Apple and Disney Gear Up for November Streaming Showdown
New details have emerged about Apple TV+ and Disney+, but they come ahead of another wave of new services planned for 2020, which will be competing for your eyeballs and dollars.
By Rob Marvin
New streaming services, Apple TV+ and Disney+, are about to enter the market. Although we learned more about both this week, there are still questions about platform availability and cost.
The Disney+ release date and the content it will offer at launch have been set for a while. On Nov. 12, viewers can pay $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year to access Disney film and animation content, Pixar movies, the Marvel and Star Wars collections, and National Geographic. Available shows at launch include original Star Wars series The Mandalorian, though it’s mapped out a yearslong original content release schedule.
Apple TV+ will reportedly also launch in November for a rumored $9.99 per month, which will make for quite the interesting month for streaming viewers.
No Disney+ on Amazon Fire TV?
Disney’s full takeover of Hulu paved the way for its big content bundle: Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu for $12.99 a month, also available Nov. 12.
This week, Disney announced a few international launch dates as well as all the devices and platforms on which you’ll be able to get the streaming app. But there was one major omission: Amazon.
At launch, Disney+ will be available on all Apple devices (the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple TV) and through the App Store or Apple TV app. Same goes for Google, which will offer Disney+ as an app for Android phones and Android TV as well as through Google Chromecast. You’ll also be able to get it on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Roku streaming devices.
Leaving out Amazon Fire TV could be a temporary omission as the companies hammer out last-minute negotiations, Fortune points out. It could also be the latest in a longer on-and-off feud between the two companies, but odds are on Amazon and Disney working it out sooner rather than later. Amazon patched things up with Google and recently launched Prime Video on Chromecast, for example, so anything’s possible.
The Question of Apple TV+
We learned a lot more about Apple TV+ this week. According to Bloomberg, Apple’s streaming service will make its debut sometime in November, possibly for $9.99 per month after a free trial.
That pricing is still a rumor, but it seems high for a comparatively small amount of content. Apple’s initial slate of originals will reportedly include the high-profile The Morning Show starring Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, and Reese Witherspoon; Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories; documentary series Home; and shows starring Jason Momoa and Octavia Spencer. Apple has a lot more shows in the works, but its catalog is sparse compared to Netflix and other competitors. Will Apple TV+ provide consumers enough to make the cost worth it compared to Netflix, Amazon, and Disney/Hulu?
Apple’s push into services is key to its continued growth. The Financial Times reported that Apple has spent about $6 billion in the past several years readying its streaming service with originals. That’s a significant investment but still is less than Netflix is spending on content in 2019 alone.
Users will be able to subscribe to Apple TV+ through Apple TV and the revamped TV app, which will be available on iOS and Mac, media streaming devices-including Roku and Amazon Fire TV-and smart TVs from Samsung, Sony, LG, and Vizio.
The initial subscriber numbers we see from Apple TV+ and Disney+ will be a litmus test for the next phase of the video-streaming market. Next year will bring another wave of new services in HBO Max and NBCUniversal’s forthcoming app, forcing consumers to decide which services are worth their monthly dollars and how many is too many.
Originally published at https://www.pcmag.com on August 21, 2019.