Gloria Young, contributor

Today, people are lucky to have tv shows and movies right at their fingertips for a monthly fee. However, due to the growing popularity of ad-free binging, more and more streaming services have been popping up. On Nov. 12, Walt Disney Company released hundreds of titles on their new streaming service, Disney Plus (stylized Disney+). From Star Wars to Disney princesses, the streaming service is the perfect place for watching marathons. On Oct. 14, Disney+’s twitter account released almost all of the titles that will appear. Not only will the program bring easy access to beloved classics, there have been rumors of reboots and other live-action remakes to appear on the application. Walt Disney Company has recently made live-action remakes of Beauty and the Beast, Lion King and Aladdin. Both the original and remake versions will be available to watch on Disney+.

When asked if Disney+ is for kids, the quick answer is no. As stated above, the service will have movies and tv shows dating back to the 1930’s. In addition to the Star Wars saga, some of the titles being released on the application are Marvel movies, Pixar movies and National Geographic documentaries. It can be assumed that Disney+ will have a sub channel within the system just for their kids programs, but the majority of Disney+ watchers might be closer to young adults. 

With all of Disney/Disney owned films and tv series moving onto the upcoming app, how will this affect the other streaming services? Starting as a DVD rental service, Netflix has built up quite a reputation for itself. Over 145 million subscribers can tune into original content like Stranger Things and Sex Education. Although Walt Disney has been taking out some of their movies and shows since 2016, Netflix continues to have a strong following base. Hulu differs from the other streaming services since it releases new episodes of most of their tv shows a day after they air on tv. The service also differs as it offers a cheaper monthly payment at the cost of playing ads during programs. In addition to long-term tv shows, Hulu also has some originals that are worth tuning into. The beloved two-day shipping company Amazon has also released their own streaming service called Prime Video. While Prime Video offers thousands of titles free to watch, the service also allows subscribers to rent or buy movies and tv shows. The purchasing feature assures customers that their favorite title will never be discarded for new content. 

While Disney’s abundant list of titles is appealing to the eyes, subscriber count isn’t going anywhere for the other streaming services. Disney+ is currently available for $6.99 a month or $69.99 per year!