What does the world want? Probably not another subscription to yet another streaming service, but that is what Disney fans will have to get following the news the business is pulling all of its content from Netflix and launching its own offering.
Following a deal to acquire a majority stake in streaming tech business BAMTech for $1.58 billion, Disney will launch a direct-to-consumer streaming service in 2019, as well as an ESPN-branded sport video streaming service in early 2018.
“The media landscape is increasingly defined by direct relationships between content creators and consumers, and our control of BAMTech’s full array of innovative technology will give us the power to forge those connections, along with the flexibility to quickly adapt to shifts in the market,” said Robert A. Iger, chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company.
“This acquisition and the launch of our direct-to-consumer services mark an entirely new growth strategy for the Company, one that takes advantage of the incredible opportunity that changing technology provides us to leverage the strength of our great brands.”
The new Disney-branded service will become the exclusive home in the US for subscription-video-on-demand viewing of live action and animated movies from Disney and Pixar, beginning with the 2019 theatrical slate, which includes Toy Story 4, the sequel to Frozen, and The Lion King from Disney live-action.
Disney said it will also make a “significant investment” in an annual slate of original movies, TV shows, short-form content and other Disney-branded exclusives for the service.
Additionally, the service will feature a collection of library content, including Disney and Pixar movies and Disney Channel, Disney Junior and Disney XD television programming.
The deal means Disney will end its distribution agreement with Netflix for subscription streaming of new releases in 2019.
