Disney+ Undergoing New Features To Keep You Binge Watching

Another new feature being added to the Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ services is custom promotional art for original series designed to match a user’s preferences. That one seems a little odd, as the company would presumably have to make various different promotional images for each show. Otherwise, it’s possible that it could go the worse route of trying to use AI to generate custom images, as Disney has proven it’s not opposed to using artificial intelligence in its content.

Of the more innocuous features Disney+ and its fellow services are reportedly introducing are email reminders to finish shows users have already started watching. Netflix has sent emails like this in the past, so that’s not necessarily novel or new. However, those who hate to have their email inboxes blasted with a bunch of ads probably won’t appreciate this new tactic.

Reportedly, these new Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ features are designed to make it easy for users to find new shows faster, rather than scrolling endlessly trying to decide on what to watch.

However, Disney also apparently feels like the choice paralysis of streaming might still prevent people from engaging with content, so the company may be implementing linear channels to streaming services that play Disney-owned shows and films constantly. So yes, it seems like the streaming services are reintroducing the radical concept of cable television.

The report says that the Disney+ linear channels may include a channel solely dedicated to old reruns of The Simpsons and a channel that replays films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe on loop. While Disney hasn’t commented on these reported changes, none of them seem far-fetched, and streaming services are always looking for an edge, so it’s not surprising to hear. The report says that these changes could be launched within the next six months, so we’ll likely see these features in our streaming services pretty soon.

Disney+ and other major streaming services have enjoyed recent success in KPIs like increased subscribers, and it seems like Disney wants to hold onto that increase with these changes. Streaming services obviously aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, and although it’s not Disney’s entire business like Netflix, the company still seems to be putting a special focus on these revenue streams.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that CEO Bob Iger has consistently been in streaming strategy meetings to bring their services up to snuff with Netflix, so this likely won’t be the last change we see to Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ in the near future.

Disney+ has been able to bank on some of the biggest IPs in the world, like Star Wars, Marvel, and the Simpsons. It makes sense that the company would implement linear channels with these properties, but it’s still interesting to see channel flipping might soon be a regular part of our streaming experience. It’ll also be interesting to see if these streaming tactics actually work.

Source: Wall Street Journal