Disney+
Disney’s highly anticipated streaming service was downloaded 3.2 million times to mobile apps in the first 24 hours of its launch (per Apptopia).
Users who rushed to download Disney+ yesterday met with an unfortunate error message on their screen that read “unable to connect”. By Tuesday morning, there were more than 7,000 reports of problems with the service. A Disney+ spokesperson said the company was working quickly to resolve the outages.
It’s been a rough launch for Disney+, after glitches sparked thousands of complaints in the U.S. and Canada on the streaming service’s first day. Bugs included problems logging in, inability to stream, app failure and content disappearing from the library. The company attributed the teething issues to demand exceeding its expectations. Disney is the latest player to join the ever-expanding streaming wars, offering a $7-a-month service that features the company’s TV and movie catalogues, including the first 4K versions of Star Wars.
Disney+
It knew a giant audience was waiting to devour content on its streaming service. But the company still wasn’t able to nail a clean takeoff. The complaints from users early Tuesday on social media included stuttering video and issues even connecting to its app.
In a statement, Disney said the demand for Disney+ “exceeded our high expectations,”. But that sure sounds hard to believe given the pre-subscriber numbers and media attention the service had been getting.
When expecting millions of users on a streaming video launch like this, what are the biggest engineering concerns to prepare for? Is server capacity number one? If so, are there any reasons (beyond budgetary) why a company wouldn’t bulk up in that department to ensure a smooth day one?
Interesting debate to have here. Did Disney rush it? Should there have been better QC before launch? Should subscription estimates have increased? In conclusion what do you think? Will they survive?
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