disney-plus
Latest
Disney+ adds a few more Marvel movies to its list of day-one titles
With tomorrow's launch of Disney+ just hours away, the newest entrant into the streaming wars has added just a little more incentive. Nearly a month ago a mammoth video and tweetstorm previewed "basically everything" coming to Disney+ at launch, but since then Disney dropped in surprise news that Avengers: Endgame will be available day one (earlier than expected), and now it has filled out the MCU lineup with a total of 16 out of 23 movies.
Disney+ will hit the UK and four other European countries March 31st
Disney+ will officially debut in the US, Canada and the Netherlands November 12th, and Australia and New Zealand a week later. The rest of the world will need to wait a little longer to stream the likes of Avengers: Endgame and The Mandalorian on the service. But Disney fans in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain might want to mark March 31st on their calendars. That's when Disney+ will land in those countries.
Disney+ will stream on Amazon's Fire TV platform at launch
Disney+ streaming will go live next week, and after some wrangling between the giants, it will be available on Amazon's Fire TV platform at launch. That's according to Disney CEO Bob Iger, who revealed the deal during an interview with CNBC as his company released its earnings report today. Last month there was a report that a dispute over advertising had divided the two companies, but they've worked things out. Along with Samsung and LG smart TVs, Fire sticks will join Roku, Apple TV, game consoles and other devices in supporting Disney's direct-to-consumer offering. Disney+ launches November 12th for $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year.
'Avengers: Endgame' is arriving early on Disney+ next week
Disney+ will make its much-anticipated arrival in the US and Canada next week. Disney is packing the service with a vast range of shows and movies new and old, but it has another trick up its sleeve for launch day: Avengers: Endgame.
Disney+ is boosting its library by running a Starz ad (update)
When you first launch Disney+ after it becomes available next early week, you might find something that wasn't supposed to be there. According to The Verge, the streaming service will show some subscribers an ad promoting premium TV channel Starz after they finish the initial sign-up process. Disney confirmed to Engadget that the one-time promo will be shown to some users once they finish signing up for the service and entering payment details.
New 'The Mandalorian' trailer looks like the Star Wars we're used to
Need a reason to stay interested in Disney+? Between Netflix's content assault, an HBO Max event tomorrow and Apple TV+ launching this week, Disney's plan to stand out is apparently this new trailer for its live-action Star Wars show, The Mandalorian. Fortunately, in contrast with early reviews for Apple's TV shows, the one minute 45 second preview delivers, with action showing not only star Pedro Pascal's character, but much more of the world than earlier teasers. Disney+ launches November 12th with its price set at $6.99 per month or $69.99 annually.
A 'Hocus Pocus' sequel is in the works for Disney+
Variety reports Disney is developing a sequel to its 1993 comedy Hocus Pocus for its upcoming Disney+ streaming service. The original starred Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as a trio of sisters that were captured and executed in 1693 for practicing witchcraft in Salem, Massachusettes. The sisters come back 300 years later when they're brought back to life by a family that moves from the east coast city to California. At the moment, there's no word on whether the three stars will reprise their roles, though Variety notes Workaholics writer Jen D'Angelo will pen the sequel's script.
