Disney+ No Longer Offering Free Trials Ahead of 'Hamilton' Premiere

[gleepskip]

We get Hamilton, but no free trial?

Heck, I wouldn't watch it if they paid ME.

 

[azentropy]

Probably would have made more sense to keep the free trial, but not make content released in the last 30 days (or 14 days) available in the trial.

 

[truthertech]

I think the only service Apple is successful with is Music — because it builds onto iTunes — which in turns in something where Apple really put its heart into. Music (or iTunes) is may also be the only that could potentially survive outside of Apple’s ecosystem, it’s certainly got enough to offer.

Everything else - meh. Mediocre quality where Apple will never excel with those whose primary job it is to provide that service.

Apple’s been trying to get into the magazine business since the release of the iPad and it all failed. The Daily, Newsstand just two examples of that. Their heart isn’t into this. iTunes and iPod were created because Steve loved music... when you hear him talk on past keynotes you realise that.

LOL. Apple Services are phenomenally successful, having just brought in $13.35 BILLION in the last quarter alone from its services. The App Store, Apple Pay, Apple Music, iCloud, etc. As far as news, Apple News is by far the most popular news app in the entire world with over 100 Million monthly users.

 

[idmean]

I personally thought that Steve Jobs through PIXAR would have leveraged the Apple profits to buy Disney and create a completely different platform than we have today. That's not something in Tim Cook's wheelhouse. Jobs always said that his interest in TV was a hobby, but all the time running PIXAR too. So I think things would have been far different if Jobs was still running the show. My 2 cents.

This is ridiculous. Steve personally sold Pixar to Disney and was the largest, most powerful shareholder of Disney after that.

 

[Darth Tulhu]

Anyone with kids, or who is a kid at heart, will benefit from Disney+'s catalog. I NEVER tire of its content, and it's a great complement to Netflix and Hulu.

I bought in at the yearly price, and will continue to have it when it expires. Maybe not as a yearly subscription, but turn it on and off as needed (until the price goes up), like I do with Hulu.

With those 3 services, and all the free TV/Movie apps on my FireStick 4K, I'm good to go.

But I feel each brings something unique to the table:

Netflix is the old veteran with the biggest selection and variety of content, as well as excellent first-party material.

Hulu has TV on lockdown with both a classic and contemporary TV show catalog of the most popular shows.

Disney+ is the best of the movie-studio-direct services, with the biggest franchise IPs in history.

HBO is probably the best of the cable/movie services with a hybrid of great theatrical releases and truly outstanding first-party material (even if I don't currently have the service...I have too much to watch with the others).

I honestly don't know why Apple even bothered with AppleTV. But if it's profitable, then it's worth it for Apple. I'm just not interested in their material (aside from that new Tom Hanks movie that looks pretty good).

 

[lunarworks]

these comments still exist?

No one knows what Steve Jobs would have done, so he exists in their minds as a mythical and nostalgic "best of all possible outcomes" ideal. An icon to lay all of their grievances with the present on. Someone whose every decision would have lined up perfectly with their tastes and needs, even though that was never the actual case in his lifetime. A Jesus figure.

 

[dwaltwhit]

A subscription to a month of Disney+ costs a fortune!!!

(Although to be fair, I'm one of those benighted souls who isn't sure how that compares to buying a ticket to the Broadway show.)

Far less than a single ticket to see hamilton.

 

[b656]

Disney+ for $6.99 is a really good value.
Whereas ATV+ feels like a beta test site.
And they are expecting me to pay $4.99 every month? Crazy.
Hopefully, this one-year free subscription will end soon...

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

We get Hamilton, but no free trial?

Heck, I wouldn't watch it if they paid ME.

You are missing out. It is outstanding.

 

[Pow!]

“which will air over year ahead of its original planned theatrical release.”

 

[gleepskip]

You are missing out. It is outstanding.

...the show's music draws heavily from hip hop, as well as R&B, pop, soul, and traditional-style show tunes.

