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Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top
streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced by The Walt Disney Studios and Walt Disney Television, with dedicated content hubs for the brands Disney, Pixar, Marvel, ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'', and
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
, as well as
Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
in some regions. Original films and television series are also distributed on Disney+. Disney+ relies on technology developed by
Disney Streaming Services Disney Streaming (formerly known as BAMTech Media from 2015 to 2018, and Disney Streaming Services from 2018 to 2021) is a technology subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company located in Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 2015 as a spin ...
, which was originally established as BAMTech in 2015 when it was spun off from MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM). Disney increased its ownership share of BAMTech to a controlling stake in 2017, and subsequently transferred ownership to DTCI, as part of a corporate restructuring in anticipation of Disney's
acquisition of 21st Century Fox The acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney was announced on December 14, 2017, and was completed on March 20, 2019. Among other key assets, the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by the Walt Disney Company included the 20th Century Fox film and t ...
. With BAMTech helping to launch
ESPN+ ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
in early 2018, and Disney's streaming distribution deal with Netflix ending in 2019, Disney took the opportunity to use technologies being developed for ESPN+ to establish a Disney-branded streaming service that would feature its content. Production of
films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
and television shows for exclusive release on the platform began in late 2017. Disney+ was launched on November 12, 2019, in the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands, and expanded to Australia, New Zealand, and Puerto Rico a week later. It became available in select European countries in March 2020 and in India in April through
Star India Disney Star Private Limited is an Indian media conglomerate and a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Disney Star network runs more than 70 TV channels in eight languages, reac ...
's Hotstar streaming service, which was rebranded as
Disney+ Hotstar The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
. Additional European countries received Disney+ in September 2020, with the service expanding to Latin America in November 2020. It later expanded in Southeast Asian countries since 2021, followed by countries in Eastern Europe, Middle East and parts of Africa since May 2022. Upon launch, it was met with positive reception of its content library, but was criticized for technical problems and missing content. Alterations made to films and television shows also attracted media attention. Ten million users had subscribed to Disney+ by the end of its first day of operation. The service has 164.2 million global subscribers .


History


2015–2019

In late 2015, Disney launched a streaming service in the United Kingdom called DisneyLife to test the streaming market. It was eventually replaced by Disney+ on March 24, 2020. In August 2016, Disney acquired a minority stake in BAMTech (a
spin-off Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...
of MLB Advanced Media's streaming technology business) for $1 billion, with an option to acquire a majority stake in the future. Following the purchase, ESPN announced plans for an "exploratory ver-the-topproject" based on its technology (
ESPN+ ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
) to supplant its existing linear television services. On August 8, 2017, Disney invoked its option to acquire a controlling stake in BAMTech for $1.58 billion, increasing its stake to 75%. Alongside the acquisition, the company also announced plans for a second, Disney-branded direct-to-consumer service drawing from its entertainment content, which would launch after the company ends its existing distribution agreement with Netflix in 2019. Not long after, Agnes Chu, story and franchise development executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, was the first executive appointed for the unit, as senior vice president of content. Chu led two projects to launch the new unit. First, Disney needed to verify exactly what content could be physically and legally made available through a streaming service right away, which meant physically reviewing all content in Disney's vaults that had not recently undergone
restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...
, and reviewing "binders of pieces of paper with legal deals" to identify potential obstacles. Second, Chu met with leaders of Disney's various content-producing divisions to start brainstorming which projects would be appropriate for release on a streaming service rather than in movie theaters. Chu later left in August 2020. In December 2017, Disney announced its intent to acquire key entertainment assets from
21st Century Fox Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., doing business as 21st Century Fox (21CF), was an American multinational mass media corporation that was based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was one of the two companies formed on June 28, 2013, f ...
. Intended to bolster Disney's content portfolio for its streaming products, the acquisition was completed on March 20, 2019. In January 2018, it was reported that former Apple and Samsung executive Kevin Swint had been appointed as the senior vice president and general manager reporting to BAMTech CEO Michael Paull, who leads development. In March 2018, Disney's top level segment division was reorganized with the formation of Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International, which then included BAMTech, which contains "all consumer-facing tech and products". In June of the same year, longtime Disney studio marketing chief, Ricky Strauss, was named president of content and marketing, however reporting to chairman of Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International Kevin Mayer. In January 2019, Fox Television Group COO Joe Earley was named executive vice president of marketing and operations. In June 2019, Matt Brodlie was named as senior vice president of international content development. In August 2019, Luke Bradley-Jones was hired as senior vice president of direct to consumer and general manager of Disney+ for Europe and Africa. On November 8, 2018, Disney CEO
Bob Iger Robert Allen Iger (; born February 10, 1951) is an American businessman who is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company. He previously served as the President of ABC Television between 1994 and 1995 and the President and Ch ...
announced that the service would be named Disney+ and that the company was targeting a launch in late 2019. A September launch was reportedly planned, but on April 11, 2019, Disney announced that Disney+ would launch on November 12, 2019, in the United States. Disney stated that it planned to roll the service out worldwide over the next two years, targeting Western Europe and Asia-Pacific countries by late 2019 and early 2020, and Eastern Europe and Latin America during 2020. The timing of international launches is subject to the acquisition or expiration of existing streaming rights deals for Disney content. On August 6, 2019, Iger announced that it would offer a streaming bundle of Disney+, ESPN+, and the ad-supported version of
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
for $12.99 per month available at launch. At the D23 Expo in August 2019, Disney opened subscriptions to Disney+ at a discounted rate for three years. On September 12, 2019, a trial version of Disney+ became available in the Netherlands with limited content available. This testing phase lasted until the official launch on November 12, when trial users were switched to a paid plan. Disney+ became available for pre-order in September in the United States with a 7-day free trial upon launch. In October 2019, Disney released a video that ran for three hours and eighteen minutes on YouTube to showcase their launch lineup. It was also reported that Disney would ban advertisements for competitor Netflix from most of its TV platforms, except ESPN. Disney+ launched on November 12, 2019, Midnight Pacific Time in the announced initial three launch countries. The services had some issues the first day from logging in (about 33% of the problems), accessing specific content (about 66%), setting up profiles and watch lists. Some of the issues were due to third party devices. On November 18, 2019, an investigation by ZDNet discovered that thousands of users' accounts were hacked using keystroke logging or info-stealing
malware Malware (a portmanteau for ''malicious software'') is any software intentionally designed to cause disruption to a computer, server, client, or computer network, leak private information, gain unauthorized access to information or systems, depri ...
. Their email addresses and passwords were changed, "effectively taking over the account and locking the previous owner out", and their login information was put up for sale on the
dark web The dark web is the World Wide Web content that exists on ''darknets'': overlay networks that use the Internet but require specific software, configurations, or authorization to access. Through the dark web, private computer networks can communi ...
.