Disney+ downloads will disappear when they leave the service (updated)
While Disney leans hard on nostalgia for content from its vast archives to push its upcoming Disney+ package, one downside is that licensing deals signed years ago will mean some movies aren't always available. In the past, it's made limited availability of content part of the business model, rotating classics in and out of the Disney vault to encourage purchases while they're available. As CEO Bob Iger explained during an interview at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit 2019, that shouldn't be an issue -- as long as people keep subscribing. Asked about the availability of older movies (around 25 minutes into the video below), he referenced the three-hour "All Your Favorites" sizzle reel Disney released last week, and said that there is "some of it but very very little" that will be removed from the service at times. However, as long as someone is an active Disney+ subscriber, he said, they'll be able to watch downloaded copies of those movies anyway. It's not the perfect solution, but it may nudge some people to get -- and keep -- that annual subscription, even in future years if Disney ever raises the prices. Disney+ launches November 12th, with a $6.99 per month / $69.99 annual price tag. Update 11:30AM ET: It seems that Iger's statements have caused some confusion. While he seemed to be suggesting that any videos you downloaded from Disney+ would continue to be available as long as you were a subscriber, regardless of changes in licensing or things going back in the "vault" so to speak, that's not necessarily the case. A Disney spokesperson clarified to The Verge that, if a movie or show leaves the Disney+ platform, then it will no longer be available as a download. To give you the full context of Iger's statement, we've included a transcript below. Q: I have a quick, you mentioned the breadth of content and you kind of, you guys exploded the internet, I think it was last week, with this incredible flex of everything from the vault. Now I grew up in the tradition of the Disney vault, you know the movie would come out and then it would go back in the vault, and if you didn't get it, it was gone. So I'm just curious as the mother of a five year old, is the stuff gonna stay on Disney Plus or are you gonna take The Love Bug away? A: No, no, no. What you're referring to they've someone in our marketing department decided to put out a trailer which I think was a snippet from every one of the movies and television shows that will be on and it was a three and a half hour trailer. It was kind of inventive although I have not gotten through it all yet. Virtually all of the library is on Disney Plus and will be available. There's some encumbrances from deals that we had, legacy deals that we had before, which will prevent some of it from being on initially, and will cause some of it but very very little to come off for brief periods of time. But by and large, almost all of it is there. And if you are a subscriber, you can download it and put it on a device and it will stay on that device as long as you continue to subscribe. So in your case if you wanted to download 10 classic Disney films that may not have all been available at once before, you can do that basically fill all of your hard drive space on one of your devices and your child can watch wherever they are.
Disney is tweeting everything that's coming to Disney+
The Disney+ launch is less than a month away, and the streaming service is busy drumming up nostalgia in an attempt to hook users. Today, it started a massive tweet thread sharing "basically everything" coming to Disney+ on November 12th.
Disney+ has another subscription deal: three years for $5 per month
There's plenty of hype around Disney+. Public pre-orders are open, and the service is scheduled to launch November 12th. But Disney isn't done trying to lure people in with discounted subscription deals. Its latest offering is a three-year plan for $169.99. As the Orlando Sentinel reports, that's $40 off the list price of $209.99, and it breaks down to less than $5 per month.
Disney+ may not be on Fire TV due to a reported ad dispute
When Disney confirmed all the platforms on which you'll be able to stream Disney+, there was a notable omission: Amazon's Fire TV ecosystem. It seems the companies are tussling over terms for not just Disney+, but apps for the likes of ESPN+ and Disney Channel.
How to get the most out of Netflix, Hulu and other streaming services
A Netflix or Hulu subscription alone won't cut it anymore. The streaming landscape is fracturing as bastions of old media rise up with their own services, offering a blend of originals and library material. Over the coming months, the streaming video options will multiply like Gremlins, as the likes of Disney, Apple, WarnerMedia, NBCUniversal and mobile platform Quibi hop into the game.
Disney is mining nostalgia to make Disney+ a success
When Kevin Mayer, Disney's chairman of Direct-to-Consumer and International business, took the stage at D23 last month, the first thing he said was that the company's goal is to "entertain and inspire audiences of all ages." Mayer pointed to Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox as the perfect example of the breadth of content that will be on Disney+, the streaming service that's launching on November 12th in the US and Canada. "Never [has so much of] our content been previously available, whether you're nostalgic for your childhood favorites or simply need Baby Groot," Mayer, who was an instrumental figure in the Disney purchases of Pixar, Marvel Entertainment and Lucasfilm, said about Disney+.
Disney+ public pre-orders are open, but without deep bundle discounts
If you didn't already buy into the three-years-upfront D23 plan for Disney+ streaming, the doors are open for subscribers, at the promised rates of $69.99 annually, or $6.99 per month. The service started taking sign-ups tonight during the Emmys while other streamers (mostly Amazon) took home trophies, but with more than 25 original series and ten films promised in the first year, it will be interesting to see if they're on the stage next year. Going for the annual plan is the only way to get a discount at this point, as those wanting to bundle their subscription with access to ad-supported Hulu and ESPN+ at a $12.99 rate will have to wait until the service launches November 12th to sign up. If you're still not sure if the service will be worth it at the start, there is a free 7-day trial period.
