A little less than three months’ notice. From November 1, 2023, you will have to make a choice when subscribing to Disney +. At the origin of the series “The Mandalorian” Or “Oussekine” but faced with a leak from its followers, the platform has just announced that it was going to set up an offer with advertising from that date. The opportunity also to offer two other formulas – Standard and Premium – whereas until now only one type of subscription was possible. Explanations.
Limit losses
Since the end of 2022, Disney + has continued to record subscriber losses, especially with the flight of several million customers to India. In total, the paid video service had 146 million subscribers worldwide at the end of June, down 18 million from September 2022. Elsewhere, the loss is just 1% in the market American in the last quarter and France does not communicate figures.
According to Philippe Bailly, president of the NPA Conseil firm, which specializes in digital transformation, “in France, what characterizes subscriptions to Disney + is a fairly slow but steady progression. They are currently between 4 and 5 million. In any case, a price increase will make it possible to make up for certain financial shortfalls.
The end of the unique offer
Currently, it costs you 8.99 euros per month in France to have access to all of Disney +. If you commit to 12 months, it is even cheaper, at 89.90 euros per year. The platform is then accessible up to 4 screens simultaneously and content can be ed to ten different devices. By dropping this unique offering, Disney+ is getting closer to the model of netflix. Among the behemoths of the market, only Prime Video (Amazon) remains on a single type of subscription, accessible at 6.99 euros per month or 69.90 euros per year.
Ads to pay less
The new offer with adver which will be launched on November 1st will cost 5.99 euros/month. Called “Standard with advertising”, it will give access to the entire catalog of the platform and will only be accessible to two screens simultaneously. Note that users will not be able to the programs in order to view them offline. “With its ad-free offer at the best price available a few months ago, Netflix put pressure on its competitors, emphasizes Philippe Bailly. It is no coincidence that the price and the characteristics of the Disney + offer are the same. »
Standard and Premium Award
Another change: the appearance of a distinction in the proposals without advertising. From November 1, subscribers will have the choice between a “Standard” offer with only two simultaneous screens at 8.99 euros/month or 89.90 euros/year. Or the premium offer which corresponds to the current subscription (4 simultaneous screens) but which goes to 11.99 euros/month or 119 euros/year.
“It’s less radical than in the United States, where they launched the offer with advertising at the price of the old one that didn’t have any. While to not have ads, you had to spend 3 dollars more. In France, they keep an offer at the same price and without advertising thanks to this intermediate level”, supports Philippe Bailly. In addition, the prices remain competitive compared to those of Netflix of 13.49 euros and 17.99 euros/month on equivalent proposals.
Attention, current subscribers must also make a choice
Anyone who has previously subscribed to Disney+ is considered a premium subscriber. If they do not change formula, they will therefore be billed at 11.99 euros / month from December 6, specifies the American giant in a press release. A 33% increase! We must also expect restrictions by 2024.
“By offering a package with two screens and another with four screens, this means that the number of simultaneous streams becomes an essential criterion for Disney +, insists Philippe Bailly. It is written that their next project will be to limit the sharing of accounts. ” Here again, the firm will follow in Netflix’s footsteps.
Does the Hollywood strike threaten the streaming market?
This Wednesday August 9 marked the 100 days of the American screenwriters’ strike, joined since by the actors. This has put almost all film and series production on hold. For Philippe Bailly however, “in the short term, for the platforms, this is not a problem. Studios began to resell rights to each other and many returned to progressive online logic. »
He adds: “So by shelling out their new releases a little more, by playing on the highlighting of certain elements of their catalogs and possibly by buying rights from their competitors, not to mention the pool of foreign productions, they have enough to feed their offers for quite a while. Obviously, if the strike lasts two years, then it will be problematic for everyone. »