2020s

On March 12, 2020, Vanessa Morrison, who previously served as President of Fox Family and
20th Century Animation 20th Century Animation, Inc. (originally known as Fox Family Films, Fox Animation Studios, and 20th Century Fox Animation and sometimes referred to as Fox Animation) is an American animation studio located in Century City, Los Angeles. Formed i ...
, was appointed President of Streaming for Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production and currently oversees the development and production of Disney+ film content from The Walt Disney Studios for both Disney Live Action and
20th Century Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
. Morrison reports directly to President of Walt Disney Pictures Sean Bailey. On October 12, 2020, Disney announced a reorganization of their media business with a greater focus on streaming. They are planning to add more content for Disney+ and their other streaming platforms (such as Hulu) in the future. On December 10, 2020, Disney announced that a year after the launch of Disney+, it had over 86.8 million subscribers. It was later announced that as of January 2, 2021, the platform had over 94.9 million subscribers. In January of the same year, Ricky Strauss, who led Disney Plus’ content curation and marketing efforts, exited the Walt Disney Company. In March 2021, Disney announced an increase to the streaming service's pricing that would take place on March 26, 2021. In the second quarter of 2021, Disney+ added 8.7 million subscribers. In August 2021, Disney CEO
Bob Chapek Robert Alan Chapek (born 1960) is an American media executive who was the chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from 2020 to 2022. Before becoming CEO, Chapek had a 26-year career with The Walt Disney Company, beginning in th ...
hinted that a possible Hulu/Disney+ merger could happen in the future to create an all-in-one streaming service on Disney+. He mentioned that Disney might ditch its streaming bundle of Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ eventually. This is similar to the
Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
brand on Disney+ available in overseas markets outside of the United States. On March 4, 2022, Disney announced they will plan to launch a low-cost ad-supported version of Disney+ by late 2022 in the United States, with that version also expanding to other international territories in 2023. Disney later announced on August 10, 2022, that the ad-supported version of Disney+ launches on December 8, with more than 100 advertisers. Costing US$7.99 per month, with the ad free version of Disney+ receiving a price hike of US$3. In May 2022, the company reported it gained 7.9 million subscribers over the first three months of 2022. In August 2022, it was announced that the combined total of subscribers across all Disney streaming platforms including Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ had surpassed Netflix with roughly 221 million.


Content

The service is built around content from Disney's main entertainment studios and film and television library, including Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disneynature, Disneytoon Studios, Pixar,
Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...
,
Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the ''Star Wars'' and ' ...
,
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
,
20th Century Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
, Searchlight Pictures,
Touchstone Pictures Touchstone Pictures, Inc. was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featu ...
,
20th Century Animation 20th Century Animation, Inc. (originally known as Fox Family Films, Fox Animation Studios, and 20th Century Fox Animation and sometimes referred to as Fox Animation) is an American animation studio located in Century City, Los Angeles. Formed i ...
, the former Saban Entertainment,
Blue Sky Studios Blue Sky Studios, Inc. was an American computer animation studio based in Greenwich, Connecticut. It was founded on February 22, 1987 by Chris Wedge, Michael Ferraro, Carl Ludwig, Alison Brown, David Brown, and Eugene Troubetzkoy after their e ...
and Hollywood Pictures. The service operates alongside
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
, which Disney gained a controlling stake in following the 21st Century Fox purchase. Bob Iger stated that at launch, Disney+ would focus on family-oriented entertainment (not carrying any content rated R, or ) and that Hulu would continue to host general entertainment; Hulu also hosts Disney+ as an add-on service. Content intended for mature audiences (R and TV-MA) was later added to the service, including the Disney+ original '' The Beatles: Get Back'' (2021), which includes a
content warning A trauma trigger is a Stimulus (psychology), psychological stimulus that prompts involuntary recall of a previous psychological trauma, traumatic experience. The stimulus itself need not be frightening or traumatic and may be only indirectly or su ...
, and the Marvel series produced for Netflix, all of which are rated TV-MA. With the addition of the Marvel Netflix series in March 2022, revised parental controls were introduced to the service in the United States to allow the more mature content of the series to be added, similarly to the controls that already exist for other regions that have the
Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
content hub.