Disney CEO Bob Iger resigns from Apple board ahead of TV+ launch
Bob Iger, the long-time Disney CEO, has resigned from Apple's board of directors. Apple made the announcement on Friday in an SEC filing, where it revealed that Iger stepped down on September 10th -- which happens to be the day the company shared launch details for Apple TV+, its upcoming video streaming service. Disney is, of course, getting ready to debut a streaming service of its own, Disney+, on November 12th for $6.99 a month in the US, Canada and the Netherlands. Apple TV+, meanwhile, will arrive on November 1st for $4.99 per month in over 100 countries.
Apple can make TV+ ubiquitous through brute force
Apple CEO Tim Cook didn't waste any time at the company's 2019 iPhone event. One of the first announcements he made was that Apple's highly anticipated video-streaming service, Apple TV+, will launch November 1st for $4.99 per month. Since introducing it in March, Apple has teased a number of the originals that will be exclusive to Apple TV+, including series such as For All Mankind, The Morning Show and Dickinson. And while Apple has managed to get plenty of A-list celebrities to join its push into original content (like Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carell and Jason Momoa), that may not even be the company's best weapon as it takes on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Amazon and, soon, Disney.
Get Disney+ for $4 per month, if you buy three years upfront
For a limited time, Disney is offering a steep discount on its Disney+ streaming service. When it launches on November 12th, Disney+ is set to cost $6.99 per month, with an option to pay $69.99 for the year. But if users are willing to sign up for the D23 Official Disney Fan Club, Disney has another offer: a three-year commitment for just $140.97. That's $46.99 per year, or $3.92 per month. Demand for the offer was reportedly so high that it temporarily crashed the D23 website.
Disney says 'quality over quantity' gives it a streaming advantage
The Disney+ Showcase at the D23 Expo started with a live performance from the cast of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. And that wasn't just about getting the crowd fired up. For Disney, it was an opportunity to give its biggest fans a taste of one of the original shows that will anchor its upcoming streaming service, Disney+. High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, along with other originals like The Mandalorian and blockbuster movies such as Captain Marvel, are a key part of how Disney hopes to lure people into signing up for Disney+, which launches November 12th for $6.99 per month. From Pixar to Marvel, to Star Wars and National Geographic, Disney is betting on the power of the brands it owns to make its streaming efforts a success -- and, at D23, the company made it clear that it's going to get as much as it can out of them to help it get there.
Ewan McGregor will play Obi-Wan Kenobi again in a new 'Star Wars' show
For Star Wars fans the Disney+ news revealed tonight included a peek at The Mandalorian, a release window for the next season of the Clone Wars, and the surprise return of a familiar face: Ewan McGregor. The actor will reprise his role of Obi-Wan Kenobi from the prequel trilogy in a new show streaming on Disney+. We don't know the name or when it will be ready for viewing, but the idea of revisiting that part of Star Wars history is going over pretty well already. Apparently the show will take place eight years after the end of Revenge of the Sith, where Obi-wan delivered Luke Skywalker to Tatooine. According to Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, filming will start next year.
'Clone Wars' returns on Disney+ in February
While a lot of the exclusive content Disney has lined up for Disney+ will be available for launch, Clone Wars fans will have a few more months to wait. Today at the D23 Expo we learned that the next season of the animated show will be available for streaming in February 2020. Meanwhile, Disney dropped off the first trailer for its live-action Star Wars show, The Mandalorian, that will premiere with the service on November 12th. Without an updated Clone Wars trailer, we'll just point you back to the one from the announcement of its return that appeared last year. Disney: Kathleen Kennedy announced that the highly anticipated new season of "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" will stream on Disney+ in February 2020. The Emmy® award-winning animated series will be returning with twelve all-new episodes and will mark the return of classic characters Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and fan-favorites Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex.