Australians will have yet another streaming service to choose from come 19 November.
Disney has confirmed its highly-anticipated Disney+ will be arriving in Australia and New Zealand later this year, making them third and fourth countries respectively outside of the US to receive the service.
The Australian launch is just one week after it arrives in the US.
If local streaming services like Netflix and Stan weren’t taking the introduction of Disney+ seriously, they will be now, after Disney announced it would be pricing the new service at $8.99 per month or $89.99 annually, making it cheaper than both existing streaming options.
Disney also revealed it has inked a deal with Apple making it available on iPhones, iPads, iPods and Apple TV.
Just announced: #DisneyPlus is coming to Australia and New Zealand. Streaming from 19 November. More info: https://t.co/yeiHBP4yJK pic.twitter.com/tOg3ZOZK2D
— Disney AUNZ (@DisneyAUNZ) August 19, 2019
Disney’s enormous corporate reach means there will be plenty of viewing options available.
It has acquired some 21st Century Fox content, including The Simpsons, as well as access to assets from Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm and National Geographic.
Disney has also invested heavily into ‘platform-specific’ content, including two original live-action Star Wars series, a Monsters, Inc. series and a High School Musical spin-off.
And while we now know when Disney+ is available, what it will show and how much it will cost, there is still a lot we don’t know.
The majority of unanswered questions around Disney+ are regarding whether or not it will build relationships with local services and networks.
Disney has previously stated it is on the lookout for regional ‘distribution partners’ to help launch the service in certain areas.
But with the strategy now seemingly set for the Australian launch, and with it so close to the global one, this seems unlikely, for now at least, in Australia.
It has been reported, however, that both News Corp and Nine are interested in forming a long-term partnership with Disney.
The Australian Financial Review reported Foxtel is interested in integrated Disney+ into its new set-top box, similar to how its recent Netflix agreement.
Foxtel also has an existing relationship with Disney that sees it to show Disney-owned programs and movies on the pay-tv service.
Nine meanwhile has a current partnership with Disney that allows it to show favourites like Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, Finding Nemo, Frozen, The Lion King, Cars and Cars 2, Monsters Inc., Monsters University, Big Hero 6, The Incredibles, Up, Wall-E on its streaming option Stan.
Nine CEO Hugh Marks has previously said “we’d love to extend our relationship with [Disney], we’ll see whether we can or we can’t”.
