Disney+

Disney+ (pronounced Disney Plus) is an upcoming over-the-top subscription video on-demand service owned and operated by the Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International division of The Walt Disney Company. It is set to launch in the United States on November 12, 2019. It will be focused on 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 planned, including content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, National Geographic, and 20th Century Fox.

The service will compete with other video streaming subscription services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and will complement Hulu which is majority-owned and fully controlled by Disney.

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, ESPNannounced 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.

In December 2017, Disney announced its intent to acquire key entertainment assets from 21st Century Fox. The acquisition, intended to bolster Disney's content portfolio for its streaming products, closed on March 20, 2019.

In January 2018, it was reported that former Apple and Samsung executive Kevin Swint had been appointed senior vice president and general manager of the new service reporting to BAMTech's CEO. In June 2018, former Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures marketing president Ricky Strauss was named president of content and marketing for the service.

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; Disney stated that it planned to roll the service out worldwide over the next two years, targeting Canada, Western Europe and Asia-Pacific countries by late 2019 and early 2020, and Eastern Europe and Latin America by the end of 2020. The timing of international launches is subject to the acquisition or expiration of existing streaming rights deals for Disney content.