Disney+ Plans to Expand Globally Over the Next Two Years
Company, Also Considering Bringing ESPN+ and Hulu to International Markets
At yesterday’s Disney Investor Day, Disney revealed everything from the pricing to the release date—and a demo—of their upcoming streaming service Disney+. The ad-free streaming service, which will be released in the U.S. on November 12 for $6.99 a month, will include 25 new original series, 10+ movies, 7,500 past episodes, 100 recent movies, and 400 library titles including the entire Disney Vault.
For those outside the U.S., many have wondered when Disney plans to bring the service to International markets. One of the major factors is the timing of the license expiration of key pieces of content. Much of the content that is currently exclusively licensed to third-parties expires over the next four years.
Without giving specific launch dates, President of Disney Streaming Services, Michael Paull, shared that Disney+, will be available in ever major region of the world by the late 2021.
Western Europe will see the product roll-out starting in late 2019, reaching the entire region by early next year. Asia-Pacific will launch similarly in late 2019, but will take the full two years to reach the entire market. Eastern Europe & Latin America will see the product launch in Fall 2020, rolling out over the following year.
Disney+ Global Roll-out Plan
*Note: Disney’s FY ends in late-September
Disney projects that the service will have 60-90 million subscribers by late 2024, with 2/3 of those coming from International markets. The company also plans to distribute ESPN+ to Latin America, and is evaluating expanding Hulu to foreign markets.