The big streaming services are increasingly focusing on original programming rather than old reruns. However, the problem with that is making people sit up and take notice of these original shows. Which is especially difficult for those people not already subscribed to the streaming service hosting them.
Andor Episodes Are Available on YouTube
One possible solution to this quandary is making shows available on other platforms after a certain amount of time has elapsed. Which seems to be a strategy Disney is testing with one of its many Star Wars offerings.
The first three episodes of what many people regard as the best Star Wars TV show ever made are currently available to watch, for free, on the Disney+ YouTube channel. And the whole of the first season of the show is available to watch on Hulu, for those people who don’t have a Disney+ subscription.
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In case you haven’t already guessed what show we’re talking about here, it’s Andor. Which many critics and fans alike have praised as being everything a Star Wars TV show should be. I myself found the first season a bit of a chore to get through, and preferred The Mandalorian. But each to their own.
Ahead of the premiere of Andor Season 2 (on April 22), Disney is offering Star Wars fans the chance to catch up on the show so far. So, anyone signed up to Hulu but not Disney+ can now watch the whole of Andor Season 1 for free. And everyone else can watch the first three episodes to at least determine whether Andor makes a Disney+ subscription worth the price.
For those unfamiliar with Andor, it acts as a prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which itself was a prequel to Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. It tells the story of Cassian Andor, who starts out as a smuggler, but ends up being an important revolutionary figure.
A New Strategy to Gain More Subscribers?
Making older episodes of a show available to more people ahead of a new season is an interesting strategy. But one that could pay dividends for Disney, and any other streaming service which decides to follow suit. Disney is spending a lot of money on original programming, but to make that investment pay off, it needs to prompt people to sign up (or stay signed up) to Disney+.
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Putting a show that the critics and fans love (but which may not have generated enough of an uplift in subscriptions) in front of more people makes absolute sense. It’s Disney taking a short-term hit in order to gain more subscribers in the long term.
