On December 10, 2020, Disney + announced far-reaching plans for the future.
Europe has to prepare for a price increase, but there is a good reason for that.
Update from December 11, 2020
: In 2021, there will be some changes for
Disney +
users
.
As the company announced several reports at this year's “Investor Day”, it will not have its own adult section called
“Star”
until February 23 at the earliest
.
Among other things, the group would like to offer content there that is currently available on the American streaming service
Hulu
.
+
Disney + will soon be increasing subscription prices.
© Antoine Wdo / imago images / Hans Lucas
So the
assumption that
Hulu
and
Disney +
will be combined in Europe has not come true (see below).
Instead, thanks to
Star
, Europe is getting
its own version for adults.
As heise online reports, account holders have to activate access to the new area independently.
This can in turn be blocked for individual user profiles, for example for minors for whom the content is not suitable.
The changes are accompanied by an unpleasant aspect: the
subscription prices
are also reported to increase.
Accordingly,
8.99 euros per month are
due
in Europe
.
That's 2 euros more than before.
The price for an annual subscription increases
from 69.99 euros to 89.90 euros
.
Find out more
: "Star Wars" lead actor returns in the new Obi Wan series - but fans are already gossiping.
Two streaming giants could become one platform
News from December 8, 2020
: In the last few months the streaming competition for established platforms like
Netflix
or
Prime Video
has grown strongly.
Services like Apple TV + * or Disney +, for example, make it difficult for the top dogs to maintain their pioneering role.
At the same time, individual platforms are already collapsing from competitive pressure, such as the Quibi streaming service, which was discontinued after a few months.
With more and more services pouring into the market, the existing platforms need to get creative.
One strategy is to
combine the offers of two streaming giants
- and there are indeed indications that could point to such a merger.
Merging streaming services: will these two platforms combine their offerings in the future?
We're not talking about
Netflix
and
Prime Video
.
Instead, a merger of
Disney +
with the American streaming service
Hulu could be
imminent.
An obvious assumption: large stakes in
Hulu
are owned by
Disney
, making a merger a likely scenario months ago.
As the entertainment magazine Collider points out, there are currently even specific indications of a possible merger: At the same time,
Disney
and
Hulu
are said to
have fired several high-ranking employees due to overlapping positions.
If a merger is actually planned, it could be a measure to reduce jobs that could be filled twice in the future.
However, Collider admits that there is one important aspect that speaks against such plans.
So true
Disney +
as a family-friendly platform, while offering to
Hulu
aimed primarily at adults.
A merger would
challenge
Disney + 's
family friendliness
and potentially turn off many subscribers.
The streaming service would have to develop a system to separate content for children from films and series for adults.
Also read
: inconspicuous Sky series breaks "Game of Thrones" record after just one episode.
Find out more
: Streaming giant from the USA announces European launch - in just a few months
.
Disney + and Hulu: That would mean a merger for German users of Disney +
Collider
speculates that
Disney
and
Hulu
could
publicly announce a merger
as early as December 10, 2020
.
On this day, Disney's so-called “Investor Day” takes place, on which the company's future plans are also discussed.
But what would a merger of the platforms mean for German users of
Disney +
?
Hulu
is currently
not available in this country.
However, rumors were circulating several months ago that the streaming service would like to expand its offering internationally.
A merger would make this step easy.
However, should
Hulu become
part of
Disney +
, it is likely that subscription prices will also rise due to the larger offering.
(soa) * tz.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.
Also interesting
: the
star director is outraged by the “worst streaming service” - the platform is said to have made a mistake.
These are the series highlights of 2020
These are the series highlights of 2020
List of rubric lists: © Antoine Wdo / imago images / Hans Lucas
