Disney+ price increase Feb 23, 2021 - lock in annual rate before then

Use the Rakuten link on the annual sub to save $12.50:https://www.rakuten.ca/disneyplus

It was inevitable.... Based on all the trailers and poster art for upcoming shows/projects dropped yesterday, I guess a subscription price increase is acceptable. Only as long as they can keep pumping out more content of high quality.

Pictures Palpatine, sitting at the head of the table of Disney executives, and saying:
"Everything That Has Transpired Has Done So According To My Design."
"Power! Unlimited Power!"

I'm lazy, what's the other D+ thread?

You've got to be kidding me. So we basically paid for a year of The Mandalorian and some other random shows and movies we hardly watched, and now that they have actual content they raise the price. Early adopters always get burned...

karlb wrote: ↑edit: this is also mentioned in the main D+ thread here and here.

b0ne wrote: ↑ I'm lazy, what's the other D+ thread?

guess you're too lazy to click the links I provided. I'd come over and click them for you, but with covid and all...

I'm already on the yearly subscription and The Mandalorian alone has been worth it. Plus with all the Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars content (especially The Clone Wars), I'm pretty satisfied. Now with the upcoming slate, even the price increase won't deter me from renewing when the time comes. It's still cheaper than Netflix and definitely HBO MAX.

Also due to the pandemic, we got a few straight to steaming movies.
Pixar's Onward.
Pixar's Soul (Dec 25th).

Also got Hamilton, that was good.

chimaican wrote: ↑ It was inevitable.... Based on all the trailers and poster art for upcoming shows/projects dropped yesterday, I guess a subscription price increase is acceptable. Only as long as they can keep pumping out more content of high quality.

The problem here is they only announced future shows, it's not like they dropped new original content. Virtually all the shows announced when D+ launched last year were put on the back burner because of COVID and other reasons. Who's to say it's not gonna happen again?

theXshape wrote: ↑ The problem here is they only announced future shows, it's not like they dropped new original content. Virtually all the shows announced when D+ launched last year were put on the back burner because of COVID and other reasons. Who's to say it's not gonna happen again?

Everything shut down in early 2020 because of scarcity of protocols and safety gear/equipment.
This is no longer the case. It makes perfect sense that Disney would now be heavily hedging their bets on Disney+ content instead of films - the traditional money making model for films in movie theatres is gone, and it near certainly will take some time before that model returns, if at all. It is entirely possible that the shift from movie to series might be permanent, especially if it is more profitable.

shikotee wrote: ↑ Everything shut down in early 2020 because of scarcity of protocols and safety gear/equipment.
This is no longer the case. It makes perfect sense that Disney would now be heavily hedging their bets on Disney+ content instead of films - the traditional money making model for films in movie theatres is gone, and it near certainly will take some time before that model returns, if at all. It is entirely possible that the shift from movie to series might be permanent, especially if it is more profitable.

You may be right. There may be more (potential) money this way and greater control, but at some point people are going to rebel against spending for multiple streaming platforms as each studio wants their own exclusive one. We are not all going to spend $10-20 per platform times 5-10 platforms.

And there is still something really engaging about the BIG screen, the one measured in feet, not inches. Yeah, home TV is convenient, but it doesn’t equal the big screen immersive experience when you really want to be drawn into a flick. I am glossing over a lot of negatives here about theaters.
I’m not sure theaters are dead. We heard this before (VCRs). Times are different today, but we all (ok, almost all) want to go out. A movie in a theater is a great out.

karlb wrote: ↑ You may be right. There may be more (potential) money this way and greater control, but at some point people are going to rebel against spending for multiple streaming platforms as each studio wants their own exclusive one. We are not all going to spend $10-20 per platform times 5-10 platforms.

And there is still something really engaging about the BIG screen, the one measured in feet, not inches. Yeah, home TV is convenient, but it doesn’t equal the big screen immersive experience when you really want to be drawn into a flick. I am glossing over a lot of negatives here about theaters.
I’m not sure theaters are dead. We heard this before (VCRs). Times are different today, but we all (ok, almost all) want to go out. A movie in a theater is a great out.

