Quasi OT - Disney breaking from Netflix

Submitted by poseidon7902 on

This will impact many on here as Disney has announced they will start their own streaming service in 2019.  Why this is quasi off topic is because they will be moving ESPN to also have it's own subscription service in early 2018.  This signals the death throes of the cable TV subscription.  The last holdout was sports and that's now moving on.  The real question is will BTN also move away from making you carry a useless cable package or will they break off and allow you to subscribe individually.  

 

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/disney-to-pull-movies-from-net…

FauxMo

August 9th, 2017 at 5:50 PM ^

Guess I'll have to rent "The Lion King" every time I want to see the Nazi Hyenas march across the screen from now on. Dammit... 

Toasted Yosties

August 9th, 2017 at 6:00 PM ^

So will Netflix, Amazon, Hulu each pick up games to broadcast? I'm guessing Disney/ESPN will have multiple packages, but I'd be surprised anything less than $30 that includes sports. If we have to subscribe to all the rest you're probably still looking at $70-80/month. With Internet, you're probably paying $120ish a month?

stephenrjking

August 9th, 2017 at 6:05 PM ^

If only there were a company that combined all of these channels into one reasonably affordable package with great resolution and fewer internet service interruptions. Like, I don't know, a company that delivered these channels directly over their own cable infrastructure? They could sell their own internet access too, even bundle it right in.

What an idea.

BTW I'm probably going to go back to cable from PS Vue for football season. My internet is good, but there are just too many glitches. If a "glitch" interrupts my football video for a minute or two during a key red zone sequence, I'm going to express displeasure in tones that aren't really appropriate for a relaxed family afternoon.

B-Nut-GoBlue

August 9th, 2017 at 7:19 PM ^

hahaha that sucks!  That would make for an infuriating Thanksgiving weekend.

 

You know now that I think about it, and maybe this was 2 years ago, I think I remember hearing about people not being able get the game for whatever reaasons.  I feel it was certain segments of the country but again, this is a vague memory and may make sense to the shit you were enduring.

stephenrjking

August 9th, 2017 at 6:16 PM ^

PS Vue just jacked up its price, but it does have BTN (including the alternate channel options) as well as the SEC Network and all of the major sports networks. I gave it serious consideration for the fall, but the price hike combined with the imperfect service gives me the willies. I notice more interruptions on heavily watched programs, too--not good. 

MGoStrength

August 9th, 2017 at 6:21 PM ^

What internet speed do you have, if you don't mind?  This year I'm doing the opposite.  I'm sick of paying cable prices and am trying a streaming service (not decided yet if I'm willing to pay the extra $24.99/month just for BTN) and am curious what speed I need to stream reliably.

lhglrkwg

August 9th, 2017 at 10:29 PM ^

I did PSVue last year + 20MBP TWC internet and it was generally fine. I live in an apartment building so there's a decent amount of interference but otherwise it's fine. I'd definitely recommend going higher than 20 since it was spotty on occasion

MGoStrength

August 10th, 2017 at 8:11 AM ^

Thanks!  I'm going to try 25 mbps.  The difference between that package and the next one up (100 mbps) is $50/month.  

 

It's getting better, but it remains frustrating that you can't seem to reliably watch UM football for less than $100/month.  I'm hopeful one of these days in the near future one can be able to do so for half that.  In my mind internet should be $30/month and then you should be allowed to purchase individual channels for somewhere between $2 - $15/month range.  Buy ESPN for $10/month, BTN for another $10/month, internet for $30 and you've got the only channels you need for $50/month, none of the other fluff, and at an affordable rate.

jdemille9

August 9th, 2017 at 9:32 PM ^

I haven't had any issues watching sports with PS Vue, lack of ABC/NBC is annoying though. I tried to watch the NBA Finals on the WatchEPSN app but that was garbage, very rarely in HD and always buffering.. I know it wasn't my internet connection because every other streaming service comes in flawlessly. ..that said, I'm seriously considering going back to cable for football season too. 

NRK

August 9th, 2017 at 9:48 PM ^

Love this sarcastic but truthful reply.

 

Yes, there will be changes, but people are drastically overestimating the demise of the industry and underestimating the potential issues balkanizing content into individual service provider apps might have on consuming that content.

lhglrkwg

August 9th, 2017 at 10:27 PM ^

Dropped TWC cable last year in exchange for PSVue and dropped the internet from 30MBP to 20MBP to keep the prices decent. With PSVue prices going up $10/month and Spectrum now offering 60MBP as their basic internet, I can get way better internet and a lot more reliable streaming for like $20-30 more per month

MI Expat NY

August 9th, 2017 at 6:10 PM ^

Pretty soon every family of networks/studio/cable company will have siloed their entertainment offerings into their own streaming service.  At that point, someone will have the good idea to simply combine all the services into one larger service at a fraction of the cost, saving the consumers money and expanding viewing options at the same time.  One might even go so far as to call this "bundling."  

In all seriousness, I do wonder if in 15 years the only real difference in tv viewing options from what it is now or was five years ago is that everything is simply on demand with only live events/news shows having preordained time slots.  That probably would bring with it other mundane changes (maybe instead of "channel surfing" or watching whatever is on some channel, your tv would simply propose random options based on your viewing habits), but the essense of having a whole ton of options you're paying good money for, all while generally only watching a small portion of them, remains the same.   

stephenrjking

August 9th, 2017 at 6:20 PM ^

I think there's at least a small danger that the streaming industry does itself significant damage with all of these content providers trying to get their own slice of the pie. When it's just Netflix and Amazon Prime and maybe one other option, that's fine. But I'm not going to buy five different streaming services to see the stuff I want to see. 

Wouldn't be surprised to see a service like Netflix try to partner up with a group like Sling for a "bargain bundle" type option. $30 sling service plus $12 Netflix service = $35 comprehensive tv stream? That would attract some people.

Esterhaus

August 9th, 2017 at 6:22 PM ^

Still owns porn video companies. Meanwhile Walt spins in his grave. It's not your father's Oldsmobile at Disney anymore. An abysmal organization especially for its workers. NetFlix can do much much better.