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Re:Netflix's New Chapter by pclmulqdq on Monday January 23, 2023 @02:33PM (#34493762)
I think you underestimate how much they hand out Disney+. For example, Verizon has a deal with Disney to give out free Disney+ with many plans. Comcast, I think, was also offering me free Disney+ access. This must eat into margins on some level while keeping the subscriber number up - there's no way that Verizon/Comcast are paying full price for that free subscription (in most cases, it's only a year free).

Contrast that with HBO Max that has never had a sale of any kind except for a single free trial week.

I also think that people underestimate the cost of serving streaming entertainment. It's very compute- and data-intensive. If you architect your systems badly, which I assume Disney did, you will be paying a LOT of money for this service.

Re:Netflix's New Chapter by gratitoad on Monday January 23, 2023 @02:38PM (#34493837)
FWIW I used to get HBO Max free with my AT&T phone plan, so they have at one point given it “for free.”

And I think you could be right about D+ architecture, they went from zero to a streaming service very quickly.

Re:Netflix's New Chapter by Tommah on Monday January 23, 2023 @09:53PM (#34498550)
> they went from zero to a streaming service very quickly

Disney basically bought MLB's streaming service and used that for Disney Plus.