Someone needs to alert Tim Cook.
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Disney Offers First Look at Upcoming Disney+ App, Launching in November for $6.99 Per Month [Update: Will Be Available on Apple Devices]
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I’ve looked for an answer to this but haven’t found anything beyond speculation. But I don’t have any special connections I just browse a lot of industry sites. I have a friend who owns an independent theater chain in my area and he has contacts I don’t have and he says he doesn’t know.
I'm actually quite surprised that Disney priced this at $6.99. I really figured that the service would at least be $10, so I'm pleasantly surprised. But that doesn't mean Disney will raise the price like other streaming services have historically done.
Probably true. The greatest threat to piracy is ease and simplicity. The convoluted pricing schemes, overbearing channel choices and restrictions on where/when to watch of cable was one of the reasons many are driven to piracy.
Make media easy to access, centralized in one or two primary services and people are going to be willing to pay for convenience
start rolling out 15-20 different services and suddenly, it's no longer cheaper, you're paying for services for 1 or 2 titles, and you're having to manage dozens of accounts, payments, etc. it's a mess.
I can't begrudge companies like Disney for wanting their own slice of the pie, but I do hope they, and the rest of the industry realizes this is going to have some negative affects as well.
Tim Cook knows very well what he is doing.
https://www.aboveavalon.com/notes/2019/1/23/apples-content-distribution-strategy
Apple’s services are there to keep users locked in the Apple ecosystem and their hardware. The stiffer the competition, the harder-pressed companies like Spotify and Netflix will be, and the better off companies like Apple and Disney will be in comparison.
As it stands, I don’t see Apple’s services adding much to their bottom line (maybe 2-3% tops).
What other company offers the full package, from news to music to video to gaming to its own credit card? At the end of the day, it’s more about offering a differentiated experience for its end users, made possible by Apple’s control over their hardware, software and services.
I have a friend who's actually editing stuff for Disney and it's only now this service has launched that they're beginning to twig what it's all been for...Your friend who owns an independent cinema who has contacts doesn't have inside knowledge of Disney's future business plans? This surprises me...
I think that mentality is changing at Apple. And I won’t be surprised if we eventually see a TV app for Android. Heck maybe a News app too. I think the only thing we may never see is iMessage for Android because that really would impact iPhone sales.
Steve Jobs was a product (i.e. hardware) guy. I remember Avie Tevanian said once Next was just about software and not hardware Steve lost interest. Steve always was his most excited when he was taking the covers off some shiny beautiful new hardware. Tim Cook isn’t that guy. He has no problem turning Apple into Microsoft if that’s what Wall Street wants to see. In fact I believe Bloomberg/Gurman reported that Cook was the one really driving this services push. There’s no way he’s not expecting these new services to contribute to the top/bottom line. They won’t be profitable right away but I’m sure the expectation is that they are sooner rather than later. iPhone growth isn’t coming back and there’s no evidence Apple has a new hardware category dropping anytime soon.
with streaming rates and data rates on the rise...my cable is now cheaper.
Neil Cybart is also someone who thinks the power inside Apple resides within the industrial design group so I would expect this take from him. These new services offerings aren’t like making iWork free. No they’ll never be as profitable as selling pricy hardware but I do think there is an expectation they’ll eventually contribute to the bottom line. Like I said I think Tim has no problem turning Apple into Microsoft if he thinks that’s good for the stock. Cook isn’t a product guy the way Jobs was. If he was the sorry situation with Mac keyboards would have been resolved by now.Tim Cook knows very well what he is doing.
https://www.aboveavalon.com/notes/2019/1/23/apples-content-distribution-strategy
Apple’s services are there to keep users locked in the Apple ecosystem and their hardware. The stiffer the competition, the harder-pressed companies like Spotify and Netflix will be, and the better off companies like Apple and Disney will be in comparison.
As it stands, I don’t see Apple’s services adding much to their bottom line (maybe 2-3% tops).
What other company offers the full package, from news to music to video to gaming to its own credit card? At the end of the day, it’s more about offering a differentiated experience for its end users, made possible by Apple’s control over their hardware, software and services.
I will say the way Iger/Disney announced this is how you do it. Hard launch date, competitive price point and information on exactly what’s going to be available.
Thing is - who exactly is capable of doing such a thing? Everyone wants a share of the streaming pie and each is willing to fund the creation of unique content to draw subscribers, which is his we have arrived at our current situation.
I don’t see a future scenario where everyone is willing to say, pool their content together and make them all accessible via Netflix or some joined service. It’s the classic “it was a good idea until everyone started doing it” problem all over again.
