The rise of Disney Plus

Amy Morris & Nikolai Kostka, Scene Editor & Staff Reporter

Disney Plus has amassed a total of 28.6 million subscribers in the months since it was released on Nov. 12, 2019. 

This growth has been achieved partly because of a bundle with the streaming service Hulu and ESPN+. Verizon is also giving its unlimited data users Disney Plus free for a year.

The Disney Plus subscription on its own is $6.99 a month while the Disney Plus package with Hulu and ESPN+ is $12.99 a month. 

Not only does Disney Plus offer their old movies and television shows but it also adds exclusive Disney Plus originals. 

Teagan Kimbro

Disney remains the second largest media company, according to Forbes. Disney has theme parks, cruises, clubhouses and resorts that cater to their fan base. Some CWU students are part of that fan base. 

Leilani Sheffey is an English major who took part in the Disney College Program. She said when Disney plus was announced she was so excited, she pre-ordered it while she was still in the Disney College Program. 

She said it was disappointing to find out not all of the Disney Channel original shows would be there.

“I am glad that they didn’t add their racist work, as well as making a note about some old movies that have racist scenes,” Sheffey said. 

Disney Plus is always adding new content. Sheffey is excited for some promising new originals including “Diary of a Future President.” 

As far as remakes go Sheffey is adamant the originals are always better than the live actions.

Maria Sanders, the director of the film program at CWU, said Disney Plus will have an effect on filmmakers.

“The more platforms that are out there the more content can be created that reaches niche audiences,” Sanders said. 

While Hulu and Netflix used to be the most popular streaming services, now Disney Plus adds some competition. 

According to Statista, as of 2019 Netflix has over 167 million paying subscribers worldwide.  

Hulu, on the other hand, has over 28 million paying subscribers worldwide as of 2019, according to Variety. 

The Disney Plus show “The Mandalorian” that continues Disney’s “Star Wars” franchise is one of their biggest hits. 

The show surpassed Netflix’s “Stranger Things” 21 straight weeks at the top of Parrot Analytics’ weekly list of the most in-demand original streaming shows in the US, according to Business Insider.Disney Plus also offers tv shows/movies from Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic.