Disney+ Reduced to $1.99 for Three Months
Amid the battle between Disney and Charter Cable, Disney has elected to lower the price of the Disney+ streaming service’s ad tier to $1.99 a month. This is a notable cut down from the previous $7.99, but the deal only lasts until September 20th. Subscribers will receive the promotional price for three months; it will revert to $7.99 for subsequent months. This price drop isn’t the only sign of desperation from Disney, though; episode 5 of the Disney+ Star Wars series Ahsoka, “Master and Apprentice,” is being shown theatrically on Tuesday. Additionally, Daily Mail reports that Disney+ lost over 11 million subscribers last quarter. Monetarily, Disney lost $512 million in the last quarter on Disney+ alone, and Elemental and The Little Mermaid both underperformed, relatively speaking. Films this expensive have to pull in a lot just to break even.
Taking all of these facts together, it doesn’t look good. They’re desperate for money and lost a lot of viewers in the dispute with Charter. Disney also showed some of Obi-Wan Kenobi in theaters, as I recall, so I’m not as shocked about them doing the same for Ahsoka. I do question how much money they actually expect to make by screening episodes of streaming shows, but I guess they must figure it’s worth it. For years now, Disney has been resisting giving the audience what it really wants. Encanto was the last good Disney movie, and Moana was the last great one. Disney hasn’t made any good Star Wars movies, and most people agree Marvel is on the decline. I’m enjoying Ahsoka, but that’s not enough to save their streaming service. As for Disney+ and Star Wars on the whole, I think they’ll come to regret alienating so many viewers with The Mandalorian season 3.
But what do you think? Let us know in the comments below!
