Disney+ To Launch In November

Walt Disney Co.’s new streaming service, Disney+, will launch in November at a price of $6.99 a month, the company told investors Thursday, positioning the offering as an affordable addition to the streaming marketplace.

The Wall Street Journal reports, Disney+ will be an ad-free subscription service anchored by programming based on Disney’s biggest franchises, including “Star Wars” and Marvel Studios, as well as original programming. Its price—it will also be offered for an annual payment of $69.99—is nearly half the cost of Netflix Inc. subscriptions.

Disney’s streaming strategy represents one of the most consequential bets in recent Hollywood history. The company is looking for a new source of growth as the traditional pay television business—once the engine of its expansion—matures. Disney needs to take a big swing if it wants to make up the ground already gained by Netflix.

Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger has called his direct-to-consumer strategy the company’s No. 1 priority, and a crucial element of how his 96-year-old company succeeds in its second century.

Bob Iger

Disney expects to have between 60 million and 90 million subscribers by the end of fiscal 2024, at which point it should achieve profitability, said Disney Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy. The company expects operating losses with the service to peak between 2020 and 2022, owing to the expense of producing and licensing programming for the service.

Christine McCarthy

Within its first year, Disney+ will offer more than 7,500 episodes of television and 25 episodic series, alongside more than 100 recent movies and 400 library titles. There will be nine original pieces of content at launch on Nov. 12 and 25 in the first year from the Disney Channel, Marvel, National Geographic and its Star Wars production company, Lucasfilm Ltd.

Disney+ also will house episodes of the long-running Fox animated hit “The Simpsons” as well as the original trio of “Star Wars” movies.

To stock its new product, Disney will be pulling content off Netflix, forgoing substantial licensing revenue. It expects to lose about $150 million a year in operating income from cutting ties with Netflix, executives said in March.