their new show The Mandalorian [2] on Disney Plus.
For many of the Loyalist College students we spoke to the main draw of the service is the exclusive content Disney offers, like Star Wars, Marvel and the classic Disney films.
Ian Childs, also in the Film and T.V Production program, said what attracts him to the new service is the future content Disney will be releasing. Childs said he is looking forward to the future Obi Wan Kenobi show that is said to be released on Disney Plus next year. However, he said he is unsure if people will stay tuned to the service over time.
“I think in the end most people will just stick to their Netflix subscription,” Childs said.
Disney released stats showing how many people were using the service after the first day. Disney said more than 10 million people subscribed. However, they can’t be sure how many of those subscriptions are free trial subscribers.
Kyra Culp, currently in the Interactive Media Development program, agreed with Childs opinion. Culp said she is enjoying her time using Disney Plus, more specifically its selection of exclusive content, but doesn’t know if most will continue to use it.
“I think it will definitely die off at some point. I don’t think they have enough programs to keep interest for a very long time,” Culp said.
A poll was held in a Facebook group called Accepted Loyalist. The group is for Loyalist College students. The poll asked if students thought Disney Plus would be popular. Thirty-nine people participated in the poll. Thirty-six thought it would be popular and three thought it would not.
McConville said he believes the streaming service will continue to be successful.
“It’s so much cheaper than Netflix. It’s got stuff that everyone loves. Where Netflix has such a variety of things, but don’t really have good quality of things,” he said.
Disney Plus is currently $6.99 a month. It’s cheaper than most popular streaming services, but can only use content they own. Unlike Netflix, that can use many different production company’s content along with their own.
The prices shown are the most popular packages for each subscription. Prices may vary depending on the package. Photo by Logan Somers, QNet News
The introduction of Disney Plus has led some to believe that there are streaming wars [3] to come. As we enter a new era of streaming, more and more companies are making their own services, many believe the services will be fighting for subscriptions.
McConville said he doesn’t see streaming wars becoming an issue.
“I think people have their preferences, but I don’t see it getting to that point,” he said.
HBO will introduce it’s own new streaming service in early 2020. The question many have asked is if Disney will be able to compete with future services that have the ability to release more then just their own content. Childs said he believes Disney will have no problem keeping up.
“With their resources I think if they need to switch things up they will. So, who knows what the future holds, but I’d say they will be fine,” he said.