The Streaming Wars: Disney enters competition as it launches new TV deal, so how can you get it cheaper?
- Disney+ will target younger viewers and sci-fi fans with Star Wars spin-off
- If you sign up before the service is launched, you can pay £49.99 for a year
- This works out at £4.17 a month so undercuts competition
- But once it begins, it’ll be £5.99 a month or £59.99 a year
A new TV streaming service called Disney+ launches on Tuesday – and experts believe it could shake up the way we watch television.
You may think the existing choice of dozens of channels along with a host of online competition – from providers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple and BritBox – is already far too much.
Disney certainly seems to fear this might be the case, which is why it aims to lure new customers with extras and is also trying to undercut on price.
Disney+ will target younger viewers and sci-fi fans with Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian
It will target younger viewers and sci-fi fans with a Star Wars spin-off called The Mandalorian featuring ‘Baby Yoda’. And those willing to sign up in the next few days before the service is launched can pay £49.99 for a year.
This works out at £4.17 a month so undercuts the cheapest £4.99 a month competition offered by Apple TV+ by 82p a month. But once it begins, it’ll be £5.99 a month or £59.99 a year.
It will broadcast shows using super-high definition imaging known as 4K. This allows sharper quality viewing for those with a modern TV. Netflix asks customers to pay an extra £6 a month if they want to enjoy the ‘basic’ £5.99 a month TV service in this higher-definition 4K form.
But offering gimmicks to entice customers is fraught with danger. The BBC joined forces with ITV last November to launch BritBox that featured box sets, such as early Doctor Who shows and crime thrillers including Inspector Morse and Broadchurch.
It costs £5.99 a month, with the first 30 days free – but after this period less than 2 per cent of those that signed up seem to have been willing to continue paying. This amounts to about 380,000 households.
Rivals: Netflix has 9.1m UK customers paying from £5.99 a month after a 30-day free trial
In contrast, Netflix has 9.1million UK customers paying from £5.99 a month after a 30-day free trial. It offers its own shows, including The Crown and Black Mirror.
Amazon Prime sits just behind with 6.4million streamers – lured by ‘exclusives’ such as Vikings and Star Trek Picard – with customers paying £7.99 a month following a 30-day free trial.
Apple TV+, like BritBox, was launched in November. It has not released viewing figures. It costs £4.99 a month after a seven-day free trial. Exclusive viewing includes The Morning Show.
A great way to dabble in the streaming market is to take advantage of ‘free’ special offers when signing up.
As long as you cancel within the free period, you will continue to be able to watch the shows at no cost until the introductory period ends. But forget to cancel and you are stung for the full price for the next month.
The streaming services hope you forget to cancel and then have to pay a fee every four weeks. The Amazon Prime £7.99 a month offer includes ‘free’ next-day parcel deliveries. It also has a less popular £5.99 a month Prime Video service for just streaming.
The Disney+ The Mandalorian series will be the talk of the young. This ‘pester power’ is expected to sign up many families.
Rory Stoves, of comparison website uSwitch, says: ‘Content is key and Disney may turn out to have something special. And being able to access a back catalogue of thousands of cartoons, super hero shows and National Geographic is a formidable combination. It also has a wholesome family-friendly reputation.’
Other streaming providers are keen to grab new customers by encouraging them to make impulse purchases for ‘must-watch’ TV – often heavily advertised shows to gain viewer awareness.
Stoves says: ‘We are reaching a stage where there is so much streaming choice that customers could end up paying a small fortune for all that choice on top of the £154.50 for an annual TV licence.
‘Viewers should look at the calendar to book special events and pencil in TV subscriptions so they can be cancelled when they have enjoyed watching a favourite series.’
Providers, such as Amazon, make signing up easier than cancelling with lots of ‘last chance’ offers to remain – but stand firm to enjoy greater TV choice.
Disney+ shows, like other TV streaming services, are accessed via the internet rather than a traditional TV aerial. To enjoy watching its services, you typically need internet speeds of at least three megabits per second.
You can check internet speeds with an online test available at websites such as Broadband Speed Test. If yours is not fast enough, contact your supplier and consider switching.
Streamed shows can be watched on modern ‘smart’ TVs hooked up to the internet – or on a computer, tablet or smartphone.