It seems that not that long ago, Netflix was alone atop streaming mountain. The rise of Netflix brought down video rental stores and has largely been one of the reasons so many people are cutting cable out of their lives.
It used to be pretty easy. Either you had the DVD copy of a movie or you could find it on Netflix. Now, you have to browse through plenty of other options.
Even though Netflix still stands on top of that mountain, other services are slowly making their way up. Just looking at the current streaming scene, we have HBO Go, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Crackle, YouTube TV, Sling TV, Playstation Vue, and many more.
While most of these have been in business for quite some time, there are some new players entering the field. Should you be looking at adding another subscription to your library? Or will one of these new services be replacing your existing subscription? Maybe you’d rather stream your content through a different method altogether?
Check below to get a quick overview of the new and upcoming streaming services for this year.
Disney+
Let’s go ahead and start with the biggest new player in the market, the giant mouse ears. Disney is set to launch their own streaming service this fall which is going to include plenty of classics and original content.
It’s hard to find something that Disney doesn’t have a hand in, especially after their recent acquisition of Fox. Add in their Star Wars rights and direct hand in the MCU, there is going to be a ton of shows and movies for your viewing pleasure. Don’t expect it to be all released day one, as is normal with streaming services.
The service is going to start off at just $6.99 a month, making it about half the current price of Netflix, albeit with a much smaller library.
If you’re a huge fan of the MCU, then this is a must. Not only will you be able to catch all the movies, but Disney+ also has plenty of original content in the works. You can follow Loki, Vision, Hawkeye, and more in their post big screen lives.
Unnamed WarnerMedia Streaming Service
After Disney, we jump to another big name media company: At&T. The service is set to be more like a bundle, combining HBO, Cinemax and plenty of other shows and movies with the WB label slapped on.
Right now, the service is set to launch in beta (test mode) later this year with no firm release date set, but all signs point to sometime in 2020. The service, at the moment, is going to cost between $16 and $17 per month, making it just a tad more expensive than Netflix.
Considering HBO Go is $14 a month, it’s not that bad of a deal. The service will lack original content at first, but is said to be exploring that facet of streaming in the near future.
Apple TV+
It’s no surprise that Apple is jumping headfirst into the streaming game, planning to make plenty of original content for its own service.
In typical Apple fashion, it likely won’t have licensed content from the start, forcing you to buy popular shows from the library. Apple is yet to speak on an exact price, but more news is supposed to come sometime this fall.
What Apple does lack in licensed content, it does make up for in original content. Apple reportedly dropped around $1 billion in attracting major Hollywood talent. We’ll just have to wait and see what they end up making.
NBCUniversal Streaming Service
Another yet to be named streaming service, NBCUniversal plans to launch their platform in April of 2020. Perhaps the biggest news was NBC winning back the fan favorite show The Office, outbidding Netflix by a wide margin.
The biggest difference between NBC and other services is their service is going to be ad-supported, meaning the cost will be significantly less than other similar services. NBC also plans to focus more on licensed content and original programming than making streaming exclusive content.
That may change, as all streaming services eventually want to dip into original content. Be sure to keep your ear to the ground for more news.
Here are some Kenyan YouTube Channels You Should Check Out
