Disney+: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Photo+Courtesy+of+PCMag.com

Photo Courtesy of PCMag.com

Elisabeth Sauerman, Co-Editor In Chief

Disney+, launched on November 12th, is Disney’s first foray into the streaming landscape. The streaming service provides dozens upon dozens of titles, both from television and theatres. The movie titles feature Disney animated classics such as Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, more recent movies such as the entirety of the High School Musical series, and other assorted titles ranging from The Muppet Movie to The Parent Trap (both the 1961 and 1998 versions). The television selection includes the Disney+ exclusive The Mandalorian (a TV show focused on Boba Fett), Kim Possible, and much more.

The content Disney promised and hyped up was certainly delivered. Subscribers can access all of these titles, some of them ranging back to the 1950s. However, Disney+’s shortcomings are found within the functionality of the streaming service.

Interest in the service was high on release, with reports of over 10 million sign-ups within 24 hours. Disney found the high volume of users overwhelming, with many users receiving messages that they could not connect to the streaming service. Kevin Mayer, the chairman of Direct-to-Consumer and International claimed that coding issues are to blame, and that Disney did not expect this high of a volume of users (hear about this and more in an interview with Mayer here).

Additionally, Disney+ faces other problems, one of which includes hacked accounts. While Disney maintains that users’ data has not been compromised, a ZDNet investigation reports that hacked Disney+ accounts are available for sale on the Dark Web and various hacking forums, selling for $3 to $11.

While Disney+ has certainly delivered on the promised content, the functionality and security of the streaming service leaves something to be desired.