Listen up, everyone, because your Disney Plus account just got a shiny new upgrade – well, if you meet two specific criteria, anyway.
Yesterday (September 30), Disney officially revealed that Streams, a brand-new feature that adds seasonal live channel functionality to one of the world's best streaming services, had been rolled out to its userbase. According to a Disney press release, Streams will enhance the platform's live feed offering with four extra live feeds of "carefully curated, continuous programming" that'll appeal to every type of House of Mouse fan.
Three of the newly unveiled Streams – Hits & Heroes, Throwbacks, and Real Life – are expected to be mainstays in the service. Meanwhile, the fourth and final Streams option will periodically deliver seasonal content to users. The first of these seasonally-themed curated live feeds is called Hallowstream, and it features a plethora of spooky and horror-fuelled offerings from Disney's extensive back catalog in time for – surprise surprise – Halloween.
As for the others: Hit & Heroes is a compilation of action-packed narratives that span the breadth of Disney-owned franchises, including Marvel, Star Wars, and Walt Disney Pictures. Throwbacks, meanwhile, is a Streams live channel that'll scratch your nostalgia itch for content of yesteryear. Finally, Real Life will deliver an engrossing lineup of biopics, true story projects, and documentaries produced by the entertainment titan.
This quartet join the first two Streams – ABC News and Disney Plus Playtime – that launched on the platform in early September. According to Disney, this Streams pair has already resulted in a viewership upturn on its primary streaming service, with over 10 million hours streamed across ABC News and Disney Plus Playtime. Evidently, then, Disney is banking on its new Streams additions to perform just as well, if not better, by bringing some of the best Disney Plus movies and best Disney Plus shows to subscribers on a 24/7 basis.
New ways to stream – but only for specific subscribers
On the surface, Disney Plus' Streams feature sounds fantastic. There's so much content on the platform these days that it's very easy for new users to be struck with choice paralysis when they load it up for the first time. Streams, then, seems like a great way of introducing newcomers to the platform's bountiful suite of content without overawing them.
That would be the case, anyway, if Streams was not only available globally, but also to everyone, no matter what subscription tier you're signed up for.
You see, Streams has only launched in the US, so UK and Australian users can't access this shiny new feature just yet. When I reached out to Disney to find out when Streams would be rolled out in these nations and further afield, I was simply told that "[Streams] will only be available in the US at launch". It sounds like those of us on British and Australian shores, plus every non-US territory, have got a long wait on our hands for its arrival.
Even when it's eventually rolled out worldwide, you won't be able to access it just yet. As Disney's press blast notes, those signed up to Disney Plus' Premium tier are the only people who can currently make use of it. However, since this article went live, a Disney spokesperson has clarified that "additional work is required to deliver the four additional Streams to all subscribers" and that "more details will be shared at a later date". In short: sit tight, because Streams will be more readily available at some point.
From a business perspective, I understand why Streams is a Premium tier exclusive. Disney wants to entice new and returning customers to sign up to its most expensive tier – you can find out how much each subscription costs in our Disney Plus price guide – so it makes sense to lock it behind this option.
Nonetheless, it sucks that users are still being asked to cough up more money per month to get the most out of their subscription. And, with another Disney Plus price hike set to take effect on October 17 for those in the US, you and I may be forced to stump up even more of a hard-earned cash to gain access to the Streams feature. I don't know about you, but I'm perfectly content with paying less for Disney Plus and doing without Streams until it's more readily available.
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