Disney+ Facing Backlash After Experiencing Technical Difficulties on Launch Day

The Tuesday, Nov. 12 Disney+ launch day did not go according to plan. As subscribers flocked to [...]

By Allison Schonter

The Tuesday, Nov. 12 Disney+ launch day did not go according to plan. As subscribers flocked to the new streaming platform, thousands of reports flooded in detailing technical difficulties affecting the ability to access the service and some of its features, beginning around 7 a.m. ET.

DownDetector.com showed that as of 7 a.m., nearly 7,500 reports of problems with the service had been made affecting those in the United States, parts of Canada, and the Netherlands, the first countries where Disney+ has been made available. Of those reports, 64 percent were related to video streaming issues, while 35 percent were related to log-in issues.

"Was so excited for this today. Signed up 4 days ago. The menu finally loads but can't watch any shows. Just says error," one person wrote. "My internet speeds are really high too so it's not on my end."

"Logged in and created profiles just fine from PC. But when I go to view, for example, Star Wars items, I get past the first screen, and when I want to actually click on a show/series to view more info/play, it just gives me the wheel of death," another reported. "I was able to play Avatar (movie) as a test. I then tried to view series and I got a "Sorry something went wrong. Try again later." error message."

"On Android tablet. Home screen and some features not working, but if I select a title from Search, it will still start streaming," noted a third.

"I can get in on my iPhone but the Log In link on the website won't even work," wrote another. "It's brand new and probably can't handle the traffic. It worked fine at 2am however."

At this time, Disney has not addressed the technical difficulties. Prior to the official launch, the company had run a test pilot of Disney+ in The Netherlands.

"The Netherlands was a great test. We wanted to have a sufficient number of users so that we could see how the app performed, what technology glitches might exist," Kevin Mayer, chairman of Disney's direct-to-consumer streaming business, said at a media gathering last week, The Verge reports. "And by the way, there are always technology glitches. And you can always improve the technical performance of any service like this and we'll continue to do so. We haven't solved everything by any means."

Launching Tuesday in the U.S., Canada, and the Netherlands, Disney+ boasts a streaming catalogue nearly 500 films and 7,500 TV episodes, with a subscription costing just $6.99 per month or $69.99 a year.

Disney+ is set to launch in Australia, New Zealand and Puerto Rico on Nov. 19 and other markets across the world at later dates.

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