Disney+

Disney+ is an American subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming service owned by the Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International division of The Walt Disney Company. The service debuted on November 12, 2019, in the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands.

Disney+ is focused on the film and television content from Walt Disney Studios and Walt Disney Television. Original films and television series based on new and existing properties are also available, including content from Disney, 20th Century Fox, Lucasfilm/Star Wars, Marvel, National Geographic, and Pixar. The service competes with other general-interest subscription services and complements ESPN+ and Hulu as part of Disney's over-the-top strategy.

History
In August 2016, Disney acquired a minority stake in BAMTech (a spin-out 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 [over-the-top] project" based on its technology (ESPN+) 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. Soon thereafter, Agnes Chu, storey and franchise development executive at Walt Disney Imagineering, was the first appointed executive, senior vice president of content, for the unit.

In December 2017, Disney announced its intent to acquire key entertainment assets from 21st Century Fox. Intended to bolster Disney's content portfolio for its streaming products, the acquisition closed 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 2018, 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 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 US. 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 will offer a streaming bundle of Disney+, ESPN+, and the ad-supported version of Hulu for $12.99 per month available at launch. At the D23 Expo in August 2019, Disney opened up subscriptions to Disney+ at a discount 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 will last until the official launch on November 12, when trial users will be 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 three-and-a-half-hour trailer 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.

Content

 * Further information: List of original programs distributed by Disney+ and List of original films distributed by Disney+

The service will be built around content from Disney's main entertainment studios, including Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios, National Geographic, and select films from 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, and Touchstone Pictures. The service will operate alongside Hulu, which Disney gained a controlling stake in following the 21st Century Fox purchase. Bob Iger stated that Disney+ would be focused specifically on family-oriented entertainment (and not carry any R or TV-MA-rated content), and that Hulu would remain oriented towards general entertainment. Hulu will also host Disney+ as an add-on service.

It is expected that Disney+ will have approximately 7,000 television episodes and 500 films, including content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, and National Geographic, as well as original television series and films from Disney Channel and Freeform, and select titles from 20th Century Fox Television and ABC Studios. New releases from 20th Century Fox will not immediately be available on either Disney+ or Hulu, as Fox has an output deal with HBO until 2022. Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame will both be the first theatrically-released Disney films to stream exclusively on Disney+. Iger said that Disney+ will eventually host the entire Disney film library, including films currently in the "Disney Vault", although on November 7, 2019, it was confirmed that potentially controversial content such as Song of the South and certain scenes from Dumbo and Toy Story 2 would be excluded; the former generally has never been released on home video in the U.S., but the latter two have been available unedited on home video for years. The service will also hold exclusive streaming rights to The Simpsons, with seasons 1–30 being available on launch.

It was initially unclear whether the first six films of the Star Wars 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 on April 11, 2019, it was announced that the films would be available at launch along with The Force Awakens and Rogue One, with The Last Jedi to be added around the beginning of 2020, and Solo and The Rise of Skywalker available within its first year of operation. The rights to The Force Awakens (among various other Disney films) are owned by the premium television network Starz (as they have previously been the first-run pay-TV provider for Walt Disney Studios' releases between 1994 and 2015). In order to sub-license the streaming rights, it was reported that Disney had agreed to provide an advertising placement for Starz at the conclusion of the registration process for Disney+ and ESPN+ on PC and Android platforms. No promotions for Starz (or ads of any other kind) will be contained within the service proper.

In the United States, most of the films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe will all be available at launch, with 4 films (Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Ant-Man and the Wasp) not available until 2020 as the streaming rights for those films are already licensed to Netflix, and 3 films (The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Spider-Man: Far From Home) not available as the distribution rights for those films are with different studios (Universal Pictures for TIH, and Sony Pictures for the Spider-Man films).

Disney has acknowledged that, as with other international streaming services such as Netflix, there may be "slight variations" in available library content depending on the customer's country of residence or current access location.

Original scripted content
Original series based on Marvel properties and Star Wars are being produced, with the former including eight new Marvel Cinematic Universe TV series: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, Loki, an animated What If series, Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk. The latter includes The Mandalorian, a television series that is set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, a currently untitled spin-off series focused on Cassian Andor from Rogue One, a seventh season of the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and a yet-untitled series starring Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, reprising his role from the prequel trilogy. 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 will spend up to $500 million in original content for the service. The Mandalorian alone is expected to cost $100 million.

In January 2019, Disney+ ordered Diary of a Female 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 revealed that the project had been shifted to Hulu.

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 will be "'reimagined' for 'a new generation'" exclusively for Disney+ by Fox Family. Original episodic content will be released weekly, as opposed to all at once.

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 (a series that will showcase "inspiring kids [that] have dedicated their lives to selfless acts of bravery and kindness"), and a Leslie Iwerks-directed documentary series chronicling the history and work of Walt Disney Imagineering. National Geographic is also producing Magic of the Animal Kingdom (a docuseries following the animal caretakers of Disney's Animal Kingdom and Epcot's aquarium) and The World According to Jeff Goldblum.

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) to produce content for the service, including the conservation-themed nature documentary series Earthkeepers, and a documentary series chronicling the cultural and societal impact of Marvel's characters. Other factual series planned include Encore! (a Kristen Bell-produced series that will reunite casts from high school musical productions to reprise their roles), (Re)Connect (a reality series produced by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' Milojo Productions), Rogue Trip (a travel series featuring Bob Woodruff and his son Mack), and the reality competition Shop Class.

Device support and service features
Disney+ is available for streaming via web browsers on PCs, as well as apps on Apple iOS devices and Apple TV, Android mobile devices and Android TV, Amazon devices such as Fire TV and Fire HD, Chromecast, Chromebook, Samsung smart TVs, LG smart TVs, Roku devices, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows 10. Content available on Disney+ also is listed in the Apple TV app.

Disney has committed to accessibility in their app for users with hearing and vision disabilities. The app offers support for closed captioning and descriptive audio (audio description) plus 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 and HDR10, with Dolby Atmos sound on supported devices. Legacy content is available in English, Spanish, French, and Dutch, while Disney+ originals feature additional language options.

Launch
Disney+ is rolling out worldwide via a staggered rollout plan. It launched first in the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands on November 12, 2019, just before 3:00 a.m. EST. Disney+ will launch in Australia and New Zealand on November 19, 2019, and Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latin America, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Western Europe in 2020.