Disney CEO Bob Iger has offered a first look at the company’s new streaming service.
The Disney+ streaming service, which will be home to Disney content past and present, features a similar user interface to Apple’s new Apple TV+ streaming service, as well as Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Instant Video.
Company CEO Bob Iger shared a first peek of the new streaming service on Twitter, with a screenshot that shows off a ‘dark mode’ interface with categories for a number of Disney franchises, including Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, and National Geographic, and a Continue Watching section where users can pick up where they left off.
The screenshot also gave a first look at a Disney+ Original, titled The Mandalorian.
Content on Disney’s new streaming service will be available via a new Disney+ app on smart TVs (with deals already confirmed for Sony and Roku, with more manufacturers set to pencil in deals in the coming months), as well as apps for iPhones, Android devices, web browsers, games consoles, and virtually everywhere you can currently watch streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Instant Video.
Like the aforementioned, Disney+ will allow families to create individual profiles, and for travel, Disney+ content can be downloaded for offline viewing. The new service will also support 4K HDR for some titles, although it’s unknown whether the company will charge extra for better picture quality, in a similar manner to Netflix.
What will be on Disney+?
Disney+ will be the company’s new home to Disney content, with all Disney/Marvel/Pixar material from rival streaming services like Amazon and Netflix set to be removed before the platform launches.
Alongside previous movies, television shows and content from Disney channels like National Geographic, the company has announced a series of original movies and television shows, some of which will launch on day one.
TV shows include spin-offs of popular franchises like WandaVision, Monsters, Inc, and High School Musical, as well as a Frozen 2 documentary, Star Wars series and a live-action remake of Lady and the Tramp.
Pixar content will be available to stream from Disney+ following the first year of launch, so movies that are in theatres this year – like Dumbo and Aladdin – will likely make their way to the streaming service toward the end of this year or in early 2020.
When does it launch, and how much will it cost?
Disney has confirmed that its new streaming service will launch this November, on the 12th, to be exact.
The service will be priced at just $6.99 per month, much lower than Netflix and Apple’s rumored $9.99 per month.
Disney will also be offering a year-long subscription for just $69.99, making the platform even cheaper.
Remember that, whilst Disney has an impressive back catalog and is set to remove many movies and television shows from the so-called Disney Vault, it’s likely to offer much less content than rival streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, and Apple, all of which offer original content alongside licensed content from third-parties.
Disney+ is expected to launch in the same time period as Apple TV+, although the Cupertino firm has yet to announce a release date for its service. It will be interesting to see how the company promotes its offering alongside Disney+ – but the good news for consumers is that they have more content choices than ever before.
Keep it AppleMagazine for the latest on streaming, as and when we get it.