DC Universe was an American subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) and

digital comics Digital comics (also known as electronic comics,Ian Hague, ''Comics and the Senses: A Multisensory Approach to Comics and Graphic Novels'', Routledge, 2014, ch. 2: "Sight, or, the Ideal Perspective and the Physicality of Seeing". eComics, e-comi ...

service operated by

DC Entertainment DC Entertainment is an American entertainment company that was founded in September 2009 and was based in Burbank, California. The company is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery that manages its DC Comics units and characters in other unit ...

and Warner Bros. Digital Networks, both divisions of

WarnerMedia Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

. Launched on September 15, 2018, the service featured a streaming library of animated series and films based on

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. ( doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with the ...

properties, new original television series adapted from DC properties, as well as a rotating back catalogue of DC Comics publications, and online community features. In 2020, the service won the Webby People's Voice Award for Media Streaming. In June 2020, WarnerMedia began to phase out DC Universe in favor of its new flagship streaming service

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Ne ...

, initially by offering a promotional offer via DC Universe for new subscribers. In September 2020, it was announced that DC Universe would be relaunched as

DC Universe Infinite DC Universe Infinite is an online service by DC Comics that launched on January 21, 2021 and primarily distributes past issues of DC-published comic books over the internet. It is a relaunch of the former DC Universe streaming service, after its ...

—which is solely a digital comics subscription service—on January 21, 2021, and that DC Universe's original series and future streaming productions would move to HBO Max and become Max Originals.

History and development

In April 2017, DC Universe was announced as an untitled service with original television programming, with its title revealed a year later in May. The next month, the features of the service beyond original programming were revealed, including access to older DC live-action and animated films and animated series for a select period of time, a rotating selection of comics, forum discussion space, a merchandise store, and DC encyclopedia. Sam Ades, the general manager and senior vice-president at Warner Bros. Digital Network, managed the service. Several original series were announced and developed for DC Universe: '' Titans'' and '' Young Justice: Outsiders'', premiered in 2018 and 2019, respectively. ''

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker in '' Batman: The Animated Series'', and debuted in i ...

'', a half-hour animated series, premiered in 2019. A

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

prequel series titled ''Metropolis'' was announced in January 2018, focusing on

Lois Lane Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning journalist for ...

and

Lex Luthor Alexander Joseph "Lex" Luthor () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Lex Luthor originally appeared in ''Action Comics'' #23 (cover dated: April ...

. Two live-action series ''

Swamp Thing The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or monster incarnations in v ...

'' and ''

Doom Patrol Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appe ...

'' were released in 2019, while ''Metropolis'' was being redeveloped. A live-action '' Stargirl'' series was released in 2020, which features additional members of the

Justice Society of America The Justice Society of America (JSA, or Justice Society (JS)) is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team was conceived by editor Sheldon Mayer and writer Gardner Fox during the Golden Age of Comic Boo ...

. '' DC Daily'' was released in September 2018, ending in July 2020. In May 2020, WarnerMedia launched a new streaming service,

. The following month, DC Universe subscribers became eligible for a promotional discount on HBO Max for new subscribers. At the end of July, DC Universe no longer offered the yearly subscription option for the service. In August, DC Comics publisher

Jim Lee Jim Lee (Korean 이용철; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a Harvey ...

revealed that all original programming would be migrated over to HBO Max. Speaking to the community aspect of DC Universe, as well as the ability to access the backlog of comics titles, Lee said "there is always going to be a need for that" and that DC was looking at ways to transform the platform so that content would not go away. Sibling broadcast network

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

(which has carried its "

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American superhero media franchise and a shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series on CW See ...

" dramas adapted from DC Comics characters) has also carried selected DC Universe programs, including ''Stargirl'' (which aired new episodes on The CW on a one-day delay from its release on DC Universe), and ''

'' (acquired for its 2020 fall schedule, amid the

impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on television in the United States Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on the television industry. Its effects have been particularly felt in the United States, mirroring its impacts across all arts sectors. Upon the arrival of the pandemic in ...

). DC announced in September 2020 that the service would change its name to

and become solely a digital comics subscription service on January 21, 2021. DC Universe subscriptions would automatically transfer over to DC Universe Infinite. ''Young Justice'' seasons 1–4, ''Titans'' season 1–3, ''Doom Patrol'' seasons 1–3, the first season of ''Stargirl'', and ''Harley Quinn'' seasons 1–3 moved to HBO Max to become Max Original series, with new DC series and "key DC classics" also being available there. ''Stargirl'' was renewed exclusively by The CW for a second season.

Availability

DC Universe launched in the U.S. on September 15, 2018, and was available on iOS, Android, Roku,

Apple TV An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancesto ...

Android TV Android TV is a smart TV operating system based on Android (operating system), Android and developed by Google for television sets, digital media players, set-top boxes, and soundbars. A successor to Google TV (operating system), Google TV, it fe ...

, Amazon Fire TV, and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

in addition to web and mobile web access. Each subscription to DC Universe could be used on two devices at a time. Pre-orders for the streaming service became available starting on July 19, while an early beta-version was made available to select users in August. Live-action series were produced in 4K with HDR. DC Universe was only available in the United States. At Fan Expo Canada 2018, DC editor Dan DiDio claimed the service was being beta tested in Canada with plans to launch at an unspecified date. Meanwhile, several original shows from the service were acquired by

Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Ont ...

(for broadcast on its

Teletoon Teletoon (stylized as TELETOON) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of "television" and "cartoon". The channel primarily broadcasts an ...

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...

, and Showcase cable networks), while ''

'' was acquired by

Bell Media Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

for its

CTV Sci-Fi Channel CTV Sci-Fi Channel is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. The channel primarily broadcasts speculative fiction and related programming. The network was launched on October 17, 1997 as Space under its original p ...

. '' Titans'' was distributed internationally on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

Content

Original programming

''BizarroTV'', an anthology series, was announced in October 2019 as being in development, and had an expected release date in 2020. It was unclear if it will migrate to an HBO Max Original series when the service became DC Universe Infinite.

Films and television series

At launch, the service included the four live-action Christopher Reeve ''Superman'' films, '' Batman Begins'' and '' The Dark Knight'', animated television series '' Batman: The Animated Series'', '' Static Shock'', '' Young Justice'', ''

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to ...

'', '' Batman Beyond'', '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'', and '' Justice League'', live-action television series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'' and ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as bein ...

'', the last remastered in high-definition, and animated films including '' Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox'', '' Green Lantern: First Flight'', and ''

'', among others. Content was updated on a monthly basis. The service added the 1970s live-action series '' Shazam!'' in March the following year.

Accolades

DC Universe won the 2020 Webby People's Voice Award for Media Streaming in the category Web.

Notes

References

External links

* {{CATV USA 2018 establishments in California 2021 disestablishments in California Companies based in Burbank, California DC Entertainment American companies established in 2018 American companies disestablished in 2021 Internet properties established in 2018 Internet properties disestablished in 2021 Internet television streaming services Subscription video on demand services Defunct subscription services Defunct video on demand services