Disney+ And The Rise Of Streaming Services
Written by Gylf Forsberg, Culture Staff Writer
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past month, you have probably heard about the newest streaming service to hit the internet—Disney+. The long-awaited streaming service launched earlier this month, containing essentially the entire Disney catalog—from the classic films of the early nineteenth century, to various Disney Channel series and lastly to America’s newest sweetheart: Baby Yoda.
Disney+ is the newest in the lineup of streaming services, which when combined quickly stack up to a monthly total greater than a typical cable subscription. So, why are more and more people opting to forgo a traditional cable subscription in exchange for one or more streaming subscriptions?
When streaming services first began nearly a decade ago, the only option was Netflix—the mail-in turned online movie service—but Hulu soon followed. Hulu placed a larger emphasis on television shows, with some shows being available the day after the episodes aired on primetime networks.
These two services steadily gained subscribers but were still often seen as a supplement, not a substitute, to the typical cable subscription dominating television sets since the mid-century.
The game was changed once again, however, when these streaming services began to produce original content. In 2013, Netflix began its foray into original content with its two hit shows “House of Cards” and “Orange Is the New Black.” These two shows set a precedent that would shape the entertainment industry for the coming decade.
As the years progressed, Netflix—and later Hulu—continued to produce original content, with several of these series and movies gaining nominations and wins across the award spectrums, like “Roma”, a Netflix film that received three Academy Awards.
Over the last decade, several more streaming services have popped up and begun to create original content as well. AppleTV, HBOGo and Prime Video were added to many people’s monthly subscriptions—and payments—as more and more viewers began to forgo the traditional cable subscription altogether.
As these streaming services continued to grow, so did the competition between them, with large production companies’ catalogs often being split amongst streaming services. In the past, for example, you could find Disney films on all of the main streaming platforms.
This all changed though when Disney announced their own streaming platform—Disney+—on which you could watch virtually every piece of Disney entertainment, with several originals creations as well—including the soon to be classic, “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.” Just watch, don’t ask questions.
The launch of Disney+ likely had a major impact on other streaming services, with some people saying that Disney+’s launch was the reason for the new multi-year deal made between Netflix and Nickelodeon.
The launch of Disney+ may just be the next turning point in the growth of the streaming service, and it begs us to ask the question—how will these changes continue to force cable networks to change and evolve?