Disney+ Disney+: 25% Off New Disney+ Annual Subscriptions Until February 22 Last Day to Save 25% on New Disney+ Subscriptions!

karlb wrote: ↑edit: this is also mentioned in the main D+ thread here and here.

b0ne wrote: ↑ I'm lazy, what's the other D+ thread?

theXshape wrote: ↑ The problem here is they only announced future shows, it's not like they dropped new original content. Virtually all the shows announced when D+ launched last year were put on the back burner because of COVID and other reasons. Who's to say it's not gonna happen again?

karlb wrote: ↑ You may be right. There may be more (potential) money this way and greater control, but at some point people are going to rebel against spending for multiple streaming platforms as each studio wants their own exclusive one. We are not all going to spend $10-20 per platform times 5-10 platforms.

And there is still something really engaging about the BIG screen, the one measured in feet, not inches. Yeah, home TV is convenient, but it doesn’t equal the big screen immersive experience when you really want to be drawn into a flick. I am glossing over a lot of negatives here about theaters.
I’m not sure theaters are dead. We heard this before (VCRs). Times are different today, but we all (ok, almost all) want to go out. A movie in a theater is a great out.

Media piracy has seen several golden ages before, including Napster’s heyday (1999-2002) and The Pirate Bay’s peak years (2003-2008), but Warner and Disney’s new strategies all but assure 2021 will be the dawning of a platinum age. What we’re about to see will go down in pirate lore forever.

This piracy boon will be good for media companies and content creators as well, even if they lose out on some ticket revenue and subscription dollars. In 2021, more people will watch films on their release date than ever before, because the Warner films will travel into homes through HBO Max and through the pirate network. Many pirates are also good fans, and they will heavily promote the Warner films they like on social media, which will drive up HBO Max subscriptions and increase the cultural value of whichever of the offerings they like best. Pirates could make some of the Warner 2021 films legends, by acting quickly to cement their reputations among movie lovers.

2021 will be a piracy bonanza, but there’s no reason to think it will be a one-time jubilee. Rather, it will mark the start of a new era for media corporations.

One company will be much better positioned than others to profit from these major changes to the media landscape: Disney. Disney is poised to use its Disney+ hits to boost not only streaming subscriptions, but ticket sales for its parks, cruises, concerts, and other live events, whenever those become safe again.

In the post-Covid media economy, nearly all content could essentially serve as marketing campaigns for physical, in-person offerings. With so much recorded audiovisual entertainment becoming available relatively cheaply via streaming services or for free, via pirate networks, the one media-related category that seems likely to attract high consumer spending will be physical experiences. People will want to go to places—and do and see and smell and taste and touch things—after a prolonged period of restricted movement and limited socializing. People will also seek to populate their social media feeds with photos and videos of themselves in unique and exciting environments. Disney parks’ attendance was always going to go gangbusters after the pandemic, but with Disney feeding fresh media content to hundreds of millions of households during the pandemic—both via Disney+ and via pirate networks—the Mouse is nurturing a powerful collective longing to enter into Disney-themed spaces as soon as health protocols allow.

A wide range of media-themed experiences are similarly likely to gain traction, including meet-and-greets, live performances, panel discussions (such as PaleyFest’s), and conventions (like Comic-Cons), where fans can pay for the privilege of seeing and even meeting creatives and cast members, play with official props, visit set replicas, and otherwise have embodied, theatrical encounters with their favorite actors, directors, characters, and settings—which they can then transform into social media posts in which they, the fans, are the stars. Fan events always served to promote TV series and movies, but in a post-Covid climate, this operation may work in reverse, too: shows and films could be promotions for exciting in-person activations.

Disney has long used media productions as inspirations, occasions, and advertisements for pricey live entertainment, and it is going even more strongly in that direction by dropping new titles online mid-pandemic. Other major media companies should follow suit if they can. 2021, pirates’ best year ever, may starve Hollywood’s old revenue models, but it may also nourish and nurture the future experience economy.

NTWKid wrote: ↑ Sorry but watching sports is not a necessity, food and shelter is a necessity.

NTWKid wrote: ↑ Sorry but you still don't understand what the meaning of necessity is.

Sports can be a great way to teach your little ones about resilience, and research suggests there can be other emotional and mental benefits. Being part of a fandom means joining a community of others who like the same thing, which can be really important for people (young or old) who are shy. If your daughter really likes the Flames and meets another kid who’s into hockey, this provides common ground and an ice-breaker — an experience and interest they already share.

Other studies have suggested watching sports may even help improve language skills. Sian Beilock, a professor at the University of Chicago, suggests parts of the brain linked with planning and controlling actions get activated when fans just listen to conversations about their sport. This could mean when your hard-core Federer fan watches a tennis match, her brain is almost keeping up with the action by playing along.

NTWKid wrote: ↑ Nice try...you went from saying watching professional sports is a necessity to now this. This is the text book example of goal post shifting