Disney's New Streaming Service Faces Technical Issues on Launch Day

Disney+ customers were greeted with error messages when they logged on.

| Nov 12, 2019 01:37 PM EST

Created: Nov 12, 2019 01:37 PM EST

Walt Disney's much-awaited streaming content service Diseny+ faced some technical issues on launch day as consumers clamored to access the new service.

Customers who had waited almost two years for Disney+, were met with an error message when they went to download it.

Complaints peaked in the a.m.

According to media reports users were told to exit and restart Disney+ later on. Disney+ users turned to Twitter to complain about the issues as well as vent at Downdetector, the website that tracks Internet outages.

I can log in to the website but I can’t watch anything. Most of the pages don’t load, and clicking thumbnails takes you to a page with a title and summary of the show but no way to watch it.
— BabyCharmander (@BabyCharmanderK) November 12, 2019

The number of outage complaints peaked at around 10:00 a.m. EST with the majority of the complaints pertaining to video streaming. Some users also expressed problems when logging in.

Disney addressed the issue in a Tweet, blaming the problems on demand that outstripped the company's expectations.

The demand for #DisneyPlus has exceeded our highest expectations. We are so pleased you’re excited to watch all your favorites and are working quickly to resolve any current issues. We appreciate your patience.
— Disney+ (@disneyplus) November 12, 2019

Disney is hoping to become the streaming leader

Disney has been hyping this new rival to Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Apple for months now. The service costs $6.99 a month or $69.99 annually. Users get access to a vast library of movies, television shows and original content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic. Customers also get access to new original content that's being developed for Dinsey+.

At the same time that Disney is launching its streaming service, Apple is rolling out Apple TV Plus. It's trying to undercut its rivals, charging $4.99 a month. All of this means increased competition to Netflix, which has long dominated the market. All of the media companies are pouring billions of dollars into their efforts to win the streaming content service war.