Disney Set to Pull its Movies from Netflix

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Published August 9, 2017 at 7:48 pm

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Do you enjoy watching the odd Disney flick on Netflix?

If do, enjoy them while they last, as the massive film company known for its beloved family classics is about to remove its content from the popular film streaming service.

In a recent news release, Disney revealed that it will end its partnership with Netflix in about two years. As for what prompted the move, the brand (which has agreed to acquire majority ownership of streaming and marketing service BAMTech) says it plans to launch its own direct-to-consumer streaming service in 2019 (the year in which it’ll terminate its dealings with Netflix).

Disney also announced plans to launch its ESPN-branded multi-sport video streaming service in early 2018.

The move should help the company take advantage of a changing media landscape in which streaming is increasingly popular.

“The media landscape is increasingly defined by direct relationships between content creators and consumers, and our control of BAMTech’s full array of innovative technology will give us the power to forge those connections, along with the flexibility to quickly adapt to shifts in the market,” said Robert A. Iger, chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company. “This acquisition and the launch of our direct-to-consumer services mark an entirely new growth strategy for the Company, one that takes advantage of the incredible opportunity that changing technology provides us to leverage the strength of our great brands.”

Disney says the ESPN-branded service will offer a “robust array of sports programming, featuring approximately 10,000 live regional, national, and international games and events a year, including Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, Grand Slam tennis, and college sports. Individual sport packages will also be available for purchase, including MLB.TV, NHL.TV and MLS Live.”

The brand says the upcoming streaming service will become the exclusive home for subscription-video-on-demand viewing of Disney and Pixar films, including the yet-to-be-released Toy Story 4, the sequel to Frozen and the live-action Lion King film.

We’ll keep you updated on more details regarding the new Disney streaming service (such as if and when it’ll launch in Canada) as they become available.

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