4 ways Disney Plus could beat Netflix – and 4 ways it could fall behind

Disney Plus is on the horizon, with the streaming service’s first few territories set to get a whole lot of Disney in the coming weeks, and there are already signs that it’s going to be a successful start. 

Sure, there still isn’t a Disney Plus UK launch date, but there’s still plenty that the House of Mickey is doing right. From high resolution streaming to a nostalgia-packed launch catalogue, Disney Plus has possibly the most anticipated streaming service launch we’ve ever seen.

Obviously it’s not a fair comparison in some ways; when Netflix first launched its OTT service, there simply wasn’t the same market for streaming that there is now. And Disney has the kind of content catalogue that most platforms can only dream of having at launch.

As the days until launch trickle out, we’ve brought together what we think are the 4 best things working in Disney Plus’ favor (+), and what could stop it from achieving its full potential or market dominance (–).

+ Single tier pricing

Single. Tier. Pricing. We’ve gotten so used to streaming services with various pricing plans and subscription models – whether Netflix’s Basic, Standard and Premium plans, or Hulu’s ad-supported tiers – that the single tier for Disney Plus feels refreshingly simple. For just $6.99 / AU$8.99 (around £5) you get access to the whole library, with no caveats or catches outside of your territory.

+ 4K HDR for all

Sure, most things on Disney Plus won’t be in 4K resolution, or HDR (high dynamic range), but the premium video technologies are now found on an increasing number of content providers – with enough 4K TVs in use to really warrant it. By including these features in the single price tier, Disney is ensuring anyone who wants to access that level of picture quality can, and with so many blockbuster Disney and Marvel movies coming to the service, that’s going to be a crucial perk for a lot of viewers.

+ Content from the dawn of time

Well, not quite. But with TV shows and films going all the way back to the 1930s – starting with Snow White & The Seven Dwarves – there’s a spread of content unlike anything else you’ll find online.

You may not want to watch a lot of the older stuff, aside from a few curios and classics, but to get such a historical catalogue of Disney branded titles is nothing short of a marvel.

+ Dedicated exclusive shows

Somewhere where Disney Plus has an advantage: it’s already a content creator. Whereas the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime started producing shows and films to circumvent licensing fees and gain more of a brand identity, Disney has decades worth of production experience and hordes of studios it can leverage to create for the service that will keep fans coming back and subscribing.

We’re already seeing this with the new Star Wars TV shows on Disney Plus, including launch title The Mandalorian – and Marvel shows focusing on Loki, Hawkeye, and The Falcon & The Winter Soldier. (Not to mention new animated series and spin-offs from a host of lesser-known characters, even including Forky from Toy Story 4.) But with massively expanded MCU and Star Wars universes, there are plenty of fans desperate to consume all the lore that they can, and Disney Plus can give it to them.

But positives aside, what could Disney Plus end up doing wrong?

– Restricted releases

If you’re focusing on all the things Disney Plus will give you easy access to, it’s easy to forget that Disney can also restrict that access elsewhere. We’ve already heard about American movie theaters losing rights to screen classic 20th Century Fox movies like The Fly, Omen, or Alien, and there’s a clear knock-on effect for film enthusiasts who don’t want to settle for a living room experience. Bad blood over this seems certain.

– Same old, same old

Disney Plus will live and die on its tentpole franchises, including Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar. But the danger of producing so much content within these channels is that Disney ends up fatiguing its audience with a one-note monoculture of endlessly similar sequels and instalments.

Disney’s acquisition of so many studios and IP, notwithstanding the advantages it gives to Disney Plus subscribers, could easily oversaturate the market with Disney-minded entertainment and end up being a dangerous thing for diversity across the market.

– Not so global launches

Disney Plus could be a victim of its own hype, in that the service won’t be launching worldwide even though there’s already worldwide interest.

With no Disney Plus UK launch date, or current plans for the rest of Europe – the Netherlands aside – many viewers won’t have the same choice of streaming services, and may be harder to attract later on if Netflix and Amazon Prime continue to get their claws in.

– Running out of content

As much as it’s exciting to see hundreds of classic Disney films and shows, hundreds will only get Disney so far. Netflix boasts around 8,000 total titles, while Amazon Prime has over 14,000 TV shows alone (via Business Insider).

Disney’s long-running Twitter thread of launch titles didn’t even get near 1,000, and it will take a while before Disney will have a comparatively sized catalogue. As much as we’re excited for the November 12 launch, we can’t shake off the feeling that the excitement could be hard to keep going with some speedy growth after the first few months (when people have likely watched the titles they already wanted to).

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