Disney lays out plans for streaming challenge to Netflix

Disney’s new streaming service will cost $US7 monthly in the US from November, with other markets to follow.

How Disney Plus will look on a tablet.

Walt Disney Co says its new family-friendly streaming service will cost $US7 monthly or $US70 annually, with a slate of exclusive TV shows and movies from some of the world’s most popular entertainment franchises in a bid to challenge the digital dominance of Netflix.

The ad-free monthly subscription called Disney+ is set to launch on November 12 and in every major global market over time, the company said.

In addition to Disney films and TV shows, it will feature programming from the Marvel superhero universe,the Star Wars galaxy, Toy Story creator Pixar animation and the National Geographic channel.

The company said it has struck deals with Roku and Sony Corp to distribute Disney+ on streaming devices and console gaming systems and expects it to be widely available on smart televisions, tablets, and other outlets by launch.

Disney kicked off its presentation to Wall Street analysts at its Burbank, California, headquarters with a video that demonstrated the breadth of its portfolio, showing clips from dozens of classic TV shows and movies from Frozen and The Lion King to Avatar and The Sound of Music.

Executives said they see opportunities to take its ESPN+ sport streaming video service to Latin America and are looking into international expansion of its Hulu streaming video business, which offers movies andshows targeted to adults.

The entertainment giant is trying to transform itself from a cable television powerhouse into a leader of streaming media.

Chief executive Bob Iger in February called streaming the company’s “No. 1 priority.”

Wall Street has pinned high hopes on the new service, which analysts expect would cost about $US7.50 monthly and lure about 7.2 million US subscribers in 2020 and 13.66 million by 2021, according to a poll of analysts conducted by Reuters.

Robert Iger has called Disney+ his No. 1 priority. Pic: Shutterstock

The digital push is Disney’s response to cord-cutting, the dropping of cable service that has hit its ESPN sports network and other channels, and the rise of Netflix Inc.

The Silicon Valley upstart has amassed 139 million customers worldwide since it began streaming 12 years ago.

The Mouse House, as Disney is known, will join the market at a time when audiences are facing a host of choices, and monthlybills, for digital entertainment. Apple Inc, AT&T Inc’s WarnerMedia and others plan new streaming services.

To bolster its potential digital portfolio, Disney recently purchased film and TV assets from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox and gained prized properties such as “Avatar.” In a January regulatory filing, Disney reported losses of more than $US1billion for streaming-related investments in Hulu and technology company BAMtech.

Disney had been supplying new movies such as Black Panther and Beauty and the Beast to Netflix after their runs in theatres but ended that arrangement this year to feed its own streaming ambitions.

The company estimated it is foregoing $US150 million in licensing revenue this fiscal year by saving programming for its ownplatforms.

The Disney+ programming will draw in part from Disney’s deep library of classic family films.

It also will include exclusive original content such as a live-action Star Wars series called The Mandalorian, a show focused on Marvel movie villain Loki, and animated Monsters at Work, inspired by hit Pixar movie Monsters Inc. Some newDisney movies, such as a Lady and the Tramp remake, will go directly to the Disney+ app.

Other new releases will appear on Disney+ after their run in theatres and after the cycle out of the home video sales window,executives have said.

Reuters