Disney Plus Glitches Tapered During Day 1 Of Streaming

Walt Disney Co. ’s flagship streaming service made its debut Tuesday morning amid technical glitches that prevented some users from logging in and created difficulties for others who wanted to watch movies and shows, a result of a problem stemming in part from computer servers operated by another company, according to The Wall Street Journal citing a person familiar with the matter.

The servers were apparently unable to keep up with two kinds of demand: people trying to sign up for the Disney+ service for the first time; and subscribers who had signed up ahead of time, who were trying to watch videos. The issues causing the problems appeared to be fixed by midday Tuesday.

Disney+ began presenting problems for some users almost as soon as it was launched on Tuesday morning.

Disney has been under intense pressure to get this launch right. The company acquired BAMTech LLC, a streaming-technology company, to build the app’s technical infrastructure, and is spending hundreds of millions of dollars producing movies and television shows for the service. The new emphasis on a streaming service meant to be viewed from home represents a strategic pivot for a company that until now has been most successful in getting people to movie theaters and theme parks.

Disney+ has been marketed to users for months, and many of those trying to watch on Tuesday bought three-year subscriptions to the service at a significant discount. Users signing up now can either pay $6.99 a month or an annual rate of $69.99 after a seven-day trial.

Complaints about Disney+ glitches peaked on social media around 9 a.m. on the East Coast but fell off as the day went on.