Disney+, Disney’s flagship streaming service, turns five years old today. Despite all the streaming services that launched during the “streaming wars,” it’s Disney+ that’s seen the most success out of the newcomers. It’s now a solidified major service alongside the three traditional mainstays (Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu). Of course, Disney bought out Hulu, and basically merged it into Disney+ (in the US).
Below I take a look back at my posts about Disney+ over the years, and also note my own usage of the streaming service.
Disney+ over the years
I reviewed Disney+ after it first launched in 2019, in 2021, and in 2023.
When Disney+ first launched, I was impressed with how inexpensive it was: $7 a month without ads. (Yes, it turned out that wasn’t sustainable/was priced at a loss, I know.) I was also pleased to see the huge catalog of Disney, Marvel, “Star Wars,” etc. content available on a single streaming service, much of it for the first time. Said content also meant the end of the much-derided “Disney Vault.” At the time, Twitter was abuzz about the various obscure Disney films now available, such as “The Cat From Outer Space.” As it turned out, the biggest initial Disney+ hit was “The Mandalorian,” which made Grogu (aka “Baby Yoda”) a household name.
However, I wasn’t impressed with some of Disney+’s odd decisions from the get go, such as cropping early “Simpsons” episodes into a 16×9 format (which cut off some jokes). I was also disappointed to see Disney+ was missing a number of aughts-era TV cartoons (“Teamo Supremo,” “Buzz Lightyear of Star Command,” etc.), something that hasn’t changed to this day. I also noted the low amount of adult oriented material, as well as decisions such as sticking “Love, Simon” on Hulu, despite “The Simpsons” featuring similar content.
Of course, like other streaming services, Disney+ boomed during the height of the pandemic. Remember when they allowed people to buy the live-action “Mulan” remake for $30?
By 2021, Disney+ fixed some of the early issues, including offering “The Simpsons” in its proper ratio.
By 2023, a number of changes affected Disney+ and the larger streaming world. Disney+ started purging some content, taking an unfortunate cue from HBO Max. A parade of price hikes started to make Disney+ as a solo service less of a bargain. And finally, Disney+ started offering ads, something even the Disney Channel never truly did.
Hulu joins Disney+
Thanks to Disney gaining majority control of Hulu with its purchase of 20th Century Fox, Hulu is available as part of a discounted bundle with Disney+. The now-famous “Disney Bundle” sees each service make up for each other’s weakness: Hulu offers adult-oriented content, while Disney+ offers kid-friendly material, plus major franchises (Disney, Pixar, Marvel, “Star Wars”).
In 2023, Disney decided to merge the two services more tightly together, with Hulu content available under Disney+ for Disney Bundle subscribers. While this alleviated one complaint about Disney+ (a lack of adult content), it also meant parents had to pay attention to parental controls/kids profiles. (Though Disney+ already made this an issue when the R-rated “Deadpool” came to the service.) Of course, for non-American audiences, Hulu doesn’t exist; as such, Disney+ outside the US has always offered adult content (under the “Star” category).
These days, the price hikes on both Disney+ and Hulu (the latter a whopping $19 a month for its ad-free tier) make the Disney Bundle a better deal, as the price difference is small. (Unless one gets Hulu on sale during Black Friday, or one really doesn’t want Hulu or Disney+.)
The future of Disney+
As of this writing, Disney+ has about 153.6 million subscribers, making it the third-largest streaming service in the world after Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. (Counting Hulu and ESPN+, the “Disney Bundle” is the world’s second-largest service.) Despite the problems with streaming profitability, etc., Disney+ is definitely here to stay; as such, it’s the focus of much of Disney’s attention. Disney Channel’s future, however, seems less positive; as for physical media, Disney’s pawned off production of DVDs/Blu-rays to Sony.
As for myself, I like Disney+, though I canceled it earlier this year; I wanted to save money, and my interest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and “Star Wars” have waned. I replaced Disney+ with old stand-by Netflix and buying my favorite Disney films on Blu-ray (and ripping them on my computer to my media server). However, for most people, Disney+ is still a decent service, especially if one has kids, is an animation fan, or loves Marvel/”Star Wars.”
Image: Disney+ logo. (Disney)
