Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Disney+ and Hulu Ad-Free Pricing Going Up in October, Password Sharing Crackdown Coming

Cable/satellite companies make killing. Internet happens. Cable/satellite companies start losing customers, increase prices. Customers balk at prices, start cutting cords, get Netflix for $7.99 a month instead. Netflix gets greedy, other companies see goldmine, get greedy too and break off from Netflix to start their own services. Prices go up across the board until at last, customers are once more paying the same prices they were paying at the beginning when they were subscribing to cable and satellite TV.

Sigh.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • Sad
Reactions: Pinkyyy 💜🍎, compwiz1202, LlamaLarry and 2 others
Alpha Centauri said:
Paramount + was a disaster here in DE since launch. For months, everything only as PCM 2.0 albeit lots of content but nothing in 4K even now. Terrible Rez. A new software update also broke any memory (on my system) it retained of any shows watched..I’m done with it now.

How are you finding HBO? It still doesn’t have a license here in Germany and probably won’t for a few years.
Click to expand...

We’re ditching Paramount also. There’s nothing there we want besides Star Trek and I can get those episodes off my streaming British TV (and download but you didn’t hear that).

HBO (Max in the USA) is good enough to keep because a ton of Discovery Channel stuff went there. Disco+ is redundant when you have Max and there’s more to watch.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pinkyyy 💜🍎 and gk_brown
ninethirty said:
I don't need big companies to care about me. I have friends and family for that. I don't know why people keep feeling like companies need to actually care about you (the grand "you") and your problems.

Big companies produce big content, in a way that my friends and family cannot, and if I think their price is fair, I'll exchange my money for their content. Making money is their entire reason for being, and they've concluded that people like us are likely to pay them for the kinds of content they create. If you're opposed to that, don't pay. There's nothing wrong with the rest of us liking it.

And honestly, expecting people to pay for their own accounts as opposed to using their friends passwords is not unreasonable at all. People feel oddly entitled these days.
Click to expand...
The person you replied to never said that they need companies to care about them. To be honest, I don't think anybody has. I don't know where this idea comes from.

Reminding/warning people that companies will screw you over at every turn to extract more money from your pocket (whether legally, ethically, or otherwise) != wishing for companies to care about you. It simply means that you need to keep your guard up and support regulations that keep big business in check whenever possible.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pinkyyy 💜🍎, compwiz1202 and arkitect
Alpha Centauri said:
Paramount + was a disaster here in DE since launch. For months, everything only as PCM 2.0 albeit lots of content but nothing in 4K even now. Terrible Rez. A new software update also broke any memory (on my system) it retained of any shows watched..I’m done with it now.

How are you finding HBO? It still doesn’t have a license here in Germany and probably won’t for a few years.
Click to expand...

I didn't have Paramount+, but when we got an awesome deal on SkyShowtime (Basically half price "for life", which is NOK 39.50/month, just under USD 4/month at the moment), I got it, mainly for various Star Trek series, and there's enough other stuff to keep it around.

HBO is ... ok ...? Not the most used, but with an AWESOME back catalog of series, and the occasional good movie, it's worth keeping, IMO. Planning to binge through the entire GoT at some point. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pinkyyy 💜🍎 and Alpha Centauri
zorinlynx said:
Please, people, think about it. You're defending huge companies that don't care about you and exist only to extract as much profit from you as possible. Sharing a Netflix account is not "stealing", they even encouraged it a few years back with a tweet. They have a right to change their policy, but don't act as if we were doing something wrong before because we weren't.

So many people here do it for Apple too... I mean seriously I do like Apple products but they're still a big greedy corporate entity that doesn't care about you, just like Netflix, Disney, and so on.
Click to expand...

Who said companies were supposed to care about you or vice versa? Disney, Netflix, Apple, etc. are businesses with the goal of making money. Of course, it doesn't always work out that way. In the case of Disney, they've been losing hundreds of millions of dollars on their streaming services.

If you feel a company is particularly greedy, perhaps you should consider buying their stock and take advantage of that greed.

In the end, it's up to consumers to decide which businesses they want to buy from and which ones they don't based on their own interests, needs, budget, etc. They can also decide which stocks, if any, to buy too. For example, Apple's "greed" has allowed people who invested $10,000 in Apple stock at the beginning of the year to now have over $14,000. But, stocks are a risk just as running a business is a risk. Sometimes you can be rewarded handsomely, sometimes not.
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: Pinkyyy 💜🍎 and compwiz1202
xpxp2002 said:
The person you replied to never said that they need companies to care about them. To be honest, I don't think anybody has. I don't know where this idea comes from.

