$15.99 a month for Netflix. $11.99 a month for Hulu. $8.99 a month for Amazon Prime Video. $14.99 a month for HBO Max. $10.99 a month for Showtime. And now you’re asking me to pay an additional $6.99 a month for Disney+? Fellas, let’s just call off this whole streaming business and reinvent cable, for mine and everyone else’s convenience.
Disney+ launched in mid-November, bringing with it a wave of nostalgia and the promise of adventure. The media conglomerate, which boasts ownership of the ever-profitable Marvel Cinematic Universe, offers a free 7-day trial for consumers. Free of commitment, consumers are encouraged to dive back into their childhood, when life was simpler, and the greatest worry was whether or not Mom would let you crawl back in front of the television for the 8:00 p.m. showing of Kim Possible: So The Drama. Now, amid what seems like an oversaturation of media, Disney has returned to assert its dominance in not only film and television, but also streaming.
Disney isn’t just a family brand; it is the family brand. Ask anyone, and they’ve consumed some form of Disney content. I personally used to commandeer the family television at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday evenings for “Princess Power Hour,” and immediately afterward, we would switch the channel over to Disney XD (formerly known as Jetix) so my brother could watch Power Rangers. My point is, aside from having a cabinet stocked full of Disney VHS movies (yes, you read that right–I, a member of Gen Z, own VHS tapes), my very average American family absorbed Mickey Mouse’s content night after night on television.
As if that absolute global domination of screens and childhoods around the world wasn’t enough, now Disney comes for our streaming services. And really, who could blame them? Disney’s entire brand is built on nostalgia, family values and fun. It’s built multiple gazillion-dollar theme parks off that brand (real talk: at the end of the 2018 fiscal year, the theme parks alone amassed $4.5 billion). If your company was raking in tens of billions of dollars every year with no sign of stopping, would you not also venture into the cash cow that is streaming?
The question I think on everyone’s mind is in an industry more crowded than the 2020 Democratic nomination pool, how does Disney plan to stand out? It all comes back to one thing: brand. Disney’s brand is all-encompassing, and its content pleases both kids and kids-at-heart. The second the Disney name gets associated with a product; consumers won’t be far behind.
Disney is a powerful storytelling tour de force, and its brand reflects that daily. That power should carry the company through the initial launch and into the hearts and wallets of consumers. With the promise of old-school nostalgia and new stories with beloved characters, Disney will have you believing you’re not just buying another streaming platform, you’re buying into the magic of Disney.