Content library

It is suggested that Disney+ had approximately 7,000 television episodes and 500 films at launch, including original television series and films from
Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
,
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
and Freeform, as well as select titles from
20th Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Compa ...
,
20th Television Animation 20th Television Animation (formerly Fox Television Animation) is an American animation studio that creates, develops and produces adult animated television series and specials. It is a unit of Disney Television Studios, a subsidiary of Walt Disne ...
and ABC Signature. New releases from 20th Century Studios (such as
Blue Sky Studios Blue Sky Studios, Inc. was an American computer animation studio based in Greenwich, Connecticut. It was founded on February 22, 1987 by Chris Wedge, Michael Ferraro, Carl Ludwig, Alison Brown, David Brown, and Eugene Troubetzkoy after their e ...
' '' Spies in Disguise'' and a load of live-action films) may not immediately be available on either Disney+ or
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
, as the studio has pre-existing output deals with other premium TV/streaming providers (including
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
in the U.S. until 2022,
Crave __NOTOC__ Crave or Craving may refer to: Entertainment and media Companies and services * Crave (streaming service), a Canadian video-on-demand streaming service * Crave (TV network), a Canadian linear pay TV service operated in conjunction with ...
in Canada and
Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...
in the UK, Ireland, Italy and Germany). '' Captain Marvel'', '' Dumbo'' (2019), and '' Avengers: Endgame'' became the first theatrically released Disney films to stream exclusively on Disney+ within the pay-cable window. It was announced that Disney+ would add the first 30 seasons of '' The Simpsons'' to the service at launch, as the series' new exclusive home, with season 31 being added on October 2, 2020, season 32 being added on September 29, 2021, and season 33 being added on October 5, 2022, in the United States. Iger said that Disney+ will eventually host the entire Disney film library, including all of the films that are currently in the "
Disney Vault The "Disney Vault" was a term formerly used by The Walt Disney Company for its policy of regularly placing sales moratoria on home video releases of specific animated feature films. Each Walt Disney Animation Studios film was available for purcha ...
". However, he stated that the controversial ''
Song of the South ''Song of the South'' is a 1946 American Live-action animated film, live-action/animated musical film, musical drama film directed by Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson; produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures. ...
'' (1946), which has never been released on home video in its entirety in the U.S., will never be released on the service. Walt Disney Animation Studios' 1946 film '' Make Mine Music'' is not available on the service, possibly due to a gunfight scene, making it the only film in the Disney animated canon not to be included. Despite being available at launch, at least five films'' Home Alone'', '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York'', '' Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'', '' Ice Age'' and '' Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties''had been temporarily removed from the service in the U.S. It was initially unclear whether the first six films of the ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' franchise would be available in the United States at the service's launch, as TBS held streaming rights through 2024 as part of its cable rights to the franchise, but in April 2019, it was announced that the films would be available at launch along with '' The Force Awakens'' and '' Rogue One'', with '' The Last Jedi'' added on December 26, 2019; '' The Rise of Skywalker'' added on May 4, 2020, and '' Solo: A Star Wars Story'' was added on July 10, 2020. On April 2, 2021, several older ''Star Wars'' were released. In the United States, most of the films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe were available at launch, with the exception of seven films: '' Thor: Ragnarok'' (added on December 5, 2019), ''
Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
'' (added on March 4, 2020), '' Avengers: Infinity War'' (added on June 25, 2020), and '' Ant-Man and the Wasp'' (added on August 14, 2020), due to existing licensing deals with Netflix; and '' The Incredible Hulk'', '' Spider-Man: Homecoming'', and '' Spider-Man: Far From Home'', which are unavailable because their distribution rights are owned by Universal Pictures (''The Incredible Hulk'') and
Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
through the Columbia Pictures division (Spider-Man). Some films were modified by Disney: a post-credits scene from '' Toy Story 2'' was edited out; nudity was eliminated from ''
Splash Splash or Splash! or The Splash may refer to: Common meanings * Splash (fluid mechanics), sudden disturbances on the surface of water Entertainment * ''Splash'' (film), a 1984 fantasy film starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah ** ''Splash, Too'' ...
'' by adding digital hair, blurring, and cropping certain scenes; films such as '' Adventures in Babysitting'', ''
Free Solo Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of technical ice or rock climbing where the climbers (or ''free soloists'') climb alone without ropes, harnesses or other protective equipment, forcing them to rely entirely on their own individual ...
'', and ''
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
'' are altered to remove profanities; ''
The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin ''The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin'' is a 1967 American Western comedy film directed by James Neilson, produced by Walt Disney Productions, starring Roddy McDowall, Suzanne Pleshette, Hermione Baddeley, and Karl Malden. The film's screenplay ...
'' (1967) was edited to remove racial slurs, and the short film '' Santa's Workshop'' (1932) was edited to remove a " stereotypical black doll". Some older content, such as films, animated shorts, and series, have a content disclaimer on the platform noting the possibility of outdated cultural depictions. Starting in October 2020, a 12-second content disclaimer informing viewers of racially insensitive scenes plays before some older Disney filmsincluding '' Peter Pan'', '' Dumbo'', ''
Swiss Family Robinson ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (German: ''Der Schweizerische Robinson'') is a novel by Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Australia, goes off course and is shipwreck ...
'', '' Lady and the Tramp'', ''
The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, ...
'', ''
Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...
'' (alongside the two direct-to-video sequels), and '' The Aristocats''. Additionally, by January 2021, some of these films were no longer viewable on kids profiles; the titles were still available to view on regular profiles. '' X-Men: Days of Future Past'', which was released by
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
on May 23, 2014, contains both nudity and the word "
fuck ''Fuck'' is an English-language expletive. It often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested to aro ...
", began airing uncensored in mid-2020. Some series are missing episodes, including '' Darkwing Duck'', '' The Little Mermaid'', '' The Proud Family'', '' Phineas and Ferb'', '' Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends'', '' The Muppet Show'',' and ''The Simpsons'', amongst other programs. All episodes featuring Stoney Westmoreland on '' Andi Mack'' are banned from the service. On November 22, 2021, Disney and WarnerMedia reached a deal to amend the pre-existing deal HBO had with Fox to allow Disney+ or Hulu and HBO Max to share the streaming rights to half of 20th Century Studios' and Searchlight Pictures' 2022 theatrical slate in the United States during the pay-one window, with ''
Ron's Gone Wrong ''Ron's Gone Wrong'' is a 2021 computer-animated science fiction comedy film directed by Sarah Smith and Jean-Philippe Vine (in his feature directorial debut), and written by Peter Baynham and Smith. The film features the voice of Jack Dylan G ...
'' being the first film under the deal, becoming available on both Disney+ and HBO Max on December 15, 2021. Disney will still have full streaming rights to any 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures films produced for Disney+ or Hulu, while the Disney deal with WarnerMedia for streaming 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures films on HBO Max will end in 2022, with Disney+ and Hulu assuming the full pay-one rights to films released after 2022.


