Disney+ is expanding its recently launched Streams feature with four new live channels of themed content rolling out to the service’s premium subscribers.
The offerings include “Hallowstream,” a seasonally themed collection of content across the streamer’s catalog for Halloween; “Hits & Heroes,” a compilation of action-packed stories from the Disney, Marvel and Star Wars brands; “Throwbacks,” a destination for always-on nostalgic pop culture content; and”Real Life,” a line up of traditional documentaries, biopics and true stories.
On Sept. 4, Disney+ launched ABC News Live within the service for all of its subscribers, as well as Disney+ Playtime, which includes kids programming such as “Bluey,” “Sofia the First,” “The Lion Guard,” “Puppy Dog Pals,” and “Minnie’s Bow-Toons.” The two channels have driven over 10 million streaming hours from U.S. subscribers and resulted in “early signs of overall engagement lift” amongst the subscribers who watch them, according to the company.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Where is Streams available?
At launch, Streams will only be available in the U.S. Users can access the feature via the streaming service’s homepage or search function, with content identified by a red LIVE logo.
Will the Streams feeds be updated?
With the exception of ABC News, all other Streams channels will be refreshed periodically
Will Streams have ads?
At this time, ads should not appear on any Stream with the exception of ABC News. ABC News provides a linear broadcast feed therefore will contain ads regardless of the Disney+ plan you have.
Will Streams reflect parental controls and content ratings?
ABC News, which is not rated, will require a profile’s content rating settings to be set to TV-MA, while Disney+ Playtime will only feature programming with a highest content rating of TV-G.
Other curated Streams’ content ratings will vary based on each individual program. If a profile’s content rating is set below that in playback, it will cause playback to stop and inform the user that the program is unavailable.
At launch, Streams will not be available in Junior mode.
How much does Streams cost?
Streams is included with the cost of a Disney+ subscription.
On Oct. 17, Disney+ with ads will increase to $9.99 per month from $7.99 per month, while ad-free Disney+ will jump to $15.99 per month, or $159.99 per year, from $13.99 per month, or $139.99 per year.
Hulu with ads will climb to $9.99 per month, or $99.99 per year, from $7.99 per month, or $79.99 per year, while ad-free Hulu will go up to $18.99 per month from $17.99 per month. Hulu + Live TV will increase to $82.99 with ads and $95.99 without ads, up from $76.99 per month and $89.99 per month, respectively.
ESPN+ with ads will increase from $10.99 per month to $11.99 per month, or $109.99 per year to $119.99 per year.
The Duo Basic bundle will increase to $10.99 per month for ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu from $9.99 per month, while the Duo Premium bundle, which offers the two services ad-free, will remain $19.99 per month.
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