Disney CEO says streaming service will be priced ‘substantially below’ Netflix when it launches

Some of the current Disney offerings on Netflix

We know that Disney plans to pull out its titles from Netflix when it launches its own service in 2019. What we don’t know is what pricing will be like. Now, we get a bit of an idea straight from the company’s chairman and CEO. Bob Iger mentioned at Disney’s latest quarterly earnings call that the monthly subscription cost for Disney’s streaming service will be “substantially below” Netflix’s price because they have “substantially less volume” in terms of the amount of content they will have as compared to Netflix. Although we don’t know which tier of Netflix is referring to as there are a number of them. But we have a bit of a wait before we find out.

Source: MacRumors

21st Century Fox reportedly in talks with Disney to sell most of its company

If we were honest, this is what we thought of when we heard the news. (Image courtesy of: Marvel.com)

There are reports going around claiming Disney and 21^st Century Fox are currently in talks about the latter selling off most of its company to the multimedia production giant. According to CNBC, it has been happening in the past few weeks but there aren’t any guarantees that it’ll lead to a deal. They describe the talks as being “on again, off again.” If the deal pushes through, it’s said Fox will give up most of its properties except those that revolve around news and sports. It seems senior management at Fox see that they can’t compete in the changing media landscape and sees Disney and its big machine capable of competing against the big internet companies that are leading the charge now (e.g. Facebook, Netflix, Google, and Amazon, to name a few).

For Disney, this deal would be advantageous as it preps its own streaming service. They’d gain access to more movie and TV productions to add to their own streaming offering. And if you’re thinking what we’re thinking, we might finally get that X-Men, Avengers, and Fantastic Four crossover that we’ve been waiting for. (Even Ryan Reynolds is wondering what this deal could mean for his character Deadpool.) At the moment, nothing is for sure yet but we’re keeping our eyes out for this.

Garmin vivofit jr. 2 reaches out to the kids with Disney-themed design

Garmin wants to help keep your children active with its newest wearable. The Garmin vivofit jr. 2 features Disney-themed designs that’ll surely appeal to any kid, they have one for Minnie Mouse, Captain America, Avengers, Star Wars First Order, BB-8, and The Resistance. The wearable is designed to track your child’s activity and it encourages them to be active for at least 60 minutes a day. It’s built to be worn 24/7 and promises a one-year (or longer) battery life. Its coloured display is fairly simplistic so the kids can understand what’s being shown on the screen.

The vivofit jr. 2 displays things like the number of steps taken, time and date, and that move bar to remind them to be active. It also shows how long they’ve been active as well as some information on their sleep. And since it incentivizes them to move, new adventures will be unlocked when your child stays active. There will be things like step icon characters, too. One of the challenges your kid can engage in is the Toe-to-Toe step challenge, which they can do with nearby friends who own the fitness band. Parents can track your kid’s progress through a free companion app and even assign chores and send reminders through the band. The Garmin vivofit jr. 2 retails for US$99.99 (around CA$125) with each band retailing for US$29.99 (around CA$38).

Source: Garmin

Disney’s new ‘Star Wars’ and Marvel films to its own streaming service instead of Netflix

We heard last month that Disney planned to put up its own streaming service set to come out late 2019. And that meant it’ll be pulling out of their deal with Netflix that just took effect about a year ago. While we knew that the upcoming Disney films that will be coming out that year will be available on that service instead of on Netflix, the Star Wars and Marvel films were a mystery. Until now that is. Disney CEO Bob Iger announced at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2017 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference that upcoming movies like the fourth Avengers film, Frozen 2, the live action The Lion King, and Star Wars: Episode IX will be shown on its own service instead of on Netflix. Disney’s streaming service will also be home to four exclusive movies and between four and five TV shows.

But for the upcoming immediate Marvel and Star Wars titles. Those still have a home at Netflix. These include Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and the untitled Han Solo movie. We don’t know what the fate of the Netflix-exclusive Marvel shows will be, though.

Source: Android Authority