Sounds like a train wreck, except it lasts 2 hours or whatever. I prefer R&H, SS, or parts of ALW.

 

[Shanghaichica]

That’s exactly the problem with Apple without Steve. Everything Steve did was because he was passionate about it. Not because he wanted to compete with someone or make a quick buck. Tim’s Apple just go for profit and market share. Everything else is secondary.

Wasn’t going thermonuclear competing with someone.

 

[Cosmosent]

It is my personal opinion that AAPL doesn't have a Clue when it comes to their AAPL TV+ Service !

They should have gone after "1080p60 Live Sports" from the Get Go !

If they had, they'd have NO competition !

Here in the States, we typically get either 720p60 OR 1080i30.

1080p60 would have been seen as a BIG step up for most !

And, if AAPL had done that, they would have a Catalog of sports from the past few years, that Users could tap into now !

There is nothing AAPL about the current AAPL TV+ Service !

Just AAPL trying to complete Head On with other more-established players !

And BTW, AAPL has had sufficient Coin on Hand to cut ANY deal necessary to get the rights to ANY major sports !

I personally believe they went the route they did because of "Hollywood Envy" !

AAPL has probably burned through $10B USD so far on it, just trying to Prop Up a Bad Decision !

 

[gleepskip]

And BTW, AAPL has had sufficient Coin on Hand to cut ANY deal necessary to get the rights to ANY major sports !

Your idea is alright in concept, but unlikely to be doable. I assume the sport leagues have exclusivity contracts with their media carriers. If true, Apple can't just buy their way in. There are certainly deals with all the media companies: CBS, Fox, Disney, etc. that would prevent Apple making any inroads.

 

[BaltimoreMediaBlog]

This is ridiculous. Steve personally sold Pixar to Disney and was the largest, most powerful shareholder of Disney after that.

Correct, but what company is Tim Cook the most powerful shareholder on the Board of Directors of?

Riddle me that Batman!

 

[johnnytravels]

Apple should team up with Mubi (and the Criterion Channel) to offer a great selection of movies that no other major streaming service has included. At 5 usd a month they’d immediately become the top streaming leader in a segment no other major service has any significant offering for. And that stuff is genuinely high quality cinema...

The major problem I see with an ‘arthouse’-approach to streaming for Apple is that many of these films would not fit into Apple’s morals (which is basically US ‘yay to violence, nay to nudity’). Despite their self-fashioning as liberal progressive, they have become more morally conservative than they have probably ever been.

 

[cjducasse]

As it turns out, Disney is a for profit company. Whoa. Wait a second, as it also is, you’re free to not subscribe.

 

[cmaier]

We get Hamilton, but no free trial?

Heck, I wouldn't watch it if they paid ME.

I was a skeptic but I saw it with the road cast in San Francisco and it was actually pretty great. Looking forward to seeing the original cast, and with better audio (things are little hard to hear in the theater sometimes)
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I think the only service Apple is successful with is Music — because it builds onto iTunes — which in turns in something where Apple really put its heart into. Music (or iTunes) is may also be the only that could potentially survive outside of Apple’s ecosystem, it’s certainly got enough to offer.

Everything else - meh. Mediocre quality where Apple will never excel with those whose primary job it is to provide that service.

Apple’s been trying to get into the magazine business since the release of the iPad and it all failed. The Daily, Newsstand just two examples of that. Their heart isn’t into this. iTunes and iPod were created because Steve loved music... when you hear him talk on past keynotes you realise that.

Steve loved music. He also ran Pixar. Which he sold to Disney. Steve would been in the video content business for sure. He may even have bought Disney.

Steve loved magazines. As you note, Apple keeps trying. The problem isn’t that THEIR heart isn’t in it - the problem is the world does not really enjoy magazines anymore - they prefer reading different, usually shorter, articles from all sorts of sources, produced in real time instead of on a weekly or monthly deadline.

 

[aaronhead14]

If this were a needlessly pricey service, such as HBOMax, then I would be angry. But Disney+ is so cheap, I'm not even mad. If you want to watch Hamilton, just pay the $7 for a month's worth of Disney+, and you have the ability to watch a bunch of other stuff too! Win win.

