Why I’m not a big fan of the new streaming service, and why it has nothing to do with it’s content.
By: Jacob Politte, Online Editor
On Nov. 12, The Walt Disney Company officially launched its new streaming service, un-inspiringly titled “Disney+.” It’s been reported that around 10 million people signed up for the service on the day it launched.
I did not sign up for the service, and I have no plans to.
My reasons for that have nothing to do with the programming that the service offers, although some of the newer series that are currently rolling out on it look rather… uninspiring. I grew up on some of those older shows, but that was over a decade ago at this point. I don’t like to live in the past, and I definitely have no interest in reliving my childhood. If I want to see Cole Sprouse in 2019, I’d rather watch him be buried alive on “Riverdale.” If I wanted to watch any other kid that I grew up watching, I’d watch their recent work, not the stuff that they did over a decade ago.
The amount of reboots and revivals coming exclusively to the streaming service is notable (I’m looking at you, “Lizzie McGuire” and whatever that “High School Musical” atrocity is supposed to be), as Disney has struggled to make new content on their own, instead preferring to buy various successful franchises and companies outright, using their content for their own corporate gain.
The simple fact of the matter is that by launching this service, Disney is just attempting to own yet another market: streaming.
Many channels/companies are taking a cue from Netflix, Hulu and Amazon by launching their own streaming services, with each company attempting to exclusively own some of their own programming. This is extremely misguided, but that’s a piece for another time. My guess is that Disney saw this going on, and decided “We’re gonna crush everyone else.”
On a personal note, I also have no interest in helping Disney become even one dollar richer. Disney isn’t so much of a family-friendly company as it is a bloodthirsty, multi-media monster with a seemingly endless amount of currency that hides behind a family-friendly facade. Many former stars who have worked for the corporation, such as Miley Cyrus, have been very open about how hellacious that working there could be. Disney owns practically every piece of entertainment that we as a society have grown up watching, and their empire will only continue to expand. I want no part of that.
So while the rest of the world enjoys what the service has to offer, I will be doing something else with my time. Disney already owns everything else, they will not own my personal time, too.
