Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max and Hayu into one single subscription, exclusively on Sky

[splatto]

Is anyone excited by this? I've subscribed to Disney+ twice for a month at a time to watch exclusive Beatles stuff and have no interest in the rest of it. 🙂📺

[Dazzasky]

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@splatto wrote:

Is anyone excited by this? I've subscribed to Disney+ twice for a month at a time to watch exclusive Beatles stuff and have no interest in the rest of it. 🙂📺

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I am, I think it's great that Sky have managed to negotiate these deals. 

[Super+Anthony]

Thank you @KevNewMedia very helpful

Will this get the same things we get at present with the red button etc etc

[Angel_Aka]

It makes very good business sense for Sky to offer these bundle deals - it's really the only way to survive in an increasingly competitive market. It gives all these platforms the chance to get their content into a lot more peoples' eyes under the illusion that they're getting it for 'free' (with ads) on a long term contract. 

The danger of course is that Sky customers may realise that they end up watching less Sky programming and more on HBO Max, Disney+ and Netflix, all of which are available as standalone products paid for on a monthly basis or discounted with other suppliers or on annual subscriptions.

There are plenty of options for viewers, that's for sure...

[Chrisee]

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@82bit wrote:

So we've basically just come back to where we used to be - "Cable TV"! The fractured premium TV market is reunited again, although we now have the added inconvenience of launching apps to watch the stuff we used to be able to watch straight off the EPG. 

Progress? Hardly. 

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@82bit I bet Sky's management agree with you on that. The desire by content owners to get more of the cake by launching their own apps caused the fragmentation. Most of the content will launch directly off the epg with the Entertainment OS Stream and Glass uses. 

[MarkGoldsmith]

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@Angel_Aka wrote:

It makes very good business sense for Sky to offer these bundle deals - it's really the only way to survive in an increasingly competitive market. It gives all these platforms the chance to get their content into a lot more peoples' eyes under the illusion that they're getting it for 'free' (with ads) on a long term contract. 

The danger of course is that Sky customers may realise that they end up watching less Sky programming and more on HBO Max, Disney+ and Netflix, all of which are available as standalone products paid for on a monthly basis or discounted with other suppliers or on annual subscriptions.

There are plenty of options for viewers, that's for sure...

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When Sky first launched their new streaming platform, a lot of their marketing spiel was about becoming a content aggregator from various third-party apps, alongside their own content, so it's certainly good to see them getting more partners on board to make this a reality.

It should at least carve out a niche in the market for them, for those who want a consistent viewing experience across all the sports, TV and movies that they watch, across multiple providers, as I do think that is the main USP for Glass/Stream. 

[Angel_Aka]

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@Chrisee wrote:

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@82bit wrote:

So we've basically just come back to where we used to be - "Cable TV"! The fractured premium TV market is reunited again, although we now have the added inconvenience of launching apps to watch the stuff we used to be able to watch straight off the EPG. 

Progress? Hardly. 

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@82bit I bet Sky's management agree with you on that. The desire by content owners to get more of the cake by launching their own apps caused the fragmentation. Most of the content will launch directly off the epg with the Entertainment OS Stream and Glass uses. 

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It won't lauch off the EPG. Content will be advertised on the SkyOS homepage and clicking it will launch the appropriate app to stream it.

[Super+Anthony]

I am the same as with one or two others here though. I am more interested in the sport and not bothered with Disney etc. this new deal does not do much for me so it's big for some but not others

[MarkGoldsmith]

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@Angel_Aka wrote:

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@Chrisee wrote:

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@82bit wrote:

So we've basically just come back to where we used to be - "Cable TV"! The fractured premium TV market is reunited again, although we now have the added inconvenience of launching apps to watch the stuff we used to be able to watch straight off the EPG. 

Progress? Hardly. 

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@82bit I bet Sky's management agree with you on that. The desire by content owners to get more of the cake by launching their own apps caused the fragmentation. Most of the content will launch directly off the epg with the Entertainment OS Stream and Glass uses. 

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It won't lauch off the EPG. Content will be advertised on the SkyOS homepage and clicking it will launch the appropriate app to stream it.

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Regardless of where it launched from, it's still potentially a one click launch for most titles, as clicking on it from the homepage or from your playlist will seamlessly open the required app and start playing the content.