Original scripted content

The service's initial original content goal was planned to include four to five original films and five television shows with budgets from $25–100 million. In January 2019, it was reported that Disney would spend up to $500 million in original content for the service. Original series based on ''Star Wars'' and Marvel properties have been or are being produced. Original ''Star Wars'' series include '' The Mandalorian'' and its spin-offs '' The Book of Boba Fett'' and ''
Ahsoka Ahsoka Tano is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise. Introduced as the Jedi Padawan of Anakin Skywalker, she is a supporting character in the animated film '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' (2008) and the subsequent animated te ...
'', a seventh season of the animated '' The Clone Wars'' (and a spin-off series titled '' The Bad Batch''), as well as ''
Obi-Wan Kenobi Obi-Wan Kenobi () is a fictional Character (arts), character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Within the Star Wars original trilogy, original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinn ...
'', ''
Andor Andor may refer to: * ''Andor'' (TV series), a television series in the ''Star Wars'' universe **Cassian Andor, the titular character * Andor (''Wheel of Time''), a country in Robert Jordan's ''The Wheel of Time'' novels * Andor Technology, a ...
'', '' Star Wars: Skeleton Crew'', ''
The Acolyte ''The Acolyte'' was a science fiction fanzine edited by Francis Towner Laney from 1942-1946 (a total of 14 issues), dedicated to articles about fantasy fiction, with particular emphasis on H. P. Lovecraft and his circle. (Laney's essay, "The Cth ...
'' and ''
Lando Lando may refer to: People * Lando (name), a given name or surname of Italian origin ** Pope Lando (913–914) Other uses * Lando Calrissian, fictional character in ''Star Wars'' * Landó (music), a style of Peruvian music * Lando, South Carolina, ...
''. Original Marvel series include '' WandaVision'' and its spin-offs '' Agatha: Coven of Chaos'' and '' Vision Quest'', '' The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'', ''
Loki Loki is a god in Norse mythology. According to some sources, Loki is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mentioned as a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Na ...
'', '' Hawkeye'' and its spin-off '' Echo'', ''
Moon Knight Moon Knight is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in ''Werewolf by Night'' #32 (August 1975). The son of a rabb ...
'', '' Ms. Marvel'', '' She-Hulk: Attorney at Law'', '' Secret Invasion'', '' Ironheart'', '' Daredevil: Born Again'', and '' Wonder Man''. Animated Marvel series include '' What If..?'', ''
I Am Groot ''I Am Groot'' is an American series of animated shorts created by Kirsten Lepore for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics featuring the character Groot. It features characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), fol ...
'', ''
X-Men '97 ''X-Men'', also known as ''X-Men: The Animated Series'', is an animated superhero television series which debuted on October 31, 1992, in the United States on the Fox Kids Network. ''X-Men'' was Marvel Comics' second attempt at an animated X-Me ...
'', '' Spider-Man: Freshman Year'', and ''
Marvel Zombies ''Marvel Zombies'' is a five-issue limited series published from December 2005 to April 2006 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Robert Kirkman with art by Sean Phillips and covers by Arthur Suydam. It was the first series in the ''Marve ...
''. In January 2019, Disney+ ordered '' Diary of a Future President'' from CBS Television Studios, its first series from an outside production company. A television series remake of the film '' High Fidelity'' was initially announced for Disney+, but in April 2019, it was announced that the project had been moved to Hulu, citing concerns from its staff that the positioning of Disney+ as a family-friendly service was at odds with their creative vision for the series. '' Love, Victor'', a spin-off of the film ''
Love, Simon ''Love, Simon'' is a 2018 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Greg Berlanti, written by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, and based on the novel ''Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda'' by Becky Albertalli. The film stars Nick Robins ...
'', was similarly shifted from Disney+ to Hulu in February 2020. In August 2019, Iger announced that 20th Century Fox films such as '' Home Alone'', '' Night at the Museum'', '' Diary of a Wimpy Kid'', and ''
Cheaper by the Dozen ''Cheaper by the Dozen'' is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, published in 1948. The novel recounts the authors' childhood lives growing up in a household of 12 children. The bestsell ...
'' will be "'reimagined' for 'a new generation'" exclusively for Disney+ by Fox Family. Most original episodic content is released weekly, as opposed to all at once with the release time initially being 12:01 a.m. PT on Fridays, which lasted from November 15, 2019, to June 25, 2021. With the premiere of ''Loki'', which debuted on June 9, 2021, Disney shifted the release schedule for new original series and new seasons of the respective series to Wednesdays. On December 25, 2020, '' Soul'' became the first feature-length film from Pixar to be released as a Disney+ original. The following two Pixar films, '' Luca'' and '' Turning Red'', were also released as Disney+ originals. On February 1, 2022, Disney announced that Star Original Korean drama series '' Snowdrop'' would be released on Disney+ in the U.S. on February 9, 2022, as a Disney+ original; this marks the series becoming the first international content for Disney+ and the first content as both a Disney+ and Star original.


