Let’s get this out of the way up front: I am a huge Disney fan. Because of this, I’ve been actively looking forward to learning more about their upcoming streaming service, Disney+. Well, yesterday was my lucky day as the company finally spilled the beans — and, man, were they some delicious beans.
On top of the already-announced Star Wars series The Mandalorian, just-confirmed Marvel series such as The Falcon and the Winter Solider, and a backlog of Disney content sure to invoke nostalgia for Disney kids of all ages, the big surprise was that 30 years of The Simpsons will be available to watch on the service on the day it launches. That day, by the way, is November 12th. While not everything announced will arrive on that particular date, the full-slate of content set for release in the first year of Disney+ is truly impressive and seems to have something for everyone.
So why am I talking about this on a personal finance site? Well, as luck would have it, Disney+ also bears an attractive price point. At launch, the service will go for $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year. By comparison, Netflix plans start at $8.99, but only offer standard definition. If you want HD, you’ll need to go up to the $12.99 a month tier while 4K will require a $15.99 subscription. And of course we all know how expensive cable can be, leading so many to start cord cutting in the first place.
With that, on its own, Disney+ has the potential to save you some money if you choose to make the switch. However, being the major media conglomerate they are, there may also be an opportunity to save even more while meeting a greater variety of your entertainment needs. Thanks to their acquisition of 21st Century Fox assets (which is also why they’re able to bring The Simpsons to Disney+), Disney picked up an extra 30% of Hulu, giving them a controlling stake. Thus the company says they are “likely” to offer a bundle that includes Disney+, Hulu, and the company’s ESPN+ service all for one discounted price. Considering both of those platforms have their own appealing slates of current and upcoming programming, this bundle could prove to be a real value — especially since Hulu also have a Live TV option.
Obviously my hardcore Disney fandom makes me biased but, based on the reactions from Twitter and Wall Street over the past 24 hours, it seems I’m not alone in my excitement over Disney+. On the one hand, adding another streaming service to your list can siphon off funds you could better spend elsewhere. That said, given the lower entry price and the probability of a bundle deal with other platforms, Disney+ may also be what finally drags you away from cable/satellite or lures you from other streaming options. We’ll just have to see what happens when Disney+ debuts on November 12th.