Star+ Coming Soon To Latin America
During the Walt Disney Companies Investor Day event, a brand new streaming service called “Star+” was announced for Latin America, which will be a completely separate app from Disney+ in this market.
The service will be the exclusive streaming home for general entertainment TV series and movies from The Walt Disney Company’s content studios, including Disney Television Studios, FX, 20th Century Studios, 20th Television, Touchstone, and more, and the home for streaming live sports from ESPN, the most respected and recognized brand for sports fans in the region. From dramas, to comedies, and thrillers for adults, Star+ will also feature exclusive original programming from the Star general entertainment brand, along with a collection of local originals.
Programming pillars of the Star+ service will include:
• Iconic catalog of on demand TV and movies with over 1,300 titles available at launch, including 32 seasons of The Simpsons, and growing to nearly 2,000 unique titles at the end of its first year.
• Exclusive originals from the Star general entertainment brand with 32-first run series by the end of its first year, along with a growing collection of locally developed and produced original programming.• Live and on demand sports content from ESPN. For example, Star+ in Argentina will feature nearly 500 live events per month and 10,000 live sports events per year, including an all-star portfolio of soccer leagues, Grand Slam tennis, and more, along with on-demand studio content and high-quality original programming from ESPN.
Built on the same technical infrastructure as Disney+, Star+ will provide subscribers with a similar feature-rich product experience that makes it easy to navigate, discover, and watch their favorite on demand and live programming. Sports fans will enjoy a dynamic user interface that features live games details, such as live scoring, embedded directly within the homepage. Subscribers will also enjoy an ad-free experience with the exception of limited ads served within ESPN live event commercial breaks.
The service is expected to be available on a wide range of mobile and connected TV devices, including gaming consoles, streaming media players, and smart TVs. Star+ will be available in Latin America in June 2021 for ~$7.50 per month (or the local equivalent) for the standalone service or available as a bundle with Disney+ for ~$9.00 per month (or the local equivalent).
In some regions including Australia, Canada and Europe, Disney+ will have Star added within the app, rather than being launched as a standalone app. Disney executives explained that it’s because, in Latin America, the service will include live-sports with advertising, which is why it couldn’t be included in Disney+.
Will you be getting Star+ in Latin America?
I hate this decision in many respects from being a separate app to the fact that the simpsons will be here instead of disney+, but it seems to me that the bundle is a good deal, so I want to ask if i can add star+ in bundle if I already pay for the full year of disney+?
No and I don't think that a lot of people will get it. Most of Latin America's middle class doesn't have the means to pay more than a couple streaming services. For a Family just to get decent internet (50MB) and 2 streaming services the real equivalent cost would be about 200 USD for a US household. Now imagine that you only make 2000 USD per month, 1/10 would be spent on just watching TV. Can you even increase this in countries with massive devaluation?
This is a horrible idea. Why Latin America has to pay more for something other countries are getting with Disney Plus and cheaper? Here this news has been received with disappointment and hate. I don't think this is going to be a success. I hope Disney later on changes there mind.