Original unscripted content

Disney also plans original factual television content for the service, aiming to "find the ethos of Disney in everyday stories, inspiring hope and sparking the curiosity of audiences of all ages." Some of these series will have ties to Disney properties, including behind-the-scenes documentary miniseries focusing on Disney studios (such as one following the production of '' Frozen II''), the Disney-themed competition cooking competition ''Be Our Chef'', ''Cinema Relics'' (a documentary series showcasing iconic costume and props from Disney films), ''
Marvel's Hero Project ''Marvel's Hero Project'' is a documentary streaming television series by Marvel New Media for Disney+ streamed from November 12, 2019. The series will be removed from Disney+ on May 26, 2023. Premise The series will follow the young heroes ...
'' (a series showcasing "inspiring kids hathave dedicated their lives to selfless acts of bravery and kindness"), and ''
The Imagineering Story ''The Imagineering Story'' is a 2019 documentary streaming television miniseries created, directed and executive produced by Leslie Iwerks. The series is focused on Walt Disney Imagineering and takes an in-depth look at the history and creation ...
'' (a
Leslie Iwerks Leslie Iwerks () is an American producer, director, and writer. She is daughter of Disney Legend Don Iwerks and granddaughter of Disney Legend Ub Iwerks, the animator and co-creator of Mickey Mouse and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. She has directe ...
-directed documentary series chronicling the history and work of Walt Disney Imagineering). National Geographic also produced '' Magic of the Animal Kingdom'' (a docuseries following the animal caretakers of
Disney's Animal Kingdom Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park is a zoological theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. Owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division, it is the l ...
and Epcot's
aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
) and ''
The World According to Jeff Goldblum ''The World According to Jeff Goldblum'' is a 2019 American documentary television, documentary streaming television series presented by Jeff Goldblum streaming on Disney+ from November 12, 2019. The second season premiered on November 12, 2021. ...
''. Disney reached a two-year pact with the documentary studio Supper Club (Brian McGinn, David Gelb and Jason Sterman, producers of Netflix's ''
Chef's Table ''Chef's Table'' is an American documentary series created by David Gelb' which premiered on video streaming service Netflix on April 26, 2015. The series takes viewers inside both the lives and kitchens of a variety acclaimed and successful inter ...
'') to produce content for the service, including the conservation-themed nature documentary series ''Earthkeepers'', and ''
Marvel's 616 ''Marvel's 616'' is an Anthology series, anthology documentary television series by Marvel Entertainment#Marvel New Media, Marvel New Media and Supper Club for Disney+ that premiered on November 20, 2020. The name "616" refers to Earth-616, the fi ...
'', a documentary series chronicling the cultural and societal impact of Marvel's characters. Other factual series include '' Encore!'' (a Kristen Bell-produced series that reunites casts from high school musical productions to reprise their roles), ''
(Re)Connect Disney+ is an over-the-top subscription video on-demand service owned and operated by Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, that first launched in the United States on November 12, 2019, eventually expanding to other territories. Its or ...
'' (a reality series produced by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' Milojo Productions), ''Rogue Trip'' (a travel series featuring
Bob Woodruff Robert Warren Woodruff (born August 18, 1961) is an American television journalist. Since 1996, he has served as a reporter for ABC News. Woodruff co-anchored ABC World News Tonight in 2006 alongside ABC News journalist Elizabeth Vargas. He was ...
and his son Mack), and the reality competition ''Shop Class''. On April 8, 2022, it was announced that ''
Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...
'' would be moving from
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
to Disney+.


Simultaneous releases


Premier Access

The live-action adaptation of ''
Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century CE) of Chinese history. According to legend, Mulan took her aged father's place in the conscription for the army by disguising herself as ...
'' was premiered in select countries on Disney+ with Premier Access for a premium fee ($29.99) on September 4, 2020, and later was made available for free to all subscribers on December 4. A second feature film, '' Raya and the Last Dragon'', was offered through the Premier Access model on March 5, 2021, the same day as its theatrical release, and was made available for all users on June 4. In March 2021, Disney announced that '' Cruella'' and ''
Black Widow Black widow may refer to: Spiders * Black widow spider, a common name for some species of spiders in the genus ''Latrodectus'' American species * ''Latrodectus apicalis'', the Galapagos black widow * ''Latrodectus curacaviensis'', the South Amer ...
'' would be released theatrically and through Premier Access. In May 2021, Disney announced that ''
Jungle Cruise Jungle Cruise, formally named Jungle River Cruise, is a riverboat amusement ride located in the Adventureland themed section at various Disney theme parks worldwide. The attraction is a simulated riverboat cruise that travels along a waterway ...
'' would also be released theatrically and through Premier Access.


