Here’s why Streams are my favorite feature on Disney+
Here’s why Streams are my favorite feature on Disney+
These continuous playlists of Disney+ make it easy to sit back and watch instead of being forced to choose between new episodes.
As a viewer who can’t help stacking different streaming services, I’m always on the lookout for a feature that sets a service apart from the competition. These features can help justify the decision to pay for a given service, just as the lack of them can create room to cancel that streamer.
Disney+ has a great selection of features, including a perks program that can help subscribers unlock great discounts. But my favorite feature of the streaming service is its recently-added Streams, live channels that take all the work out of deciding what to watch next. I’ll describe why below!
Here’s why Streams are my favorite feature on Disney+
What are Streams on Disney+?
Streams are a feature first added to Disney+ in September 2024. They’re essentially continuous playlists of episodes and movies in the Disney+ library. There are several different Streams available, all built around a specific theme: one is built around episodes of “The Simpsons” for example, while the Throwbacks Stream is packed with episodes of shows like “Doug,” “DuckTales,” and other nostalgic favorites.
Why Streams are my favorite Disney+ feature
Streams make it incredibly easy to do what I want to do most when I’m watching TV: sit back and watch. I don’t have to worry about picking my next episode of a series; I just let Disney+ take the wheel. If I want to go back to picking and choosing, I can still do that, but Streams gives me the option to just switch off my brain and binge for a while.
In full disclosure, I don’t have kids of my own. But if a friend brings over their child for the afternoon, Streams provides an easy way to keep them entertained for the duration of their stay. There’s no flipping back to the menu and starting a new episode or choosing between shows to watch, and it brings back the nostalgia of watching the Disney Channel’s back-to-back favorites when I was a kid.
The variety of content in Streams is also a big plus. From “The Simpsons” and kids’ content to news and even nature programming, there’s a great range of shows and movies to enjoy. And once you’re inside a Stream, you get to use the same simple playback interface that comes with other Disney+ titles, even allowing viewers to pause despite the streams playing live.
You’ll find Streams easily in the Disney+ interface; all you have to do is navigate to the streamer’s home page and scroll down until you see the tile row dedicated to them.
Are Streams available to all Disney+ customers?
There is one drawback to Streams, and that is that they are only available to ad-free Disney+ subscribers. On the one hand, this is a good thing, since it means you get to watch curated playlists without having to put up with commercials. But of course, it also means that not all customers of the streamer get access.
Viewers can sign up for ad-free Disney+ Premium starting at $16 per month, but for just $4 more, you can tack on an ad-free subscription to Hulu as well through the Disney Duo Premium bundle. This not only allows you to watch Streams, but it also lets you watch a vast majority of the titles found on Hulu directly through the Disney+ app.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”