Apple TV+ vs Disney+: Who Wins?
One of the most highly anticipated months in entertainment history came and went! November was jam packed with movies like Ford v Ferrari, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Frozen 2, and The Irishman (good but too long….just like what my review would have been for this film). We also got the launch of 2 streaming services: Apple TV+ and Disney+. So why don’t we take a look at how each service has done in their first month.
APPLE TV+
Cost: $4.99/month or 1-yr free if you buy new Apple product (minus Apple Watch, AirPods, or Home Pod)
To say Apple TV+ is lacking is putting it nice. Apple went ahead and launched the service focused purely on original content, which isn’t bad. However not at least having licensed content has hurt the platform a little bit. This came at a time when libraries like Seinfeld (which went to Netflix), South Park (which went to HBO Max), and Nickelodeon (which has a somewhat unique deal for new originals with Netflix but old content with CBS All-Access) were all up for grabs leading into the launch.
With that being said, the original content for Apple TV+ is actually really well done. The two marquee shows at launch were The Morning Show and See. Apple also put focus on For All Mankind, Dickenson, and Snoopy in Space leading up to the launch as well as highlighting future partnerships with Stephen Speilsberg, Oprah Winfrey, and M. Night Shyamalan (who has a new original show on the platform launch just this past Friday). With the shows, you can really tell the amount of money Apple has invested in their content: MILLIONS! On top of the modern day set shows having nothing but Apple products in them, the sets for The Morning Show and For All Mankind look very authentic. See was filmed in the forests of Vancouver, which are famously beautiful.
The Morning Show may be the best of the shows that Apple launched with and you can tell how much the believe it is their bread winner. Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carrell, Billy Crudrup, and Mark Duplass lead an outstanding cast that has Mindy Kaling set as a background character, who is clearly planting seeds for a juicy season 2 story line. On top of that, the drama of the show keeps you tuned in from the moment an episode starts to finish. The show is inspired by a book Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV. However about halfway through development of the show, Matt Lauer was fired from NBC’s Today Show and a new inspiration was added via the Me Too movement. Both inspirations have blended together nicely.
I feel like in order for AppleTV+ to really thrive/survive the streaming world, they’ll need a library of licensed 3rd party content and can’t just rely on originals alone. Something tells me that a move will be made by Apple (buy Sony Pictures, huge licensing deals, etc.) so that they can stay relevant when HBO Max and Peacock launch in 2020.
Apple TV+ Ratings: Library – 0/10; Originals – 8.5; Overall: 7/10
DISNEY+
Cost: $5.99/month or $69.99/ yr; $12.99/month with Hulu and ESPN+ Bundle; 1-yr free for Verizon Wireless customers
Okay, I’ve made it known multiple times on the old podcast, on The Sports Hangover with Mike, and on this blog that I am a Disney guy. Disney+ is impressive with the vault open, 20th Century Fox titles in there, and the amount of original programming that was done for launch and in development. It’s really something nice that Disney has put together.
However, a vast library like Disney’s can only get you so far. In fact some titles on the service will be pulled within it’s first year of service due to licensing deals with Netflix and Starz, among others. And it isn’t small titles. It’s Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars titles. It does help that Disney+ has all but one of the episodes of The Simpsons, which is a business decision since the episode that is missing features Michael Jackson (you can figure out why Disney didn’t want that episode on there after watching HBO’s Leaving Neverland documentary).
And there are originals on Disney+. They are good placeholder originals for the service while Marvel and Lucasfilm continue to film new ones. Some more so advertise for Disney’s other entities (The Imagineer Story is marketing the Disney parks for example). There’s really only one original that people are talking about that is on Disney+: The Mandalorian.
I reviewed the series premiere of the show, which I loved. And I still do love this show. However, the talk of the show isn’t the story itself or how it’s different from the Star Wars that we have all grown up with. It’s Baby Yoda. Disney knew what they were doing with Baby Yoda, and how they kept him/her a secret is beyond me. However, the talk has lost it’s focus on the story and everyone focuses on Baby Yoda. That’s making me a little concerned for the already greenlit season 2. What will happen if Baby Yoda isn’t featured in season 2? Will people care or be disappointed? We will see in 2020 when season 2 airs, on top of where the story goes that final few episodes of this season.
Disney+ is good and you can see the investment Disney made in it. It’s clear that it is important for the future of the Walt Disney Company. However, it’s really relying on it’s vast library, which can only go so far.
Disney+ Ratings: Library – 9/10; Originals – 7/10; Overall – 7.5/10
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