Network releases

In September 2021, it was reported that Disney had begun a new television release strategy by giving episodes from certain series an early premiere on Disney+ ahead of their television debuts. The first series to be released through this strategy was '' The Ghost and Molly McGee'', with episodes 3 to 5 being released on Disney+ on October 6, 2021. This was followed by the third and final season of '' Fancy Nancy'' premiering in its entirety on Disney+ alongside its premiere episode on Disney Junior on November 12, 2021. In November 2021, it was reported that the Disney Channel Original Movie ''Christmas Again'' would be released on Disney+ on December 3, 2021, the same day of its television premiere, marking the first film to receive a simultaneous release.


Third-party content

In addition to Disney's own content, select television programs produced by third-party companies but broadcast on Disney-owned television channels are also featured, such as BBC Studios' '' Bluey''. Content co-produced with Disney's European subsidiaries, such as Zagtoon's '' Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir'' and ''
Ghostforce ''Ghostforce'' (also named ''Ghost Force'') is a French CGI animated series created by Jeremy Zag that premiered on TFOU in France on August 28, 2021. The show is licensed by Disney for international distribution; in the United States, it premiere ...
'', eOne's '' PJ Masks'', Zodiak Kids' '' The Unstoppable Yellow Yeti'' and Samka Studios' ''Vikingskool'' are also available on Disney+ in several territories worldwide. In October 2022, Disney+ announced that it had acquired streaming rights, excluding the United Kingdom & Ireland (which remained to be streamed on
BBC iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services del ...
), to the BBC series ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' starting in 2023 with its upcoming fourteenth series with Ncuti Gatwa as the
Fifteenth Doctor The Fifteenth Doctor will be the next incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme, ''Doctor Who''. He will be portrayed by Rwandan-Scottish actor Ncuti Gatwa. Gatwa is the first black actor and the ...
.


Multi-Year deal with

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...

In April 2021, Disney and
Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
reached a multi-year deal to let Sony's titles (such as films from the ''
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
'' and '' Jumanji'' franchises, and anime licensed by Funimation/
Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...
like ''
Attack on Titan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. It is set in a world where humanity is forced to live in cities surrounded by three enormous walls that protect them from gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to as ...
'' and '' Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works'') stream on
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
and Disney+. A significant number of Sony titles began streaming on Hulu starting in June 2021. It includes films from 2022 onwards. While the deal only concerns the United States, titles from Sony Pictures begun to also be added to Disney+ in regions outside of the U.S., as early as June 2022, starting with the majority of the Spider-Man films.


European Deals

In European territories, Disney+ contains several locally produced content in order to fulfill certain countries' local content criteria's. In November 2021, Disney announced that StudioCanal's '' Paddington'' films would be released on Disney+ in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with the films also arriving on Germany and France eventually. Several other StudioCanal movies such as '' Maya the Bee'' are also available on the service. Films from
Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French people, French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest ...
such as ''
Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar ''Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar'' (french: Astérix & Obélix contre César) is a 1999 feature film directed by Claude Zidi, the first installment in the ''Asterix'' film series based on Goscinny and Uderzo's Astérix comics. The film combines ...
'', and '' Chicken Run'' are also available on Disney+ in select European territories. Entertainment One and Hasbro's '' Peppa Pig'' will also made available on the service in the United Kingdom, beginning in January 2023.


Device support and service features

Disney+ is available for streaming via web browsers on Windows and macOS
PCs A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or techn ...
, as well as apps on iOS and
Apple TV An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
,
Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...
and Android TV, Fire TV and
Fire HD The Fire HD, also known as Kindle Fire HD, is a member of the Amazon Fire family of tablet computers. Fire HD refers to Amazon Fire family tablets with HD resolution. The ten generation Fire HD subfamily consists of: 7" and 8.9" (2012 models), 7" ...
,
Chromecast Chromecast is a line of digital media players developed by Google. The devices, designed as small dongles, can play Internet-streamed audio-visual content on a high-definition television or home audio system. The user can control playback with ...
and ChromeOS devices, Samsung Smart TVs, LG webOS TVs, Vizio SmartCast TVs, Roku devices, Xfinity Flex, Sky Q, Now TV devices,
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
,
PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Ame ...
, Xbox One,
Xbox Series X/S The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, t ...
, Windows 10 and Windows 11. Content available on Disney+ is also listed in the
Apple TV An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
and
Google TV Google TV may refer to: * Google TV (interface), an updated interface of Android TV launched in 2020 * Google TV (service), a video-on-demand service formerly known as Google Play Movies & TV * Google TV (operating system), a discontinued operating ...
apps.
Accessibility Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...
features include closed captioning, audio description (also known as described video), and audio navigation assistance. Disney+ allows seven user profiles per account, with the ability to stream on four devices concurrently and unlimited downloads for offline viewing. Content is able to be streamed in resolutions up to 4K Ultra HD in
Dolby Vision Dolby Vision is a set of technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories for high dynamic range (HDR) video. It covers content creation, distribution, and playback. It includes dynamic metadata that are used to adjust and optimize each frame of the ...
and HDR10, with Dolby Atmos sound on supported devices. Legacy content and Disney+ originals are available in multiple languages. As of June 2022, the international version of the Disney+ app is translated in 21 languages (not including variants). A substantial amount of content is available in Hindi, Indonesian, Thai, Malay, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada, and Marathi languages on the Indian and select Southeast Asian countries counterpart, Disney+ Hotstar. The localised Disney+ app around the MENA and South Africa features content in Arabic and Hebrew subtitles and dubbing. Many feature films and shows are available in two Arabic dub variants: Standard and
Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
. In late May 2020, the service added the ability to switch between 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios for early ''Simpsons'' episodes, after the service received backlash for stretching those episodes to 16:9 by default at launch. Disney had done this "in order to guarantee visual quality and consistency across all 30 seasons." To accommodate the feature,
Disney Streaming Services Disney Streaming (formerly known as BAMTech Media from 2015 to 2018, and Disney Streaming Services from 2018 to 2021) is a technology subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company located in Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 2015 as a spin ...
"had to reconfigure its content-delivery engine" while ensuring the new feature would not break any existing features such as continue watching, watchlists, and auto-playing, as they did not want to treat the 4:3 versions as bonus content. The resulting changes allowed Disney to apply the existing audio, subtitle information, episode artwork, and other metadata from the episodes to both aspect ratios regardless of which is chosen by the user. Joe Rice, vice president of media product at Disney Streaming Services, added that these adjustments "opens up a number of exciting opportunities for novel ways of presenting content in the future." In September 2020, the service added the GroupWatch feature which allows up to seven different Disney+ accounts to link up and co-view programming with one another. Viewers are able to react to content with six different emojis, and control playback for the entire group. It is available on web browser, mobile app, smart TVs, and connected TV devices in the United States, and later expanded to Europe in 2020. The feature was previously tested in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. In November 2021, Disney and
IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...
announced that 13 films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe would receive IMAX Enhanced versions on Disney+, that feature
IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme F ...
's 1.90:1 aspect ratio for scenes shot in or opened up for the format. This feature became available beginning on November 12, 2021, with the IMAX Enhanced versions also adding other features such as DTS audio at a later point, as well as all IMAX Enhanced titles still retaining other features from the standard widescreen versions, like Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.