Reminding/warning people that companies will screw you over at every turn to extract more money from your pocket (whether legally, ethically, or otherwise) != wishing for companies to care about you. It simply means that you need to keep your guard up and support regulations that keep big business in check whenever possible.
Click to expand...

The idea comes from the large swathes of people who keep saying "These big companies don't care about you..." Well of course they don't. Why would or should they?

Like I said, they exist to make money. In order to do that, they need to make something appealing, that people want, and price it in a way that they will pay for. Show me a company that "cares about people" and doesn't figure out how they can make more, while spending less, and I'll show you a business about to fail.

We all understand how this works. It's like going to a strip club. You don't walk in expecting you're going to walk out with a girlfriend. You know and understand that you're there to have a good time, and these girls are there to drain you of as much money as they possibly can. As long as you both understand this, you're in a prime position to enjoy yourself. The second you misunderstand the relationship, it's all over.
 
  • Disagree
  • Like
Reactions: compwiz1202 and MysticCow
psac said:
Despite all of the classic Disney content, marvel, star wars series, etc., the Simpsons is actually the most viewed show on Disney+.
Click to expand...
I don’t doubt it: it’s one of the smarter shows of our generation. My 9 & 12 yos have now seen all but a handful of episodes. I think it has gone a long way towards honing their senses of humor, timing and overall perspective. It’s a great series and glad that’s what they’re growing up on. I swear it has them further down the cerebral path than I was at their ages. Approved.
 
  • Like
Reactions: psac, Pinkyyy 💜🍎 and MysticCow
The Cockney Rebel said:
Once you’ve watched the few good films on Disney+, it’s just a load of rubbish.

Get in, binge, get out.
Click to expand...
Yep. That’s our new plan. I canceled yesterday. If something good comes out, we will get Disney+ for a month.
Too bad on the password sharing crackdown. That would have been a workaround for us.
We did just add Netflix. Before we were using my parents’ account.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pinkyyy 💜🍎 and MysticCow
shpankey said:
Just go with youtube tv. 6 accounts and 3 simultaneous streams allowed. Share with whomever and split the bill. Easy. NFL ticket, 4k, excellent quality. Tons of extra package options (sports included). Unlimited DVR. I couldn't be happier.
Click to expand...
See, I just don't get it. We left TV because it was too expensive and went to streaming. Now, we're suppose to go right back, pay the same prices, only to have to deal with the internet instead (and subsequent data caps from our internet providers)? Am I missing something here?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pinkyyy 💜🍎 and compwiz1202
ninethirty said:
The idea comes from the large swathes of people who keep saying "These big companies don't care about you..." Well of course they don't. Why would or should they?

Like I said, they exist to make money. In order to do that, they need to make something appealing, that people want, and price it in a way that they will pay for. Show me a company that "cares about people" and doesn't figure out how they can make more, while spending less, and I'll show you a business about to fail.

We all understand how this works. It's like going to a strip club. You don't walk in expecting you're going to walk out with a girlfriend. You know and understand that you're there to have a good time, and these girls are there to drain you of as much money as they possibly can. As long as you both understand this, you're in a prime position to enjoy yourself. The second you misunderstand the relationship, it's all over.
Click to expand...
I don't think it's that black and white. Yes, businesses exist to make money. But the best ones know that the best way to do that is by actually caring about their customers. You make them feel good, you improve their lives, you look out for them, and you're going to make bank. A lot of bank. Some companies, however, don't seem to get that memo. They think: con the masses, rob them blind for a long as possible, run away with loot and start again with a whole new con. And I think it's those kinds of businesses that people refer to as "not caring" about them. Because they really don't. Not even in a business sense.
 
  • Love
Reactions: Pinkyyy 💜🍎
Sevendaymelee said:
See, I just don't get it. We left TV because it was too expensive and went to streaming. Now, we're suppose to go right back, pay the same prices, only to have to deal with the internet instead (and subsequent data caps from our internet providers)? Am I missing something here?
Click to expand...

Don’t understand either. We cut the cord because we didn’t watch ANYTHING on USTV.

PlutoTV alone has resulted in us no longer having USTV. Add FreeVee? Plex? Tubi? Redbox? Roku Channel? Why is anyone that is not my poor sweet innocent mother (who is not technical at all) need a USTV package?

UKTV is another story but that’s also because we can download to watch fully offline. And have a two week PVR so we can watch and skip commercials whenever.
gk_brown said:
Same here. Picard is done, and the second season of Strange New Worlds just finished. Lower Decks season 3 wasn't great so I'm not going to stick around for season 4. Will resubscribe next year (or whenever SNW comes back).
Click to expand...