[82bit]

@MarkGoldsmith Assuming the app hasn't been updated and kicked you out so you have to sign back in again. One. Character. At. A. Time. (Looking at you D+!) 😜

[Mr+Ripley]

  Why is it that I pay for the top-tier Netflix package via Sky, but this new Disney+/ HBO Max deal is for the basic package, which means ads? 

Does anyone know if there will be a separate HBO Max app available on my Smart TV so that I can control my subscription fees & dip in & out when I want? As I pay for Disney+ on an annual basis, this new Sky deal won't be for me.

[CoffeeDrinker]

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@splatto wrote:

Is anyone excited by this? I've subscribed to Disney+ twice for a month at a time to watch exclusive Beatles stuff and have no interest in the rest of it. 🙂📺

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Yep, hardcore Disney fans here, particularly with the classic animated films. Together with the Disney/20th Century Fox catalogue, we've been Disney+ subscribers since day one, and have happily paid annually for the top premium tier so we can watch in 4K, Dolby Vision & Atmos. Overall this will be a saving of £41 for the year topping up the included With Ads tier with Sky than it would have been for the direct Annual Premium tier. 🙂

And right there with you for Get Back, Beatles '64, Anthology, Let It Be, McCartney 3,2,1 etc. The Beach Boys documentary from a couple of years back was pretty good too.

I'd image this tie-up is of serious interest to Sky subscribers who have kids, follow the MCU & Star Wars and the like. Otherwise you're safe to ignore it (As we do Discovery+. Nothing on there for us so we ignore the tier included with our Sky subscription.) 

[Chrisee]

@Mr+Ripley whether HBO+ appears on smart TVs is for Warner and the TV makers to decide but I wouldn't hold out too much hope if your TV is over 5 years old.

I pay for Disney+ annually as well but I will swap to Disney because as mentioned in the Forum news article switching will save me money and Disney will refund the balance of my annual sub. Read the whole article as it says you will be able to upgrade the HBO+ Basic with ads to the other grades but no pricing has been published as yet. Assuming it saves the £4.99 a month cost of the Basic+Ads on those tiers it looks like I can get Disney+ Premium and HBO+ Premium for not much more than I will be paying for Disney+ Premium after this years increase.

[nigea99]

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@Mr+Ripley wrote:

  Why is it that I pay for the top-tier Netflix package via Sky, but this new Disney+/ HBO Max deal is for the basic package, which means ads? 

Does anyone know if there will be a separate HBO Max app available on my Smart TV so that I can control my subscription fees & dip in & out when I want? As I pay for Disney+ on an annual basis, this new Sky deal won't be for me.

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@Mr+Ripley  this inclusion of the base packages still means that the higher tiers are cheaper than subscribing directly (the upgrade fee being minus the cost of the base tier). This is the case even for those currently paying for Disney+ annual plan

It is worth reading the article & included FAQs  that @KevNewMedia linked to in the post currently marked as answer - which details upgrade info for Disney+ .

I don't think we yet have the HBO upgrade costs  but I suspect the upgrades, again, will be direct price minus the 'base' cost

I haven't looked at any HBO pages but I am sure the app will become  available on many platforms

[CoffeeDrinker]

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@Mr+Ripley wrote:

  Why is it that I pay for the top-tier Netflix package via Sky, but this new Disney+/ HBO Max deal is for the basic package, which means ads? 

Does anyone know if there will be a separate HBO Max app available on my Smart TV so that I can control my subscription fees & dip in & out when I want? As I pay for Disney+ on an annual basis, this new Sky deal won't be for me.

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Yep, HBO Max with ads by default, pay the difference to dispel ads and upgrade to 4K/HDR and in all likelihood, Atmos. Same as per Netflix, Paramount+ included with Sky Cinema etc.

It might be worth looking at the inclusive Disney+ for any potential savings. We pay for Premium Disney+ on an annual basis, like yourself. ours is due to renew on 24th March at £149 for the forthcoming year.

With the Sky inclusive 'with ads' tier, we'd pay £9 a month for the premium tier. 12 months @ £9 a month is £108, so £41 a year cheaper for the year if we go the 'pay the difference' route with Sky vs subscribing directly with Disney.