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Credit: Inside the MagicDisney is losing money hand over fist by trying to become a streaming-only company, and it is once again slashing prices to lure in subscribers.
The Walt Disney Company launched Disney+ in 2019, making a huge hullabaloo about how the streaming platform would offer virtually every movie, TV show, short film, and fever-dream that the Mouse had ever produced (with one big exception), all for the low, low price of $6.99 a month and no advertisements.
It was a pretty big deal and Disney spared no expense by premiering new exclusive programming like WandaVision and The Mandalorian, doing everything it can to turn its new service into a must-have.
Related: Disney+ Gives up on Streaming Content, Swerves Back to Cable
Since then, Disney+ has become a huge debacle for the company. Disney+ loses money every quarter, and the Mouse has been reduced to trying to factor in other revenue to claim that streaming is profitable in general if you also include ESPN+ and some change they found in the couch.
Venu Sports, the massive new streaming app that Disney has joined forces with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox to corner the sports market, has been shut down before launch by a federal judge over antitrust concerns, and the fallout from that is causing the company to lose millions of viewers on broadcast TV.
Disney+ costs literally double what it once did, is packed with commercials, and has had both original and legacy content stripped in an effort to avoid paying creators and actors residuals. In virtually every way one can measure it, things have been pretty rough for Disney in the streaming wars.
That might explain why the company is attempting to lure in more customers via a special reduced-price offer that includes a number of non-streaming-related perks. Starting today, September 12, the Mouse is extending an introductory $1.99/month offer for Disney+ Basic (With Ads), which will last for three months.
Related: ‘Descendants’ Replaced, Disney+ Kicks Off New Fantasy YA Franchise
Additionally, a number of “Disney Perks” are being offered alongside the deal, which includes:
- Entry into a Disney Cruise Line sweepstakes for a chance to visit Disney’s Lookout Cay at Lighthouse Point in the Bahamas
- Exclusive free bundle of more than 35 Marvel digital comics
- Free in-game emoji for mobile game Disney Emoji Blitz
- 15% off Disney-based products at Funko
- 15% off Disney-based merchandise at Loungefly
- An exclusive in-game cosmetic for Ubisoft and Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars Outlaws” game for Nix, the main character’s companion
- Early access to Agatha All Along merchandise at disneystore.com (beginning Sept. 18)
- Tickets to “D23 Tune-in to Terror: A Hollywood Halloween” presented by Disney+, a subscriber-only event in L.A. (on sale beginning September 12, 10 a.m. PT)
Notably, this push for new subscribers comes at a time when all reports indicate the service is struggling to deal with its “churn” or customer retention. Disney+ will also be launching a number of high-profile shows, like the WandaVision spinoff Agatha All Along and the rebooted Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, so it makes sense that it would try to entice audiences right now more than ever.
The offer lasts until September 27 and is open to “new and eligible returning Disney+ subscribers,” which theoretically should basically be everyone. If you’ve ever wanted to come back to Disney+, now’s probably the time.
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