Tuesday marked a watershed moment in streaming with the Disney+ launch, but it’s been a hurry-up-and-wait customer experience marred by delays thus far.
System errors, perpetually loading pages and an inability to access content have caused widespread disappointment among users.
The first step is admitting the problem
Disney released a statement on the matter:
The consumer demand for Disney+ has exceeded our high expectations. We are working to quickly resolve the current user issue. We appreciate your patience.
@DisneyPlusHelp on Twitter
From a vast movie catalogue to exciting, original TV shows like Star Wars’ The Mandalorian, anticipation was high to say the least. Sadly, Disney+ was largely non-operational for many in the U.S. this morning.
Could this have been anticipated?
We previously speculated about the potential for a Disney+ crash on the release date. It seemed unlikely, and Disney president of streaming services Michael Paull seemed determined and rather certain Disney+ launch delays wouldn’t happen.
Paull used to be the CEO of BAMTech, which operated the systems for HBO Now. He was accustomed to surges from his experience there. Game of Thrones and sporting events HBO specialized in such as the UFC weren’t prohibitive for Paull and BAMTech.
The brand-new streamer rolled out a free trial period for the Netherlands in September in an effort to combat that calamitous possibility. It reached 1.3 million households — a fair sample size.
Unfortunately, Tuesday’s massive expansion to the USA and Canada exponentially increased the subscriber base.
What’s next?
Disney is scrambling to find a quick fix to this nightmare scenario, and it’ll be interesting to see whether free trial users receive an extra day for these troubles.
Provided the issues are swiftly resolved, though, that seems far-fetched. The hope is Disney+ taps in to more of that on-brand magic — and makes all these technical difficulties disappear.
Otherwise, what promises to be one of the new streaming giants is off to a rough start. It’s key not to exacerbate the issue. There’s no shortage of Twitter hype from media personalities and eagerly awaiting viewers. Bring the technical wizardry, Disney!