Written by: Ewan Strydom
The Battle of the Streaming services is officially on. Ok, well, there isn’t actually a battle going on, perhaps in the sense of, which one do you choose to stream at home, or do you just get them all.
There has been some big announcements recently with regards to Apple TV+, Netflix and Disney+ ZA.
The way streaming services are currently set up, its almost as if we are going back to the old school way of paying for channels. Like DSTV, you can buy a package of your liking, or you can pay to have certain channels, the only difference, you pay for a streaming service ‘channel’, and you get a world of entertainment. And each streaming service has it own unique content, so it is safe to say that you will find something you like on every streaming service, the question is, which one do you choose?
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What I really love, and I am sure you will agree, is that streaming services are quite affordable, and with no lengthy contracts, you can switch from one to the other on a monthly basis, and with so many to choose from, that’s a huge plus in my book.
Now down to the business end.
Apple TV+ won an OSCAR!
Apples’ premium streaming service that’s direct competition to Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime amongst others, has really put in the hard yards and has been pushing to showcase some seriously exceptional content. And as evidence thereof, Apple TV+ has walked away with an Oscar for “Best Pic” at the recent 94th Oscars for the movie CODA.
CODA is heartfelt film that revolves around a young woman named Ruby, who is the sole hearing member of a deaf family. Using sign language, She acts as an interpreter for her parents while working for her family’s struggling fishing boat business.
Zack Van Amburg, Apple’s co-head of Worldwide Video said “On behalf of everyone at Apple, we are so grateful to the Academy for the honors bestowed on ‘CODA’ this evening, we join our teams all over the world in celebrating Siân, Troy, the producers, and the entire cast and crew for bringing such a powerful representation of the Deaf community to audiences, and breaking so many barriers in the process.”
On to some NETFLIX News.
This streaming service is most certainly a household favourite, an easy to use platform with a fantastic variety of content, with a huge drive from their side to invest in Netflix originals.
Furthermore, it is no secret that South Africa is seen as a firm favourite when it come to filming locations, and because of this very true fact, Netflix has announced that they are going to invest R900 million into content proudly made in SA. This in turn also means a lot of job opportunities will be created.
This investment will see four productions being made, one of which will be for the international market and for the entire Netflix Streaming platform worldwide, and the remaining three will be local productions using local production houses, actors and crew. This is very exciting indeed! And we can expect this content to be on Netflix by the end of next year.
And last but not least, Disney+ ZA!
We have been teased for a while that we can expect this streaming service to land on our shores, and although we knew its coming, we still did not know exactly WHEN! But FINALLY we have a date and a price for Disney’s’ finest content.
Disney made the announcement recently that Disney+ ZA will launch on the 18th of May 2022. Literally just around the corner. What’s that you ask? How much? Oh yes! I have an answer for you on that as well. Upon the launch we look at paying from R119 per month for the base tier. It is safe to say that I am excited as I don’t need to tell you that Disney content is pure quality.
They only question remaining is….Do you go with one streaming service, or just get everything?!
