Disney is consolidating their power in the entertainment industry by creating their own streaming service. They have slowly been pulling some of their films and shows from other streaming services, most recently the Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series which was taken off of Netflix. Their new service is called Disney+ and will launch November 12th, 2019. It will have a monthly cost of $6.99 and a yearly price of $69.99, compared to Netflix’s plan which is $9-16 a month. Following the Disney and Fox merger, the streaming service will have loads of content from popular IPs such as Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar. Along with the existing films and shows, Disney will have spent $1 billion on original content exclusive to Disney+, which is $2 billion less than Netflix is spending on Originals. At launch, Disney+ will have 500 movies and 350 TV show, compared to Netflix’s 4,000 movies and 1,700 shows. Disney’s various companies are already working on new shows, such as a Scarlet Witch/Vision and Falcon/Winter Soldier shows from Marvel and the Mandalorian and seventh season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars from Star Wars along with the new Disney live action reboots of their classic films. Along with those shows, some of Disney’s newer acquisitions will also appear on Disney+ such as The Simpsons. It will also be featured in a discounted bundle with Hulu and ESPN+. So with so many reasons why you should With their strong selection of movies and shows they will definetely be competitive in the streaming service market.

Hopefully Disney will be a benevolent ruler of so many characters and IPs that people hold near and dear to their heart. They could very easily make Disney+ a necessity for fans or restrict content behind a “premium” account. No corporation is expected not to try to make money any way that they can, and Disney will likely try to exploit people’s heartstrings through Disney+. However, the Disney originals are something to be excited for and while the monthly cost is still relatively low and definitely lower than the cost of Netflix many consumers are likely to switch to Disney+ at least for this winter/fall season with Star War Episode IX coming out. If Star Wars Episode IX and other big movies launch to Disney+ at the same time as being in theaters, it will definitely hurt ticket sales as the $7 price is much cheaper than a movie ticket. Time will tell whether or not Disney+ will help or hurt the entertainment industry.