Launch


Launch as a standalone Disney+

Disney+ was launched early in the Netherlands on September 12, 2019, as a free trial. It officially launched in the Netherlands, United States and Canada on November 12, 2019, just before 3:00 a.m. EST ( UTC–5). Disney+ launched in Australia, New Zealand, and Puerto Rico on November 19, 2019, and launched in Austria, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Germany, Ireland, and Switzerland on March 24, 2020. In the UK and Ireland, Disney+ replaced DisneyLife. In Spain, a linear Disney+ television channel launched alongside the streaming service. The channel is available exclusively on Movistar+, which serves as Disney+'s launch partner in the region. In December 2019, it was announced that Canal+ would be the exclusive distributor of Disney+ in France. The launch in France was delayed from March 24 to April 7, pursuant to a request from the French government to conserve network capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic placing additional strain on communications networks. In April 2020, it was announced that Disney+ original content would be licensed to pay TV and streaming operator OSN, starting on April 9, in 17 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region with Disney noting that they had no current "plan to launch Disney+ as a standalone service in the region in the near future". The service launched in Japan on June 11, 2020, as part of Disney's existing partnership with NTT Docomo, and succeeded the existing Disney Deluxe service in the region. Few months later, Disney+ service expanded in Portugal, Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Greenland on September 15, 2020; and in Latin America and the Caribbean on November 17, 2020. The service expanded to Singapore on February 23, 2021. On August 12, 2021, Disney announced that it would launch in the Middle East and Africa in mid-2022. Following the announcement, all the Disney+ original content has been removed from OSN, which its platform were previously host Disney+ original content through licensing since April 2020. It was announced that the service would also expand to Central and Eastern Europe, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Israel, South Africa, and Turkey later in between 2021 and 2022. Among them, it has been confirmed that the service would launch on November 12, 2021, in South Korea and Taiwan, and on November 16, 2021, in Hong Kong. It will be available in more than 50 countries by 2022 and in more than 160 countries by the end of 2023. On March 29, 2022, Disney announced that it would launch the service in South Africa on May 18, 2022, in the Middle East and North Africa (excluding Syria) on June 8, 2022, in most of the remaining European countries on June 14, 2022, and in Israel on June 16, 2022. The service was also launched in the Philippines on November 17, 2022, in addition to mobile plan launch.


The Disney Bundle

Alongside the launch of the standalone Disney+ service in the U.S., Disney also announced a
bundle Bundle or Bundling may refer to: * Bundling (packaging), the process of using straps to bundle up items Biology * Bundle of His, a collection of heart muscle cells specialized for electrical conduction * Bundle of Kent, an extra conduction pat ...
including its other U.S. streaming services
Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
(ad-supported version) and
ESPN+ ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
, marketed as The Disney Bundle, initially for
US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
12.99 per month; the monthly price of this plan subsequently increased to $13.99. Additional variants of the bundle were later added including the ad-free and Live TV variants of Hulu; then, in late 2021, Disney+ and ESPN+ became non-removable parts of the Hulu + Live TV package. In connection with the August 10, 2022, announcement of the ad-supported version of Disney+ launching on December 8, several new bundle options and increased prices were announced as taking effect the same day. Monthly prices for these plans range from $9.99 (for a new bundle with ad-supported versions of Disney+ and Hulu, but not ESPN+) to $82.99 (for Hulu + Live TV with ESPN+ and the ad-free versions of Disney+ and Hulu streaming content). Bundled options are also offered in Latin America incorporating Disney+ and Star+, as well as Lionsgate's streaming service
Lionsgate+ Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consis ...
(formerly Starzplay) in some countries of Latin America. In Brazil, there is also a bundle of Disney+ and Globoplay offered on Globoplay's website.


