We all watch it, Maybe you have your own or maybe you have a profile on your sister Karen's account, but we have all watched Streaming TV and its great. From Original programming to blockbuster movies sent right to your tv who could ask for more. Well, More is coming. A lot more and it will become harder and harder to decide not only what there is to stream but is worth your hard earned money.
Disney has made its bigger than life entrance into streaming on the 16th and my first question was: Do I need this?
To make this decision, I have to also decide if I want to pay for it. It's certainly cheap enough at $6.99 a month or $70.00 a year ( it will most likely get more expensive in the future). That's doable, but with so many great streaming services volleying for my dollars like Netflix ( $12.99 for its standard plan) to the vast new sports channels that beg for $5 here and $8 there.
As for the particulars of my streaming budget: Amazon is a favorite, but this also includes the bonus of free shipping for all the products that seem to show up daily at my place, so the occasional awesome new programming on Amazon is icing on the cake.
I have been an HBO fan for as long as I can remember. Tales from the Crypt, OZ, or staying up late after my parents had gone to bed to sneak a peak at taxi cab confessions or Real Sex... to today's great hits like Game of Thrones, The Watchers or one of my favorite series High Maintenance. HBO's upcoming streaming service HBO Max, will have no trouble keeping my loyalty with their proven track record, as long as they keep the quality up while competing with Netflix and dealing with new management.
My last Apple device went on to the big apple crate in the sky a few months ago, I have no plans to buy any more, so their new streaming service Apple TV+ won't be on my budget list and will have to stand on its own merit of its programming. From what I have seen and heard about those, so far, this seems both slim and not very interesting. I'll save my money for beer.
Disney+ is a bigger decision for me. Disney has been the major player of my generation. I remember 7pm on Sunday evenings, gathering around the television with my family to watch The Wonderful World Of Disney, I've cheered with my kids to Moana, and Frozen and now that they have gobbled up Marvel and Star Wars it is as if they have purchased my entire childhood and can now offer it to me at will. I want to go but feety Pjs, eat Fruity Pebbles and watch the Journey of Natty Gann. But, a big concern is that they have relied too much on Children's programming, even with the addition of superhero and intergalactic adventures, will it be enough to hold my attention after a week of power viewing?
The big appeal of Disney+ will be its library of Legendary classics. You get “Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs” , “Davey Crockett”, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, “The Sound Of Music”, Finding Nemo”, “ Escape To Witch Mountain”, Swiss Family Robbinson” and So many more. All of this doesn't even include the Star wars, Pixar, Simpson and Marvel universes. No one has the hits like Disney. And they plan to add more from the ABC studio Libray as well!
What seems to be the crucial thing for streaming services is creating the programming that become the water cooler talk the next day. The shows that become their own culture. Ones that impact like HULU's ( also owned by Disney and available in Disney HULU packages along with ESPN + for $13.99 a month) “ The Handmaid Tale” or Amazon's “ The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” ( both have been awarded Emmys). These powerhouse shows draw people to the service, just so they can be apart of the conversations about them on social media and at work.
So far Disney+ is counting on its new show “ The Mandalorian” to drum up the conversations and it has been indeed doing just that. My concern here is that the fans that will be drawn to “ The Mandalorian” are the same Star Wars Fans that were already signing up, anyway. What is there to draw in the random viewer? Right Now, I am happy I have added Disney+. The nostalgia alone drew me in, The sheer vastness of its back vault will keep me happy for the year I paid for, but they will need to create new programming in order to keep me.
Even though Disney+ “ world according to Jeff Goldblum” is worth my time alone... I'm not sure what the future holds for Disney+ but for now it is a happy addition to my streaming quiver but could never stand alone without atleast one of the other services like Netflix or Amazon for actual grown up programming.
All that said, When has Disney ever let us down?