Disney+ launches across Europe

Disney’s long-awaited streamer Disney+ has launched across Europe, albeit with a delayed release in France. 

The SVOD launches with over 500 films and more than 350 series. Films range from animated classic movies like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Cinderella to modern blockbusters such as Avengers: Endgame and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Also featured is a range of family-friendly features picked up in the US$71 billion acquisition of 20th Century Fox. These include rom-com 10 Things I Hate About You, comic book hit X-Men and James Cameron’s sci-fi epic Avatar.

The service also features a number of originals such as films Togo and Lady & The Tramp and series Diary of a Future President and The Mandalorian. Disney has caused something of a stir with its decision to release episodes of its original series one week at a time, despite the fact that many of them are available in full in the US and elsewhere.

While the content library is impressive, one key omission is Frozen II, which was added to the service earlier in March in its five available territories in an attempt to “surprise families with some fun and joy during this challenging period.” Details on Disney+ say the film will be available in July in these new markets.

Pricing for Disney+ has been confirmed at £5.99/€6.99 per month, or £59.99/€69.99 for an annual subscription. The company has said that it will roll out in additional Western European markets including Belgium, the Nordics, and Portugal, in summer 2020. The streamer is available across most major smart TV platforms – such as Amazon Fire, Android TV and Apple TV – along with iOS and Android mobile operating systems and on a number of set-top boxes, such as Sky Q in the UK.

The platform is now available in the UK, Ireland, Spain, Germany and Italy, however, in consultation with the French government, the streamer will now launch in France on April 7 in an effort to conserve bandwidth as the world becomes increasingly housebound amid the coronavirus crisis.

Kevin Mayer, chairman of direct-to-consumer & international at Walt Disney, said the new streamer “is coming, but at the request of the French government, we have agreed to postpone the launch until Tuesday, 7 April 2020.”

Canal+ launches Disney bundles

Canal+, Disney’s French distributor, used the opportunity to announce a range of Disney+-bundling offers. Most noteworthy is a Canal+ and Disney+ limited edition two-year subscription for €19.99 per month, until June 3, 2020.

Canal+ will also offer a Family+ pack that will include all Disney’s content, with Disney+ as well as exclusive access to Disney Junior and Disney Channel (launch price of €10 per month, instead of €15 per month); a Cine Series+ pack, which includes Disney+, Netflix, OCS and a range of other channels (launch price of €15 per month, instead of €30 per month); and a De Canal+ pack (launch price of €5 per month, instead of €15 per month) and the Intégrale+ package which includes all CANAL+ content and services (€89.90 per month for 2 years, instead of €99.90 per month).