After Disney+ went live on Nov. 12, yet another streaming service has added to the reason to cut the cable cord for most consumers. But is Disney+ helping or hurting?
With all of the major streaming services totaled together, including Disney+, for a monthly rate, it would come to $87 a month. Three cable providers in Oswego, DIRECTV, Spectrum and Dish Network, all have basic cable plans that are significantly less than all the streaming services on a monthly basis. DIRECTV’s most basic plan in the area, the Select Plan, is $50 a month. Only one of their plans, the Premier Plan, totals more than all the streaming services at $125 a month.
Granted, all of those are for one-year rates, which increase going into the second year of paying for that cable service. The Select Plan increases to $81 a month after the first year, which is still saving someone who subscribes to all the streaming services $6 a month.
The point of the streaming services was not to have someone subscribe to every single service that is available, but to select certain ones that have the shows and movies that person wants. The problem is that Netflix has a completely different selection than Disney+ which has a completely different lineup than CBS All Access, for example.
Disney+ has all of its classics, including shorts, older TV shows and the timeless movies. That is where it differs from Netflix. Sure, there are some Disney/Pixar movies on Netflix, like “Incredibles 2” or “Chicken Little.” But, where is “Cinderella” and other classic movies that older generations grew up with?
To combat the situation, Netflix has teamed up with Nickelodeon—another classic TV station that many people in their 20s or early 30s remember growing up—to produce more originals but potentially bring back older shows and movies, such as “Drake and Josh” and even “Spongebob Squarepants.”
All of the combining of companies or teaming up is not helping the consumer, however. If someone is a fan of both Disney and Nickelodeon, then they might feel compelled to subscribe to multiple services to get everything they want on demand.
These companies have to think about the consumer in order to ensure people subscribe. Once these people get smarter about their money and realize how much they are actually spending, some of the “lesser” companies, like Starz or Showtime, will have to eventually be absorbed or bought out by the more popular companies, like Netflix or Hulu, to maintain its popularity and profiting business.
With less streaming services, they might become more profitable since consumers will be more likely to subscribe since they will actually be saving money compared to services from cable companies.
It will only be a matter of time before the consumer starts to control the streaming service market, forcing the hand of bigger companies to start absorbing other services.
Photo from DisneyPlus.com
