Disney’s upcoming Disney+ streaming service is shaping up to be quite the deal. According to CNET, the service will launch on November 12th with support for four simultaneous streams and 4K included, all for the base price of $6.99 a month. Subscribers will also be able to create and manage up to seven profiles on a single account.
That will make it highly competitive with Netflix, which raised its prices earlier this year and has in place stricter limitations on simultaneous streams. Netflix now costs $9 a month for a standard definition plan with only one available stream. If you want HD streaming, you need to pay $13 a month, and that gets you two simultaneous streams. For 4K and four simultaneous streams, it’s $16 a month. (The company also recently bumped prices in the UK.)
Netflix’s price changes have been so dramatic, in fact, that CEO Reed Hastings blamed the hike for its dip in US subscribers last quarter, the first drop in domestic Netflix users since 2011. The setback slowed Netflix’s overall growth and caused its stock to tumble, too.
Notably, Disney’s ESPN and Hulu bundle for Disney+ won’t have the same simultaneous streaming benefits. With the bundle, which will cost $12.99, subscribers will only get two simultaneous ESPN+ streams and one basic, ad-supported Hulu stream.
Of course, Netflix has much more robust library than Disney+ right now, but Disney is filling out its upcoming platform with a number of original shows. The streaming limitation and 4K news, which was disclosed during interviews at Disney’s D23 Expo, joins a flurry of new announcements regarding shows and films coming to Disney+ later this year. CNET also reports that Disney will be releasing new episodes of original series on Disney+ weekly, as opposed to all at once like Netflix, a strategy that will likely help it extend the lifespan of its earlier slate of programming while it plays catch up to competitors.
The company is bringing a Ms. Marvel series to its platform, as well as one centered on She Hulk and one on Moon Knight. Disney also today announced a live-action Lady in the Tramp adaptation that will be exclusive to Disney+ and confirmed the much-anticipated Obi-Wan Kenobi original series starring Ewan McGregor.
Prior to D23, Disney has promised a number of other enticing Disney+ benefits, including numerous other Star Wars series like The Mandalorian and a seventh season of The Clone Wars; shows focused on popular Marvel characters Hawkeye, Falcon / the Winter Solider, and Loki; and streaming exclusivity for a number of upcoming high-profile films like Frozen 2 and the live-action The Little Mermaid.