Once Picard ended so did my need for Paramount. It isn’t worth it for two South Park specials a year if that.

Grab a MAG box and a UKTV package through it and you can download all the classic/TNG Trek you want. And keep it forever. So far I’ve collected 99% of TOS and VOY this way and they all get replayed there often.
 
Sevendaymelee said:
But the best ones know that the best way to do that is by actually caring about their customers.
Click to expand...
Tell that to Bud Light (ABInBev)

They proved themselves to try to care about everyone and are no longer the most popular beer in the USA because they tried to do some trans-washing and then threw her under the bus once said trans-washing was discovered by certain other beer drinkers.

You can’t care about customers and want to make a profit in 2023. Just can’t. You’ll get cancel cultured.
 
Last edited:
Sevendaymelee said:
I don't think it's that black and white. Yes, businesses exist to make money. But the best ones know that the best way to do that is by actually caring about their customers. You make them feel good, you improve their lives, you look out for them, and you're going to make bank. A lot of bank. Some companies, however, don't seem to get that memo. They think: con the masses, rob them blind for a long as possible, run away with loot and start again with a whole new con. And I think it's those kinds of businesses that people refer to as "not caring" about them. Because they really don't. Not even in a business sense.
Click to expand...

Setting aside the fact that I disagree with you, are you really trying to tell me that companies like Disney and Netflix are the companies you just described? Robbing people blind and then starting again with a new con? Good god. Nobody is putting a gun to anyone's head and forcing you to subscribe. If you don't agree with the quality, then stop paying and move on. They'll either get the message, or maybe people are actually enjoying what they're making?
 
  • Like
Reactions: I7guy and MysticCow
Aichon said:
Pretty much the same with us. We did the 3-year special that worked out to something like $1.67/month, figuring we'd give it a shot. Shortly after it ended, we cancelled, then re-upped for a bit, then eventually cancelled again.

Lessons learned:
  1. Bluey is awesome, which they introduced us to, but it's available on disc for cheap. No need for a subscription.
  2. Hamilton is awesome. Still waiting for that one to show up on disc, but we don't rewatch it enough to warrant a subscription.
  3. Any of the decent Disney classics can be picked up on Amazon or iTunes, most of which we had already picked up before Disney+ ever launched.
  4. A subscription has no value when the service's quality is so uneven that our default stance becomes "skip every show until and unless we hear that the show is actually decent". We don't need a subscription to wait for them to put out something decent.
  5. That firehose of uneven content actually decreased our interest in Disney content outside Disney+ because they took away our ability to ignore the firehose by using FOMO as a weapon. The moment they made the MCU shows "required reading" for the MCU films—as they did starting with Multiverse of Madness—was the moment the MCU films jumped the shark for us. We used to be at every MCU movie on opening night. Now? We haven't even seen the last two or three or four. I'm not even sure how many we've missed.
  6. There's enough high quality content out there in the world that we don't need to settle for whatever Disney is putting out. We'll probably re-up for a month at some point, but it's not like the shows or films we might be interested in are going away, and if they do that's just one more reason not to bother with Disney+.
Click to expand...
Actually it was more like 4.50 a month , it was about 150.00 for 3 years
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pinkyyy 💜🍎
klemsaba said:
Verizon offers Disney+ and HULU as part of a shared line plan discount but all lines need to use the same Disney+ account which isn't ideal because it's all tied to other Disney accounts. Verizon won't let each account use their own Disney+ account for 'free'. When password sharing goes away this will be an issue.
Click to expand...
Exactly. Or will it be an issue on such accounts? I for one will not be paying extra for disney.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pinkyyy 💜🍎
Sevendaymelee said:
I don't think it's that black and white.
Click to expand...
Pretty black and white imo.
Sevendaymelee said:
Yes, businesses exist to make money. But the best ones know that the best way to do that is by actually caring about their customers. You make them feel good, you improve their lives, you look out for them, and you're going to make bank. A lot of bank. Some companies, however, don't seem to get that memo. They think: con the masses, rob them blind for a long as possible, run away with loot and start again with a whole new con. And I think it's those kinds of businesses that people refer to as "not caring" about them. Because they really don't. Not even in a business sense.
Click to expand...
How can Netflix and Disney rob people blind? Are Netflix and Disney like food, air, water and a roof over your head? Or do other people believe the price/value of both companies are worth it for the subscription - even if you disagree.

I’m sure Netflix and Disney cares for its customer but not in the same way a mother cares for a newborn. It’s not Netflix job to be my mother. Netflix and Disney is to provide a service I want to buy and in return I’ll pay for the service. That is where it starts and ends.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MysticCow
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back