November – The Arrival of Disney+


Laura Madler

This November we discuss the newest streaming giant- Disney+

Beth Ellis, Staff Writer

The launch of the new Disney+ streaming service has gotten Disney and Marvel fans everywhere excited to watch all of their favorite movies and TV shows all in one place; however, owners of other services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime are worried that Disney+ will only takeover and become more popular than the older streaming services.

Shayla Shuping, Staff Writer: “I think it’s good for people that want to watch original Disney content, but a part of me feels like that should be free, like just put it on Disney Channel. It takes a certain audience to want to watch Disney movies, like, Netflix and all those other streaming services have more adult content, things that are more appropriate for other people and other audiences. Disney content isn’t what everyone wants to watch all the time.”

Jasmine Brown, Staff Writer: “I like the idea, but honestly, right now I just think there’s so much competition going on, like I think there’s so much to choose from, it kind of gets confusing at times. I know Disney + is like Disney, but you know, it’s just so much. I feel like eventually it could [become more successful than other streaming services], but as of right now, no because it’s just offering Disney.”

Matthew Swanenburg, Staff Writer: “I feel that it’s kind of a sellout from some of the companies that have moved over to it, but then again, I feel like, at some point, I’m probably going to end up getting it. I do think it will become more successful because I don’t know a whole lot about what’s on it, but the one thing I know that’s on it that a lot of people are getting excited for are the Star Wars shows like The Mandalorian and stuff, and all the Marvel shows, and if you can’t understand the Marvel movies without watching the Marvel shows, I think that alone will get a lot of people to buy it, so I do think that it will become more successful.”

Laura Madler, Editor-in-Chief: “Personally, I have opposed Disney’s business conglomeration in the past, with them owning a bunch of other streaming services, including stuff like ESPN and Hulu, it’s just a lot. I think they’re such a big, monopolistic company that it’s sort of a difficult position for them to launch their own streaming service. I think it might be more fair to other companies if they would just play the game and give their material rights to others. I think what it really comes down to now is each streaming service needs to have a balance of original content that’s popular and binge-able content that’s popular. So, whoever owns Friends and The Office, they’re going to have a certain demographic of watchers, and they can always count on those people But to supplement that and to combat, Disney has all the old Marvel movies on, and that’s obviously going to draw a lot of people. In addition to having that backlog, you also need good original content. Netflix is surviving right now because they have things like Stranger Things, or they had Orange is the New Black. HBO is surviving because they have Game of Thrones and all that. It just comes down to what your bundle package is. Obviously a service like Prime is okay because you have the shipping Prime, but it’ll be interesting to see how Netflix fairs after some of these hit shows end. We saw the ending of Orange is the New Black, so who knows, we may be seeing the end of Stranger Things pretty soon. It’s just a matter of if the new original content, which they have so much of, can keep up with the old buzz.”

Amira Lovelace, Staff Writer: “I think it’s nice that they’re putting all of the Disney movies and content that are under Disney on one streaming service, I just wish it was easier to watch all the shows together under one big streaming service, that would be nice, but it’s not going to happen. It could [become more successful than other streaming services], but I don’t think it will, just because, yeah it does have the Marvel movies under it,  but people only stay and subscribe to that for so long because they don’t want to keep seeing little princess movies when they’re looking for Spiderman or something.”

Beth Ellis, Staff Writer: “As an avid Disney fan, I personally enjoy Disney + and the opportunity to access and enjoy all of my favorite shows and movies from my childhood all in one location; however, as much as I love Disney, there are other shows and movies from other streaming services that are not provided on Disney +, so I prefer other streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime to watch them. Whether you enjoy Disney + or not depends on your entertainment preference. While Disney movies are good, feel-good movies if you’re looking for a story with a happily-ever-after, other services like Netflix have other original content that does not necessarily fit in the same location as Disney productions. Netflix, Disney +, Hulu, Amazon Prime, whatever streaming service you prefer to use, they are all successful in their own ways due to the content that they provide, and the audiences that they draw in. I do think that the attention given to Disney + in its new release has taken away some viewers of Netflix, Amazon Prime, and other services, but if these services continue to release new, original content, I believe the views will begin to balance out and Disney + will not be quite as high up in the competition as it currently stands.”