VCR phobia is 40 years old. The home viewing options of modern times are incomparable.

Let us not forget that there once was a time where taking the family out to a Leafs game (a very great out back then, as they were winning cups) was very much proportionally affordable. This has no longer been the case for decades. Sure - some financially secure families still pull it off, but it is fairly well understood that working class people are no longer the staple within the arena.

Streaming platforms are getting more exclusive, and more expensive. The fact of the matter is - people will be forced to make choices. Going back to sports (which is not only expensive for live experiences, but also through multimedia), there is an entire generation that has accessed these games exclusively through free streams. For many, this isn't by choice, but out of necessity.

Looking forward - I think the big thing that will need to be reconsidered is how we handle massive vertically integrated corporate entities, especially with regards to taxation, which was never designed for such massive scale. We've long been aware that Hollywood math accounting is ridiculously skewed, but tolerated it because we wanted the entertainment industry to both thrive and grow. Companies like Disney and Amazon have basically gamed the system, using their entertainment expendatures/credits to offset payment of taxes within other divisions.

Obviously, it is difficult to prophesy the future, but I think there is a myriad of factors converging that are working against the traditional cinema screen business model. Perhaps they will recover and adapt, but I personally doubt it will ever be the same post Covid.

The way media is distributed is changing all the time. No one wants to pay more for their streaming platform, just like nobody wants to pay more for their network television or cable channels through their television/cable subscription. Does anyone think I really want to give Rogers more money? I should just use a OTA antenna. At least with cable & network stations, they make up some of their revenue via commercial and product placements. Streaming stations like Netflix and D+ that create original content gets their profit mainly from subscriptions. So, one needs to factor that in when they're talking about fee increases.

2021 Will Launch the Platinum Age of Piracy
And Disney, with its rich in-person experience offerings, is poised to be the biggest winner of all.

I'd recommended the full read, but here are some snippets:

Media piracy has seen several golden ages before, including Napster’s heyday (1999-2002) and The Pirate Bay’s peak years (2003-2008), but Warner and Disney’s new strategies all but assure 2021 will be the dawning of a platinum age. What we’re about to see will go down in pirate lore forever.

This piracy boon will be good for media companies and content creators as well, even if they lose out on some ticket revenue and subscription dollars. In 2021, more people will watch films on their release date than ever before, because the Warner films will travel into homes through HBO Max and through the pirate network. Many pirates are also good fans, and they will heavily promote the Warner films they like on social media, which will drive up HBO Max subscriptions and increase the cultural value of whichever of the offerings they like best. Pirates could make some of the Warner 2021 films legends, by acting quickly to cement their reputations among movie lovers.

2021 will be a piracy bonanza, but there’s no reason to think it will be a one-time jubilee. Rather, it will mark the start of a new era for media corporations.

One company will be much better positioned than others to profit from these major changes to the media landscape: Disney. Disney is poised to use its Disney+ hits to boost not only streaming subscriptions, but ticket sales for its parks, cruises, concerts, and other live events, whenever those become safe again.

In the post-Covid media economy, nearly all content could essentially serve as marketing campaigns for physical, in-person offerings. With so much recorded audiovisual entertainment becoming available relatively cheaply via streaming services or for free, via pirate networks, the one media-related category that seems likely to attract high consumer spending will be physical experiences. People will want to go to places—and do and see and smell and taste and touch things—after a prolonged period of restricted movement and limited socializing. People will also seek to populate their social media feeds with photos and videos of themselves in unique and exciting environments. Disney parks’ attendance was always going to go gangbusters after the pandemic, but with Disney feeding fresh media content to hundreds of millions of households during the pandemic—both via Disney+ and via pirate networks—the Mouse is nurturing a powerful collective longing to enter into Disney-themed spaces as soon as health protocols allow.

