Disney+ is getting an important feature that Netflix already has
Last week, Disney finally launched its long-awaited streaming video service Disney+. With content from Disney (including theatrical releases, live-action, and animation), Pixar, Lucasfilm (Star Wars franchise), Marvel, 21st Century Fox, and National Geographic there is something for everyone. And priced at $6.99 a month (or $69.99 for a year), subscribers can put up to 10 devices on their account with any four able to access it at a given time. Compatible videos will stream in 4K.
Disney, uncharacteristically, has undercut its main rival in pricing; Netflix charges $14.99 per month for a similar plan. But Netflix does include something that Disney left off its video streamer. As spotted by Business Insider, those watching Disney+ have no way of knowing which content they have already started or finished. Netflix, for example, does have a couple of "carousels" that will show this information. One, which appears right under "Previews" says "Continue Watching for..." and will show videos that a subscriber has started but has not finished. Tapping on the image will allow users to pick up right where they left off. Scroll down a little and there will be a heading that says, "Watch It Again," which is pretty much self-explanatory.
Over 10 million people subscribed to Disney+ in the first 24 hours
Disney says that it plans to update and refine Disney+ on the fly and that a "continue watching" feature will soon be added to the site/app. No precise time frame was mentioned as to when this might show up. Also, it is unknown whether Disney plans to show subscribers a list of content that they have finished viewing. But this can all be taken care of with a simple software update which makes us wonder (facetiously, of course) whether Disney studied how Google releases its Pixel handsets before launching its streaming video service.
Disney+ has been a huge success for the entertainment giant as over 10 million people signed up after the first 24 hours. However, because there is a 7-day free trial, a true paid subscriber count is unknown at the moment. Those who did sign up for the trial when the video streamer debuted on November 12th have either paid for a subscription or dropped the service. According to Fortune, Rosenblatt Securities analyst Bernie McTernan calls for Disney+ to have 90 million subscribers by the end of 2024. Interestingly, a recent survey conducted by Fortune shows that one out of every three subscribers to competing streaming services Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon plan on paying for Disney+ service.
Netflix allows users to see content that they have started and have finished. This is not yet available on Disney+
Even though Disney has busted its infamous Vault (where classic films were locked up and offered to the public every few years), some analysts say that the main selling point of Disney+ is not the older nostalgic content. Instead, they believe that consumers are signing up for the service in order to see what new antics and situations their favorite characters have gotten themselves into. This is true for both animation and live-action. For example, Disney+ features a new computer-animated series called Monsters University that stars the same characters from the Monsters Inc. movie. And new episodes of Lizzie McGuire are coming starring Hilary Duff in the role that made her famous. Fans of the show might like to know that just today, Disney announced that Adam Lamberg will reprise his "Gordo" character for the reboot.
If you're a Verizon customer and pay for unlimited data, you are entitled to one free year of Disney+. That perk can be claimed by opening the My Verizon app and going to Account > Add-Ons; swipe to the entertainment tab and follow the prompts. You will eventually be asked to create a password for the Disney+ app. When you are done, go to the App Store or Google Play Store to install the Disney+ app and sign in using the email address and password you registered with Verizon.
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