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Disney to launch UK film and TV streaming service for £9.99 a month Disney to launch UK film and TV streaming service for £9.99 a month
(about 7 hours later)
Disney is to take on Netflix and Amazon Prime with a UK streaming service that will make its films, TV shows, books and music content available for £9.99 a month. Parents pestered by their kids eager to watch the latest Disney films will be be able to find hits from Frozen to Toy Story on a new streaming service set to debut in the UK next month. But keeping the children happy - and watching the best shows from the main subscription players - would cost a family £450 a year.
The new service, DisneyLife, will launch next month as an app for Apple iOS or Android mobile and tablet devices. DisneyLife, which will launch as an app on Apple and Android mobile and tablet devices, promises to be a one-stop shop of kids’ favourite content from Bambi and Nemo to Snow White and Mickey Mouse, and will cost £9.99 a month.
Disney says that the new streaming service, which will be rolled out to other European markets, will give access to thousands of Disney Channel kid’s TV episodes, hundreds of albums, books and movies, including the complete Pixar catalogue, which includes Frozen, the Toy Story franchise, The Lion King and classics such as Snow White and The Jungle Book. But for that, Disney provides access to thousands of kid’s TV episodes, hundreds of albums, books and movies, including the complete Pixar catalogue, with films such as The Lion King as well as classics like the Jungle Book.
“DisneyLife is a great example of our strategy to utilise technology to connect with consumers in more direct and compelling ways,” said Bob Iger, chairman and chief executive of The Walt Disney Company. “Families are accessing entertainment in completely new ways but their love for Disney and our unique characters and stories remains the same.” “This is the future in many respects,” said Bob Iger, chairman and chief executive of The Walt Disney Company. “There is a general sense the world is going in this direction. Families are accessing entertainment in completely new ways but their love for Disney and our unique characters and stories remains the same.”
Subscribers to DisneyLife will also be able to temporarily download some content to watch offline, although it has to be downloaded on an UK internet connection or a download on the app while in the UK, so the content can be watched while travelling. Disney is the latest company to move in on the increasingly crowded UK streaming market - Netflix, Amazon Prime and Sky’s Now TV are already fighting to attract the growing number of fans of on-demand services that are more flexible than traditional TV schedules and bulky pay-TV packages.
The service will make content available to watch or read in five different languages - English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. Google looks set to be the next to join the fray announcing the launch, in the US later this month ahead of a global roll-out, of a new YouTube $9.99 a month subscription service covering video, music and gaming.
“DisneyLife will put those memorable scenes, songs and stories at your fingertips, and provide families with a new, convenient way to enjoy the magic of Disney at home or on the move,” said Andy Bird, chairman of Walt Disney International. The service will feature video stars including Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg, the world’s most popular YouTuber, Lilly Singh and The Fine Brothers.
The service allows each membership up to six people to have individual profiles, represented by Disney characters such as Nemo, Woody, Mickey and Snow White, while parents will have the ability to set time limits for children’s viewing on their profiles. While consumers may be spoilt for choice the fragmentation of content means that they are going to need deep pockets to enjoy the fruits of the new fragmented TV market.
Earlier this week YouTube announced the launch a $9.99 a month subscription service covering video, music and gaming. Analysts at Ampere calculate that if a family gets film and TV services from all the main subscription players - Netflix, Amazon, Now TV and DisneyLife - it would cost £450 a year.
YouTube Red, will allow customers to access YouTube videos, the company’s gaming app and a new music app without commercials. And that’s not counting the odd couple of quid purchase of a film or TV from a plethora of services such as Apple’s iTunes, Sky Store, Google Play, Virgin Filmflex or BT Box Office.
It also includes exclusive series and movies from YouTube stars such as PewDiePie. The service launches in the US next week. “There are now a series of what individually appear to be very cheap services,” says Richard Broughton, research director at Ampere Analysis. “But if you are family with diverse tastes wanting Disney for kids, House of Cards for adults and the latest movies and documentaries from Amazon and Now TV it is going to cost an awful lot. Except for a small number of high-spend households that want everything it is not sustainable for consumers to take all these services.”
Broughton says that the services in the fledgling UK streaming market, the oldest of the main players Netflix launched just three years ago, are carving out distinct content offers which consumers will gravitate to depending on their tastes.
Disney is specifically targeting the youth end of the market with Ampere estimating it will build to probably about 1 million paying subscribers, more niche than the current, and growing, levels of Netflix (4.5m), Amazon Prime (1.5m) and Now TV (1.2m).
Disney tacitly acknowledged that the revenues and profits from streaming will be slow to build when just weeks ago it renewed a multi-million pound deal to allow Sky the exclusive first rights to exploit the mega Marvel and Lucasfilm “Star Wars” franchises on pay-TV and on-demand.
Vice founder Shane Smith, who is gearing up for a major expansion of his youth-targeted media empire across Europe, expects the market for more tailored streaming services to get a lot more crowded yet.
“It’s pretty obvious where everything going,” he says. “It is going a la carte. if you aren’t looking at mobile consumption then you are in trouble. Disney is smart. Everyone is going to launch an OTT [internet] service or they will not get a direct to consumer relationship. Every media brand has to be platform agnostic. The offerings out there will be many and they will be varied. Yeah, it may be more expensive if you want everything. But then it may be cheaper if you just want your stuff.”
Main UK on-demand streaming services
Netflix: £5.99 per month 4.5m subsTitles: House of Cards, Narcos, Orange is the New Black
Amazon Prime Instant Video: £79 per year (£6.58 per month) 1.5m subs Titles: Hand of God, Transparent, Vikings
Sky’s Now TV: £6.99 a month plus £9.99 a month for films1.2m subsTitles: Game of Thrones, Mad Men, Walking Dead
DisneyLife: £9.99 per monthLaunching next monthTitles: The Lion King, Toy Story, The Jungle Book