Disney+ Comes To Sky Q & NOW TV
Sky and Disney today announced they have struck a new multi-year deal, which will make Disney+ available for purchase in the UK and Ireland on Sky Q at launch, to be followed by NOW TV in the coming months.
In addition to the Disney+ app being integrated on to the Sky Q and NOW TV platforms, the deal also includes the first-pay window for 20th Century titles, meaning Sky Cinema customers will continue to enjoy access to the latest blockbusters, such as ‘Le Mans ’66’ and ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’.
“We’ve built a strong partnership with Disney over three decades and we’re pleased that our customers in the UK and Ireland can continue to enjoy their world-class content – all in one place on Sky Q,” commented Jeremy Darroch, Group Chief Executive, Sky. “This is a great start to what is set to be another stellar year for Sky – in 2020 we’ll launch new channels and genres, start building Sky Studios Elstree and we’ve got brilliant new and returning originals coming too.”
The deal seems to be similar to the one they struck with Netflix back in 2018 with saw their streaming app integrated on to the platforms. Just like Netflix, it will come at an additional fee, so it isn’t actually saving you any money, but it should make the whole experience a bit more convenient for Sky/NOW TV customers.
“We are delighted that Sky is selling the Disney+ service on their platform and, along with our other distribution partners, will deliver exceptional reach at launch,” adds Kevin Mayer, Chairman of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International.
One other interesting point which has come out is regarding ‘The Simpsons’. Despite Disney now owning the rights to the long-running animated series, Sky had retained the rights in the UK. Sky are now saying that it will be a “co-exclusive” deal for the foreseeable future… It’s not entirely clear what that will entail, however, our best guess would be that the show will still appear on Sky One, but will also be on Disney+ as well. Or it may premiere on Sky One, but the back-catalogue will be on Disney+.
Disney+ launches in the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Switzerland on Tuesday, 24th March 2020, and will cost £5.99/€6.99 monthly or £59.99/€69.99 annually. Additional Western Europe markets, including Belgium, the Nordics, and Portugal, will follow in Summer 2020.
