Following in the footsteps of Netflix, Hulu, and Apple TV+, Disney launched their own streaming service, Disney+ on Nov 12. Disney+ launched with 639 titles, including shows and movies from Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and more. The service, notably like Netflix and Apple TV+, also launched with, and will periodically gain, exclusive movies and shows. The main reasoning for buying Disney+ seems to depend on the person, but some people do not think it is worth it. The decision to purchase the service is basically based on a couple of factors like price, content, and accessibility.

Disney+ currently sits at $6.99 per month or $69.99 for a whole year. There is also a bundle that includes Hulu and ESPN+ for $12.99 which, by themselves, cost $5.99 and $4.99. The base plan is considerably cheaper than many of Disney+’s competitors. Netflix’s cheapest plan currently sits at $8.99, and Amazon Prime Video at $12.99. “I think just because it’s cheaper and it has such a wide variety of things, personally for me I like pretty much any show,” Nic Zimmerman 21′ said. “So for me I think it’s totally worth it just to have Disney+ compared to the others.” For Zimmerman, the content makes up for the price.

Another major factor for purchasing the service is content. Disney+ launched with multiple iconic shows and movies from Disney and other flagship companies and brands owned by them. This includes brands like Marvel, Star Wars, and recently acquired 21st Century Fox properties like The Simpsons and the Ice Age series. It also has original content made specifically for the service like “The Mandolorian,” “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”, and “The World According to Jeff Goldblum.” “Because Disney has bought out so many other companies and they have stuff ranging from Star Wars to just general Disney princess movies, I think it generally more appeals to a younger generation,” Zimmerman said.

While not all of the exclusives are Disney, they are from select Disney owned franchises like Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm properties like Star Wars. Tarun Srikaran ‘21 thinks that the exclusives warrant the purchase. “Exclusive shows are always something to draw me to a specific thing,” Srikaran said. One problem some people might have with the service is that since it is a Disney service it might only cater to a younger audience, but a lot of their content is 13+. This content includes movie and shows ranging from all sorts of genres.”Disney owns tons of other companies and rights to other stuff so it’s not just limited to the younger audience,“ Srikaran said.

Currently Disney+ is only available in The United States, Australia, Canada, The Netherlands, and New Zealand. Support for other European countries is planned to launch within 2020. It is also downloadable on mobile devices like tablets, cell phones, video game consoles, and streaming devices like Roku and Amazon Fire Stick. For most people the service should be very easy to access on most devices.

Overall Disney+’s content and accessibility makes it a no brainer for Disney fans. While the current lack of massive amounts of content, and the slight restriction on it, may set some subscribers off, the price makes it a solid cheaper alternative to other streaming services. Due to the content available on the service I personally will be using it and I look forward to what it will bring in the future.