Premiering Near You...

Last year, I wrote a piece about Mulan and how Premier Access was bad. In it, I mentioned the following:

“Perhaps I’m being cynical, but this is the kind of dystopian price gouging you hear about in science-fiction, the kind you’d read in a Phillip K. Dick novel or watch on the big-screen. It’s sketchy nonsense you’d expect in fantasy, not reality.”

I’m mentioning this again because I’d hoped it’d be a one-off. I’d hoped Disney would lose money, realize it was bad business and never repeat it. And for a while, it looked like that happened: Mulan underperformed, and Disney nixed it with Soul. Problem solved.

But then Raya and the Last Dragon, which I was highly-anticipating, was sent to Disney+ because the pandemic was still going. Sure enough, there it was again: Premier Access until June. Unless you wanted to wait, you were forced to pay $30 (or $35 in Canada) to watch it. And now Black Widow’s receiving that same treatment. Cruella too, though I’m not as interested in that one.

To be fair, it makes sense financially: Disney’s missing revenue by not having theatrical releases. Premier Access on Disney+, therefore, helps offset that. It also builds hype by making it elusive, like you’re getting something special. In that sense, it’s pragmatic.

But I don’t get everything else about this decision. For one, why charge extra on a service you’re already paying for? It’s the timed-exclusive, digital content model I hate with modern-day video games: you’ve already shelled out money for the product, why pay extra for missing content? Especially if it should’ve been there on day 1? Isn’t that self-defeating?

Two, why that much extra? Movie tickets aren’t that expensive, even in VIP theatres. And even if you’re trying to recoup revenue, that’s still ludicrous. Movies, even with concessions, don’t cost $35. I say that knowing concessions are a rip-off, as well as the reason behind them being so. If you want to convince me that Premier Access is worth it, slash the starting fee. You’ll get more of an audience.

And three, why only make this timed? I understand wanting to charge more, but go all-in if you’re being greedy. Better yet, slowly lower the cost as the weeks go on to keep the discourse going. That’d not only satisfy investors, it’d also ease concerns. As it stands now, this reads as pure greed.

That’s what bugs me the most: greed. I know Disney+ increased its yearly subscription fee to compensate for Star, but at least that opens its library to adult content. I can tolerate that. But charging extra for content that’ll be free in a few months? Does Disney think I’m a money tree?

I know Disney+ is a family-friendly streaming device, so parents will put up with this for the sake of their kids. This is especially true now, where the global pandemic has made theatregoing unsafe. I currently work in a grocery store and come into contact with lots of people, some of whom don’t follow proper protocol. I put myself at risk regularly, and I don’t have much of a choice there!

But I can’t imagine I’m alone on considering Premier Access extortion. It sure feels like it, especially given the aforementioned points. That it’s increasingly looking to be the case for Disney+ movies worries me. It worries me because of the dystopian implications that tag along with it.

Additionally, I’m concerned by the potentially negative ripple effects that Premier Access could create. I’m concerned that it could become so normalized that other streaming services might start using something similar for their exclusives. Like, HBO Max could’ve easily done this with Zack Snyder’s Justice League, especially since it’s a special circumstance. But they didn’t, and I’m glad.

Yet if AT&T or Netflix ever see the potential for money, and nothing’s ever off the table with that, we could be in for more of this financially dystopian nonsense. And that’s scary. It’s almost as if streaming services will do it because theatres are dwindling in popularity, so they can extort the masses who have fewer options for their “faves”. Streaming services also have the potential to become like digital-only gaming, too. We’re already seeing that with the dozens of services that are starting to pop up.

This goes back to a longstanding complaint I’ve had about digital content. On one hand, it’s easy, convenient and has relative ease of access. These are all benefits to ditching physical media, which is bulky, flimsy and limited in its usage. But at least physical media, for the most part, is reliable. At least I know what I’m getting upfront. I don’t have that certainty with streaming, and Premier Access is another reason why.

I guess there’s not much I can do outside of wait for titles I’m interested in to become regular movies on Disney+. That much I have power over, and I’m grateful. But that doesn’t mean I can’t be concerned and frustrated that Disney’s being greedy again. I shouldn’t be surprised, corporations aren’t my friends, but I can still feel that way about a megalith that gets bigger by the day. Because I do, and that worries me.