 

[fairuz]

these comments still exist?

I would also bold the "just saying." Yes, we know you are saying.
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Remember the last time Apple spread itself too thin? It’s doing it again. Do a very few things very very well.

Nah, all big corps are doing this nowadays. Each one makes everything, even weird niche stuff like smart speakers. Kinda pisses me off, but it's probably optimal for them.

 

[Justanotherfanboy]

Not surprised, all about the almighty dollar at Disney. 🥴

I dropped D+ for a few reasons. Yes, The Mandalorian was good fun, but there’s only so much content I wanted to see anyway. The original shows I am interested in won’t be launched until late 2021 or 2022 [if that], so I will wait until then.

Wtf are you on about??? lol

I pay $17 for Netflix.
I will pay $7 for Disney+... (after my 3 year d23 deal of $3/month runs out)
Let’s hear some more of this nonsense about Disney trying to squeeze every last dollar here shall we? I love a good screwball conspiracy rant as much as the next guy! 😂

But, on the real, thank you Disney!!!!
Great service.... Clean UI (better than Netflix, HBO, OR AppleTV+ by far and away), and an absolutely RIDICULOUSLY amazing and more than fair price point.

 

[fairuz]

If this were a needlessly pricey service, such as HBOMax, then I would be angry. But Disney+ is so cheap, I'm not even mad. If you want to watch Hamilton, just pay the $7 for a month's worth of Disney+, and you have the ability to watch a bunch of other stuff too! Win win.

I'd not be mad in any case. I'd just not pay for it if it's not worthwhile.
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That’s exactly the problem with Apple without Steve. Everything Steve did was because he was passionate about it. Not because he wanted to compete with someone or make a quick buck. Tim’s Apple just go for profit and market share. Everything else is secondary.

Google has the same problem. Sundar Pichai and Tim Cook are both bland, uninspired, and uninspiring. Probably cause they weren't the founders. It surprises me because I don't believe they're in it just for the fame or money.

 

[Johnny907]

I think the only service Apple is successful with is Music — because it builds onto iTunes — which in turns in something where Apple really put its heart into. Music (or iTunes) is may also be the only that could potentially survive outside of Apple’s ecosystem, it’s certainly got enough to offer.

Everything else - meh. Mediocre quality where Apple will never excel with those whose primary job it is to provide that service.

Apple’s been trying to get into the magazine business since the release of the iPad and it all failed. The Daily, Newsstand just two examples of that. Their heart isn’t into this. iTunes and iPod were created because Steve loved music... when you hear him talk on past keynotes you realise that.

I dunno, Music hasn’t exactly been setting any records lately. I only subscribed because it was the only streaming service compatible with my Apple Watch but as soon as that changed and Pandora released their standalone streaming app I immediately cancelled my Music subscription. I hated their curated lists anyway. I’m cranking away down the bike path and suddenly Beyoncé pops onto my Shirley Manson playlist, followed by Billie Eilish? No, Apple, just no.

 

[kazmac]

Wtf are you on about??? lol

I pay $17 for Netflix.
I will pay $7 for Disney+... (after my 3 year d23 deal of $3/month runs out)
Let’s hear some more of this nonsense about Disney trying to squeeze every last dollar here shall we? I love a good screwball conspiracy rant as much as the next guy! 😂

But, on the real, thank you Disney!!!!
Great service.... Clean UI (better than Netflix, HBO, OR AppleTV+ by far and away), and an absolutely RIDICULOUSLY amazing and more than fair price point.

😂 Disney is all about $$$ all the way around: they want that 75 million back that they paid for Hamilton etc.. Anyway, not going to tit for tat because I was talking about more than monthly subscription fees, but whatever.

Enjoy your D+.

 

[mnsportsgeek]

I'm just waiting for the Disney+ price bump. That will be next.

People have been saying that about ESPN+ since launch and they’re still waiting.