A wide range of media-themed experiences are similarly likely to gain traction, including meet-and-greets, live performances, panel discussions (such as PaleyFest’s), and conventions (like Comic-Cons), where fans can pay for the privilege of seeing and even meeting creatives and cast members, play with official props, visit set replicas, and otherwise have embodied, theatrical encounters with their favorite actors, directors, characters, and settings—which they can then transform into social media posts in which they, the fans, are the stars. Fan events always served to promote TV series and movies, but in a post-Covid climate, this operation may work in reverse, too: shows and films could be promotions for exciting in-person activations.

Disney has long used media productions as inspirations, occasions, and advertisements for pricey live entertainment, and it is going even more strongly in that direction by dropping new titles online mid-pandemic. Other major media companies should follow suit if they can. 2021, pirates’ best year ever, may starve Hollywood’s old revenue models, but it may also nourish and nurture the future experience economy.

shikotee wrote: ↑
Streaming platforms are getting more exclusive, and more expensive. The fact of the matter is - people will be forced to make choices. Going back to sports (which is not only expensive for live experiences, but also through multimedia), there is an entire generation that has accessed these games exclusively through free streams. For many, this isn't by choice, but out of necessity.

Sorry but watching sports is not a necessity, food and shelter is a necessity.

NTWKid wrote: ↑ Sorry but watching sports is not a necessity, food and shelter is a necessity.

The "entire generation" reference went over your head.
If you are a teenager who is growing up in family that can't or won't afford sports, what options are there?
The point being - they are not self sufficient bread earners with purchasing power to make decisions (beyond nagging).
I personally believe that all children/youth should have access to watching sports, and that it should not be a privilege bestowed upon the middle/upper class.

I guess your stance is - tough luck for being born poor. Walk it off?

shikotee wrote: ↑ The "entire generation" reference went over your head.
If you are a teenager who is growing up in family that can't or won't afford sports, what options are there?
The point being - they are not self sufficient bread earners with purchasing power to make decisions (beyond nagging).
I personally believe that all children/youth should have access to watching sports, and that it should not be a privilege bestowed upon the middle/upper class.

I guess your stance is - tough luck for being born poor. Walk it off?

Sorry but you still don't understand what the meaning of necessity is.

NTWKid wrote: ↑ Sorry but you still don't understand what the meaning of necessity is.

Not at all. You are clinging to a narrow "survivalist" definition of the term, while my take is more nuanced and entrenched in psychology.
Both playing and watching sports offers a wide range of developmental educational experiences/lessons for youth.
In short - I consider access to sports as a significant developmental necessity for youth growing up in Canada.
Perhaps you believe the belt is the only thing required?

https://www.cbc.ca/parents/learning/vie ... s-fans-too

Sports can be a great way to teach your little ones about resilience, and research suggests there can be other emotional and mental benefits. Being part of a fandom means joining a community of others who like the same thing, which can be really important for people (young or old) who are shy. If your daughter really likes the Flames and meets another kid who’s into hockey, this provides common ground and an ice-breaker — an experience and interest they already share.

Other studies have suggested watching sports may even help improve language skills. Sian Beilock, a professor at the University of Chicago, suggests parts of the brain linked with planning and controlling actions get activated when fans just listen to conversations about their sport. This could mean when your hard-core Federer fan watches a tennis match, her brain is almost keeping up with the action by playing along.

shikotee wrote: ↑ Not at all. You are clinging to a narrow "survivalist" definition of the term, while my take is more nuanced and entrenched in psychology.
Both playing and watching sports offers a wide range of developmental educational experiences/lessons for youth.
In short - I consider access to sports as a significant developmental necessity for youth growing up in Canada.
Perhaps you believe the belt is the only thing required?

https://www.cbc.ca/parents/learning/vie ... s-fans-too

Nice try...you went from saying watching professional sports is a necessity to now this. This is the text book example of goal post shifting