Disney+ is Raising Subscription Rates in Canada This February
By Simon Hung
December 21, 2020It'll be more expensive to stream your favourite Disney shows next year, as Disney+ will be raising subscription rates in Canada this February.
Starting February 23, 2021, monthly plans will cost $11.99 per month (currently $8.99), while annual plans will cost $119.99 per year (currently $89.99) – an increase of $3.00 and $30.00, respectively. This marks the first time Disney+ has raised their prices in Canada, although the service did eliminate free trials earlier this year.
2021 aims to be a landmark year for Disney+, as the new prices coincide with the launch of Star, a new Disney+ channel that will add thousands of new titles from Disney-owned studios like ABC Signature, 20th Century Studios, 20th Television, FX, Freeform, Searchlight and more. Star content will be included with all Disney+ subscriptions and feature several notable shows like 24, Bob's Burgers, Family Guy, Grey's Anatomy and more.
The new rates will not be charged to those with an active subscription, which means the best way to avoid the price hike would be to subscribe to an annual plan before February 23, 2021 at the current rate of $89.99. In this case, you'll get access to the entire Disney+ streaming library and the upcoming Star catalogue for approximately $7.49 per month over 12 months – click here to sign up for Disney+ before the price hike goes into effect.
Originally launched in November 2019, Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 86.8 million subscribers worldwide and the home of several popular entertainment franchises including Marvel, National Geographic, Pixar, Star Wars and more.
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Source: Disney
39 Comments
"Everything That Has Transpired Has Done So According To My Design."
"Power! Unlimited Power!"
Pixar's Onward.
Pixar's Soul (Dec 25th).
Also got Hamilton, that was good.
This is no longer the case. It makes perfect sense that Disney would now be heavily hedging their bets on Disney+ content instead of films - the traditional money making model for films in movie theatres is gone, and it near certainly will take some time before that model returns, if at all. It is entirely possible that the shift from movie to series might be permanent, especially if it is more profitable.
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.
Let us not forget that there once was a time where taking the family out to a Leafs game (a very great out back then, as they were winning cups) was very much proportionally affordable. This has no longer been the case for decades. Sure - some financially secure families still pull it off, but it is fairly well understood that working class people are no longer the staple within the arena.
Streaming platforms are getting more exclusive, and more expensive. The fact of the matter is - people will be forced to make choices. Going back to sports (which is not only expensive for live experiences, but also through multimedia), there is an entire generation that has accessed these games exclusively through free streams. For many, this isn't by choice, but out of necessity.
Looking forward - I think the big thing that will need to be reconsidered is how we handle massive vertically integrated corporate entities, especially with regards to taxation, which was never designed for such massive scale. We've long been aware that Hollywood math accounting is ridiculously skewed, but tolerated it because we wanted the entertainment industry to both thrive and grow. Companies like Disney and Amazon have basically gamed the system, using their entertainment expendatures/credits to offset payment of taxes within other divisions.
Obviously, it is difficult to prophesy the future, but I think there is a myriad of factors converging that are working against the traditional cinema screen business model. Perhaps they will recover and adapt, but I personally doubt it will ever be the same post Covid.
And Disney, with its rich in-person experience offerings, is poised to be the biggest winner of all.
I'd recommended the full read, but here are some snippets:
If you are a teenager who is growing up in family that can't or won't afford sports, what options are there?
The point being - they are not self sufficient bread earners with purchasing power to make decisions (beyond nagging).
I personally believe that all children/youth should have access to watching sports, and that it should not be a privilege bestowed upon the middle/upper class.
I guess your stance is - tough luck for being born poor. Walk it off?
Both playing and watching sports offers a wide range of developmental educational experiences/lessons for youth.
In short - I consider access to sports as a significant developmental necessity for youth growing up in Canada.
Perhaps you believe the belt is the only thing required?
https://www.cbc.ca/parents/learning/vie ... s-fans-too
If their parents cannot or will not provide access, they are very much willing to circumvent copyright (to access free streams).
I think I've been fairly consistent with my overall point here.
With this whole HBO Max deal for WB movies, clearly movie studios are at least preparing for the possibility of what he is arguing, because they don't want to be left flat-footed if theaters don't bring crowds back. It is something to consider.
Larger TV's are more affordable, and technology keeps pushing visual and audio fidelity. A good home experience is not that difficult. It won't replace a theater so far as viewing experience, but remember, convenience is something the public has been getting used to since the days of the VCR. I can't pause the theater when I have to go pee, can't take the phone away from the moron checking his messages on a bright phone screen 5 rows ahead of me, can't legally take my pants off if it's too hot. So it doesn't look or sound as good to some, but we're a society used to convenience and choice. Movie theaters are very inconvenient.
Profits won't drop for studios. They are more and more profitable every year, and their current losses are a covid blip because they couldn't pivot from theater closings. Within two years they'll be ahead of track in profitability As for the theater, it is a middle man in the current scenario. Studios would cast them aside in a second if it meant convenience for the viewing public and more profit for them. Direct to Home has been around for a while, studios make more money, with less effort, and more quickly, than from a theater chain. As for pricing, I have no doubt they'll figure it out very quickly.
One last thing to remember is that theater obsolescence has been happening for a while now. When I was growing up the theater was an experience that consisted of comfort, a single screen experience, and fun. When big chains started to buy everyone out and turn everything into a multiplex, it watered down the "experience" part of theater. Theater was a boutique store experience, but today it is shopping at Walmart, very impersonal and meant for The Masses. But Walmart is also convenient. Once an Amazon comes along and offered even better convenience, we see what happens. Amazon hasn't taken over, but it sure has cut into their profits. Maybe if theaters become more niche, they'll stay relevant?