What. Violence, sex, drugs, and ...deviance? Yeah, can’t have people “deviating” from whatever herd behavior you consider normal now can we... Considering that you categorize sex alongside violence and drug abuse, I’ll take as much deviation from that medieval worldview as possible, thanks.
Adult content refers to content written by and for adults, who are mature, and mentally capable of reading or watching stories that deal with the extremes of human experience and motivations, without you confusing what your seeing as an instruction guide on how to live your life.
If you still need to see stories telling you how to live a powerless lazy life where you have every excuse to not solve problems yourself, because some Great Man with birthright and supernatural powers will come along and “save the world” by restoring the status quo, we have an endless stream of shoddy jesus stories thinly veiled in spandex and capes.
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You are right. Now that everyone is capable of doing it, we're back to square one.
I know i"m not going to start subscribing to dozens of services just for the few shows I watch.
I'm not signing up to CBS online just for Star Trek. I'm not signing up to Disney just for The Mandalorian, i'm not signing up to HBO just for Game of Thrones, etc etc etc.
I'll end up waiting till these shows go on DVD, and borrow them from family who buy them.
If they release one new episode per week for a new series similar to Game of Thrones unless you plan to laboriously cancel each week for no reason
You might be happy with TV with ads, but others prefer to watch movies entirely on demand without ads. You will also be able to download content to watch on planes and trips. It’d be great for kids, which btw we know you don’t have any (yet?)
You know they own ABC and National Geographic too, right?
I don’t know what you have or haven’t seen so I can’t guess that for you. I will say reruns of Gordon Ramsey content on demand is quite entertaining to me
Did you see how Solo did in the box office? Nothing is for certain when doing blockbuster movies.
Did you watch the investor meeting? There are other content other than Marvel and Star Wars. You seem to have tunnel vision that Disney is only Star Wars and Marvel
The only value in this subscription to you is new content.
Streaming service fatigue is real but this is what everyone asked for. They wanted to be able to buy a’la carte channels. Now that it’s happening, people are finally seeing what the overlooked trade offs are.
We currently have 5 streaming services—Netflix, YouTube Premium, CBS All Access, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, but only pay for 3 (Netflix, CBS, YouTube). We will definitely be subscribing to Disney+ as well. Adding up those 4 subscriptions we’d be paying for, plus high speed internet, and we will still be paying only half of what our total cable bill used to be. We cut the cord about two years ago and never regretted it.
I highly doubt Disney would remove content from iTunes. This streaming service is not a replacement for digital locker purchases. Many people will buy the digital copy for convenience/collection AND have the subscription account.
That’s what you got out of my post? I think it shows more about your character than it does mine...
lol @ everyone saying "OMG WHAT A GREAT PRICE!"
Said everyone with every streaming service over the past 8 years. And what happened? All these services have raised their prices.
It's called baiting. People are happily paying $15.99/mo for Netflix 4K. You think Disney won't at least raise prices over the next 3-5 years to match that? Better be prepared to pay at least $180+/yr.
And who hasn't seen all these movies before? You're going to sub to Disney+ to watch Star Wars for the umpteenth time? Or Marvel movies? Or the animated movies? I guess if you have kids it might be good. Maybe when Disney+ has a good collection of new original shows and content I'll sub.
Disney has removed content from Netflix. And if you think Disney hasn't already played "withhold the content" game with Apple, think again. Keen eyed people will have noticed that Disney has deliberately withheld 4K versions of their movies from Apple iTunes over the past couple years. Petty.
Said everyone with every streaming service over the past 8 years. And what happened? All these services have raised their prices.
It's called baiting. People are happily paying $15.99/mo for Netflix 4K. You think Disney won't at least raise prices over the next 3-5 years to match that? Better be prepared to pay at least $180+/yr.
And who hasn't seen all these movies before? You're going to sub to Disney+ to watch Star Wars for the umpteenth time? Or Marvel movies? Or the animated movies? I guess if you have kids it might be good. Maybe when Disney+ has a good collection of new original shows and content I'll sub.
Disney has removed content from Netflix. And if you think Disney hasn't already played "withhold the content" game with Apple, think again. Keen eyed people will have noticed that Disney has deliberately withheld 4K versions of their movies from Apple iTunes over the past couple years. Petty.
I once highly doubted that software companies, both commercial and personal would or could move to subscription only services. For big programs they mostly have (Office, Adobe products, etc) and a few people grumbled but put up with it.
You don’t own a book you read a digital copy. You can’t sell it, usually can’t lend it, and if some rights management goes south you can lose the book entirely. This is what is in store for all entertainment.