Post by Admin on Jul 20, 2018 1:37:38 GMT
www.cbr.com/dc-universe-streaming-service-price-comparison/
DC Universe Is Priced to Take Aim At Major Streaming Services
With DC Universe now adding to the legion of streaming services out there after their launch today at Comic-Con International, it brings up the question of how well does it compare to the other streamers on cost.
Annual subscriptions to the new service will cost $74.99, or you can choose to pay $7.99 a month. Even better, if you subscribe before the channel launches this fall, then they will throw in an additional three months free, making it $74.99 for the first 15 months. That compares reasonably well with the other major streaming services currently available. Let us take a look at the current plans for the other streamers.
NETFLIX
Netlix has three plans available to users. There is a basic plan for $7.99 a month, which allows users to stream on a single screen in standard definition only.
Their most popular plan, though, is the standard plan. For $10.99 a month, you can stream on two screens in high definition.
For an additional three dollars a month, there is the Netflix premium plan. That allows you to stream on four screens in high definition and ultra high definition.
HULU
Hulu has two plans. There is the $7.99 a month plan that has limited commercials. Then there is the commercial-free $11.99 a month plan.
AMAZON PRIME
Amazon Prime is $12.99 a month, or an annual charge of $119. There is also a student version of Amazon Prime, which is $6.49 a month, or $59 a year.
CBS ALL ACCESS
CBS All Access is $5.99 a month with limited commercials and $9.99 with a commercial-free plan.
Going by the most popular plans for each of the services, then DC Universe is clearly trying to hit that sweet spot where they are the same price as Hulu’s limited commercial plan and cheaper than both Netflix’s standard plan and Amazon Prime. They’re more expensive than CBS All Access’ limited commercial plan, though. However, they have not officially announced whether DC Universe will be commercial-free or not, but the fact that they are silent on the issue would seem to suggest that it will be commercial-free, which would differentiate it from CBS All Access’ limited commercial plan.
There are two major factors, though, that can make it a difficult comparison to make between the services.
First off is the matter of a content library. Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime all have a well-stocked back library of content, while DC Universe will be limited to DC’s past animated series, live action series and some of their older films. Even there, the current DC Extended Universe films are not available for streaming as of yet, nor are the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight trilogy of films.
Similarly, DC Universe will not have the Arrowverse shows because they currently have a deal with Netflix and Smallville currently has a deal with Hulu. The comparable service to DC, in terms of a back library, would be CBS All Access, which only has CBS programs and even there, they are limited in what they offer due to licensing deals with other services. Their most popular sitcom, for instance, the Big Bang Theory, only has the last 12 episodes available for streaming on CBS All Access.
Therefore, when you are comparing the price of the services, you have to take into the account the deeper “benches” of the other service contrasted against the original programming on DC Universe, which so far will include live action shows like Titans, Swamp Thing and Doom Patrol (plus a mystery fourth live action series) and an upcoming animated Harley Quinn series.
The other notable factor, though, is what does the service offer beyond just the streaming series. For instance, Amazon Prime famously originated as a special service where subscribers would receive free two-day shipping on most purchases on Amazon. Thus, it was already a very popular service before Amazon launched its digital video service on top of the already existing shipping discount service. That makes the $12.99 a month price tag for Amazon Prime look a whole lot more reasonable, as that shipping discount can really add up for buyers.
Similarly, though, DC Universe will offer thousands of DC comic books for reading on the service, including full runs of many famous titles like Y the Last Man and full collections of iconic classics like Dark Knight Returns. The curated selection will rotate out on a quarterly basis, keeping the choices of comics fresh for readers. Not only that, but DC Universe also comes with an encyclopedia for fans who want to learn more about DC’s vast library of characters.
The combination of the new series, the older series plus the large curated library of comic books to read makes the $7.99 price tag a very competitive one in this busy world of streaming services. It probably won’t knock any other services out, but it should be able to easily carve its own spot in customers’ entertainment budgets.