In the end, I hate the price increase but I was politely informed that we're keeping Disney+ in any case. We just got rid of Rogers cable, so some of those savings are going to The House of Mouse.
Why go to a live music concert, packed into a small space with a bunch of sweaty people screaming and yelling, listening to a subpar version of the recorded music, when you can listen to a high quality version in the comfort of your home, at you're own volume level.
Why go to a Raptors game and pay a fortune for an awkward view, people standing and cheering blocking your view, cramped in small seat, paying $15 for a beer, have to lineup to go pee, when you can sit in the comfort of your home with the camera showing you all the best angles and close ups, can pause and rewind if needed
Comparing live sports attendance with movie screening is ridiculous.
It pretty much goes without saying that all forms of entertainment that involve mass assembly are going to face challenges.
No doubt - some of the challenges will be similar/identical, but there will also be a myriad of unique factors that are situational dependent.
Going back to Sports and Movies - the big difference is that the outcome of a sporting match is not predetermined (or so, we fans hope).
When you go to that game, you expect that anything can happen, and you likely hope that the team you favour will come out on top.
It goes without saying that fandom involves boatloads of superstitious belief.
Watching a movie can offer a unique experience (moving seats, mist sprayed in your face, etc), but at the end of the day, the movie itself does not change.
You can yell and you can cheer and you can throw things, but I guarantee the movie will end the same as it does in other theatres, or in your home.
With this all said - it will be very interesting to see how things play out when live events return.
For popular sport teams and musicians who regularly sell out, it might not make much of a difference.
For those that don't, it is very probable that they will face struggles.
Rounding things off - remember that a large chunk of the populace have lost their jobs during Covid, and as such, their spending power will also be vastly diminished.
On a personal level I plan to resume my movie watching habits when covid19 ends.
Generally related comment back to the thread. I do feel 11.99 is expensive for what Disney is offering. I feel like Netflix was further a long with making their own content when they got to that level. It seems like sharing services with friends is the way to go right now.
For example, the actual actors act out the scenes in front of a live audience every few nights, and you might be able to get Robert Downey Jr's autograph as he walks to his coach to go to the next city, then it will be more comparable. Or when movie theater seats are hard to get, most being presold to large corporate groups, then it will be comparable. Concerts and sporting events are vastly different experiences where you aren't offered visual or audio fidelity, but a once in a lifetime opportunity to be a part of something unique as shikotee mentioned. But movies are intended to reach larger groups easily, and are not as special an event as they once were, partially because theaters made them less about experience and more about profit. At the same time the advent of the VCR made movies both accessible and convenient to the masses. Concerts, sporting events, live theater, operas etc. aren't comparable, there is a magic in attendance that movies just don't offer anymore.
Anyway this thread is getting derailed so that's all I intend to say about movie theaters.
Remember - very few productions have the draw power similar to Hamilton.
By far, their bread and butter demographic for season tickets is an older retired demographic with money and time to spend.
For them, so much more will be contingent on how things play out with the vaccine.
Also - Historically, arts subsidies/funding plummets during tougher economic times.
With movie theatres - I have no doubt that there will be many who will go back to theatres to watch movies.
What is less than certain is if this crowd will be sufficient to sustain a viable business model in both short/long run.
So much will also be dependent on how things play out with the vaccine and how it rolls out.
If a kids family trek to the movies was a tradition, keep in mind that kids are very low on the priority list for the vaccine.
Myself - I've been using a 1080p projector and 100' screen with a 5.1 sound system for the last few years.
Watching Hamilton with this was a real treat.
When the price for 4K projectors eventually drops (knock on wood), I will purchase.
When the BF $3500 massage chair that I purchased is delivered and installed (in the same room), I'll even have less reason to want to go to a theatre.
Should the industry make the switch and release movies for home and theatre viewing at the same time, the odds of me and my family going to a theatre will further diminish.
I recognize that not everyone will be like me - but I do expect there will be plenty who are.
Are there any deals on Disney+, besides paying for a full year?
So are you saying that children that dont care about or watch sports, arent being allowed their full potential? Like the same as everybodys kid from age 5 is raised to think they will be the next NHL allstar
The moment streaming services puts a stop to sharing, then that's when you'll see profits and subscriptions dry up. Yes, we know it's against the T&C, but everyone is sharing their services. I'm sharing D+ with two others, so $30/yr, or $40/yr next year. Sharing Netflix with 3 others. If you asked me to pay full price on my own ($120/yr for D+ or $18.99/mth for Netflix), I likely say; "nope"
If desired, I could have access (through friends and family) to all services without spending a penny, but I much prefer obtaining my content through torrenting, and viewing through my Plex server. I pride myself with having Prime for years, yet never using their streaming service.
It will be interesting to see how things play out with account sharing throughout the next decade.
Things have been easy going over the last decade because the focus has been to get people to make the switch from cable. If I had to guess, my expectation is that all streaming services will work together and stop this at the same time.
Streaming services are still relatively volatile, and very much engaged in fierce competition with TV services (as well as competing streaming services).
With each passing year, more and more are switching over, but only a fool would slam their fist down hard right now.
More importantly - you are completely ignoring that they make tons of money in a wide range of ways outside of monthly subscription fees.
In short - it is very profitable to have as many people as possible using the service, even if each user is not paying to access this service.
Memories of how cable TV carriers (back when signals were analog) previously had the bright idea that customers should have to pay per each TV using their service in their house, when all that was needed to circumvent was a $5 splitter.