They have to go over the top and should have done it years ago. Still, better late than never.
I refuse to buy cable as 95% of what they offer I'm not interested in and 95% of what I'm interested in they don't offer.
The only possible solution is internet delivery and it's madness that twenty years after broadband I still can get only get about 25% of what I want to watch online and sometimes it's easier just to buy a dvd on Amazon.
Creating new content and making it available online is only a partial workaround because as with Netflix and Amazon, most of what they create is crap.
Incumbent rights holders are continually shooting themselves in the foot to preserve out-dated contracts and business models. So just as CNN reinvented news and with their low quality 24 hr coverage and eventually came to dominate, so Netflix will dominate better content with their formulaic but easy access model.
Apple's iTunes model - à la carte - is the only one that viewers actually want (would be even better with a subscription) but it has been blocked at every turn by rights holders so their offering is still severely limited. They will be forced to go the Netflix route too and make B-content to fill up the database for a monthly sub, occasionally producing the odd hit until they're a decent alternative for low-end viewing.
Of all content creators though, I think Disney/Pixar/Star Wars/Marvel has by far the best track record for creating compelling films and so far can do things no other film studios can do. So Disney Plus should be a hit.
I refuse to buy cable as 95% of what they offer I'm not interested in and 95% of what I'm interested in they don't offer.
The only possible solution is internet delivery and it's madness that twenty years after broadband I still can get only get about 25% of what I want to watch online and sometimes it's easier just to buy a dvd on Amazon.
Creating new content and making it available online is only a partial workaround because as with Netflix and Amazon, most of what they create is crap.
Incumbent rights holders are continually shooting themselves in the foot to preserve out-dated contracts and business models. So just as CNN reinvented news and with their low quality 24 hr coverage and eventually came to dominate, so Netflix will dominate better content with their formulaic but easy access model.
Apple's iTunes model - à la carte - is the only one that viewers actually want (would be even better with a subscription) but it has been blocked at every turn by rights holders so their offering is still severely limited. They will be forced to go the Netflix route too and make B-content to fill up the database for a monthly sub, occasionally producing the odd hit until they're a decent alternative for low-end viewing.
Of all content creators though, I think Disney/Pixar/Star Wars/Marvel has by far the best track record for creating compelling films and so far can do things no other film studios can do. So Disney Plus should be a hit.