Launch as Disney+ Hotstar

In February 2020, Iger announced that it planned to launch Disney+ in India on March 29, 2020, by means of its existing service Hotstar, rebranding its paid tiers as a co-branded service. Hotstar was acquired by Disney during the Fox purchase, and has been the dominant streaming service in the country. However, it was postponed due to the Indian Premier League being rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was then launched on April 3, 2020. A few months later, Disney+ launched in Indonesia through Hotstar on September 5, 2020. On February 25, 2021, it was reported that Disney+ was launched in Malaysia and Thailand through Hotstar within 2021. It was later confirmed that the launch would take place in Malaysia on June 1, 2021, and Thailand on June 30, 2021. Later on, there was a report stating the service is expected to launch in Vietnam in 2022, but due to numerous delays on the launch as most of its content is being added, the exact date remains unknown. The Disney+ service officially launched in the 17 MENA markets, including Israel, in June 2022. Although not branded as Hotstar, a variant of the Disney+ Hotstar app for non-PC devices was made available for these markets. It has the same user interface and login system as Hotstar but does not support the Disney ID SSO like the international version of the Disney+ app does. In fact, users in the MENA markets are met with an error message upon booting the international version of the Disney+ app, and MENA subscribers cannot access their accounts outside the region, and vice versa. This variant is also available for South Africa and the Philippines.


Star content hub launch

Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
, Disney+'s brand for general entertainment content launched on February 23, 2021, in Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. Star was added to Disney+ in Japan on October 27, 2021, and launched along with the service in South Korea and Taiwan on November 12 and Hong Kong on November 16 that year. Star was later introduced in South Africa, MENA and Eastern Europe in summer of 2022. Disney+ in Turkey and Greece will not be carrying the Star brand due to local channels having the name, it is called "More Entertainment", instead. It is also available in the Philippines since November 17, 2022.


Reception

On November 13, 2019, a day after its launch, Disney announced that the streaming service had already signed up more than 10 million subscribers. Disney+ has been well-received, thanks to its affordable price and for the extensive Disney library. Frank Pallotta of CNN stated that "the company isneyhas repackaged its trove of beloved content for the service makes it a worthy companion to the other services in the marketplace. Nick Pino of '' TechRadar'' stated, "If Disney keeps it updated with new content, Disney+ could rival Netflix sooner rather than later." Upon launch, Disney+ experienced significant technical difficulties. Users complained about receiving error messages that the service was down and that they were "unable to connect", which were irritating because many of them had paid for the service months in advance. In some instances, passwords needed to be reset to enable access. One other negative aspect with the launch of the service was the presentation of the non-HD episodes of ''The Simpsons''. Namely, that instead of presenting them in their original aspect ratio, they were either cropped to fit 16:9 widescreen televisions or awkwardly stretched out to that aspect ratio. FXX's now-defunct "Simpsons World" streaming service was similarly criticized when it launched. In response, Disney stated they would make the ability to watch the episodes of the first 19 seasons and some from season 20 in either the 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio in early 2020. The feature was made available on May 28, 2020. Some have noted that episodes of ''The Simpsons'', '' X-Men'', '' DuckTales'', '' Phineas and Ferb'', ''
Kim Possible ''Kim Possible'' is an American animated action comedy-adventure television series created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle for Disney Channel. The title character is a teenage girl tasked with fighting crime on a regular basis while coping wi ...
'', and '' The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes'' are presented almost entirely out of order, while some series are missing episodes. Others have questioned why an extensive catalog of Disney-owned material is missing from the platform, including older Disney-produced films, Disney Junior titles, Marvel content, some Muppets media, and the unreleased ''Star Wars'' animated comedy series ''
Star Wars Detours ''Star Wars Detours'' is an unaired American CGI-animated comedy series. It is differentiated from the other '' Star Wars'' animated series in that it is a parody of the franchise. It offers a comedic take on what happened between the prequel ...
''. On June 26, 2020, the 2017 ''DuckTales'' series had its episodes arranged in the proper order while co-creator of ''Phineas and Ferb'', Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, has stated that they are working on correcting the order of his series. Disney+ was the top trending Google search term in 2019 in the US. In February 2020, Disney reported that Disney+ had 26.5 million subscribers by the end of 2019, and 28.6 million by February 3, 2020. By April 2020, Disney+ had 50 million paid subscribers, with approximately 8 million of those coming from India. The service had 54.5 million subscribers by May 4, 57.5 million subscribers by the end of June, 60.5 million subscribers by August 4, 73.7 million subscribers by September 30, and 86.8 million subscribers as of December 2. In February 2021, Disney reported that Disney+ had 94.9 million subscribers as of January 2, 2021. On March 9, 2021, Disney reported that the service had surpassed 100 million paid subscribers but did not say when it had hit the milestone. The company clarified that it would now only be providing subscriber number updates when certain milestones are reached, as opposed to releasing exact numbers each quarter. In 2020, Apple Inc. named Disney+ the
Apple TV An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
App of the Year. It was the second and third most-downloaded free app of the year globally on the iPad and iPhone, respectively. It was also voted the best app of 2020 by Google Play users. In H1 of 2021, the app reached 125 million downloads.


See also

*
Disney+ Day The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...


Notes


References


External links

* {{Portal bar, Disney, United States 2019 in film 2019 in television 2019 introductions Internet properties established in 2019 Internet television streaming services 2019 establishments in the United States Subscription video on demand services PlayStation 4 software PlayStation 5 software IOS software Xbox One software Xbox Series X and Series S software Android (operating system) software