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Disney+ to introduce TV channels to streaming service, Internet says 'don't let this trick you'

Netizens express displeasure as Disney+ could soon integrate TV channels to its streaming platform

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: It's been over a decade since streaming giants pitched us the revolutionary on-demand watching experience. It took us a long time before we could ditch our beloved cable, and today, we are insanely, heavily addicted to ad-free streaming platforms for our entertainment.

Ironically, life is coming to a full circle as the very platforms who separated us from the cable channels are now slowly bringing them back to us.

Disney+ is joining the list of growing number of streaming services offering old-style TV channels, as reported by The Information.

Disney+'s elaborate plan to launch TV channels

Disney+ witnessed an explosive growth during the COVID-19 lockdowns. However, when the world returned to normalcy, Disney+ failed to keep up the pace with its growth being stagnated.

As per a report by Forbes, the platform clocked an operating loss of around $11.4 billion since its launch, with profitability being a distant dream.

With an aim to keep users engaged to their platform, Disney+ has adopted the strategy of integrating a few channels, letting users seamlessly switch between content libraries without leaving the platform.

Currently, there aren’t any details about when the new channels could launch and what could a user expect. However, The Information report speculates that Disney’s lineup of channels could stream Disney’s classic animated films or movies from Pixar.

Netizens find Disney+'s decision to introduce TV channels 'useless'

The downside to this strategy is that even though viewers would need a Disney+ subscription to tune in to the channels, they will likely still contain ads, a pattern similar to television.

This is the reason why netizens have grouped up to criticize the giant's bold movie. An X user outright called it a "Bad idea because it would ruin Disney+ platform," while another said that it "would be so useless."

Pointing out at the irony of bringing the dead cable back to life, someone tweeted, "What is the point? It’s all stuff that is accessible at a click. Now it’s on a schedule? You take product and intentionally make it worse? Make it make sense." "The whole point of streaming apps is to get away from cable, now that so many got rid of cable they want to force it back onto them so they can continue running ads.. these people man," wrote another person.

Emphasizing another concern, a netizen mentioned, "Don't let this trick you, this is in order to raise prices a lot and make password sharing impossible." "They are so creatively bankrupt. this will be used to juice their numbers. If you hover over it for a second they will count it as a household watching it," added another.

Another displeased person tweeted, "But tv channels are a thing of the past why in the name of f-ck are we going backwards in time please indulge me."

Despite the criticism from the masses, this move could help Disney+ from sinking. According to a Bloomberg report, viewers are dedicating more time to watching Fox's Tubi compared to on-demand streaming platforms like Peacock, Max, and Paramount Plus.

One of the advantages of FAST services is the ability to simply tune in to a random show without spending half an hour searching for something specific to watch.

In the meantime, stay tuned to MEAWW for updates if and when Disney+ releases an official statement with more details.