by Thinus Ferreira
The Walt Disney Company announced that Disney+ will be launching in South Africa on 18 May – roughly a month before it was expected from June 2022, at a price of R119 per month.
American users pay $7.99 per month (R116), so South Africans will pay on par with what consumers there are paying and less that Disney+ subscribers in New Zealand (R121), Australia (R132) and the United Kingdom (R153).
There is however a legal “trick” to get that price of R119 per month way down to even less than R20 per month, which is less than what a litre of petrol at roughly R21.84 costs in South Africa since May 2022.
This is a very enticing offer for South African pay-TV viewers who might be feeling that MultiChoice, StarSat or Netflix South Africa are too expensive, or who are looking for different content than what’s available on DStv or StarSat, or simply not in the mood for things like DStv repeats.
Unlike MultiChoice which has now restricted DStv streaming to just one concurrent stream since earlier in a shocking decision, Disney+, similar to other streamers like Netflix SA, allows viewing of up to four concurrent streams, unlimited downloads on up to 10 devices, and the ability to set up 7 different profiles.
The plan to get your Disney+ subscription fee starts with paying more upfront.
The same way a bulk buy of a product often works out cheaper, Disney+ is giving South Africans the same discount on a once-off annual subscription fee as elsewhere in the world, by simply multiplying the monthly subscription fee with a factor of 10.
While Disney+ costs R119 from 18 May, an annual Disney+ subscription fee will cost a South African account holder R1 190.00 for 12 months.
Divided by 12 months, the R1 190 works out to R99.16 per month. That is already a saving of R19.83 per month (or R238 per year), compared to the “normal” R119 monthly Disney+ subscription fee.
Disney+ is however also doing a once-off special discount of R950 for new South African subscribers who register their interest in the service on the Disney+ website before 18 May and who will then be sent a link by email or SMS to pay the R950 price on the day the service launches.
Now also keep in mind that you can have 4 uninterrupted, concurrent streams with Disney+.
The trick now is password sharing. If four people – students in a digs for instance, or grandparents and parents – all club together, the R79.16 per month gets divided further by 4, working out to R19.79 per person.
This way all 4 people get to watch Disney+ whenever they want on the same subscription – even all at the same time and able to watch different things – for less than the price of a litre of petrol.