Disney+ is now streaming in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland. In light of concerns regarding the current ability of certain broadband infrastructure to handle the anticipated consumer demand for Disney+, the service will now feature a lower overall bandwidth utilization by at least 25 percent. Disney+ will launch in France on April 7.
The Walt Disney Company’s streaming service—which launched in the U.S., Canada and the Netherlands on November 12, 2019; and in Australia, New Zealand and Puerto Rico on November 19, 2019—is the exclusive home for some of the world’s most beloved stories. Disney+ gives subscribers direct access to more than 500 films, 26 original movies and series, and thousands of television episodes from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and more.
“Launching in seven markets simultaneously marks a new milestone for Disney+, “ said Kevin Mayer, Chairman of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International. “As the streaming home for Disney, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars and National Geographic, Disney+ delivers high-quality, optimistic storytelling that fans expect from our brands, now available broadly, conveniently and permanently on Disney+. We humbly hope that this service can bring some much-needed moments of respite for families during these difficult times.”
As the streaming service continues to expand globally, it boasts a lineup of 26 Disney+ Originals titles including The Mandalorian, the epic first-ever live-action Star Wars series; Lady and the Tramp, a live-action re-telling of the 1955 animated classic; High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, the all-new scripted series set at the real-life East High featured in the hit movies; The World According to Jeff Goldblum docu-series from National Geographic; Marvel’s Hero Project, which celebrates extraordinary kids making a difference in their communities; Encore!, executive produced by the multi-talented Kristen Bell; The Imagineering Story, a six-part documentary from Emmy®- and Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks; and animated short film collections SparkShorts and Forky Asks A Question from Pixar Animation Studios.
Disney+ is also the new streaming home of the iconic animated series The Simpsons, with more than 600 episodes available together on-demand for the first time. As the service debuts in these new markets, seasons 1 to 30 are available now, with season 31 coming to the service later in the year.
Today’s launch enables audiences in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland to stream Disney+ on nearly all major mobile and connected TV devices, including gaming consoles, streaming media players and smart TVs. Disney+ features commercial-free viewing, up to four concurrent streams, unlimited downloads on up to 10 devices and personalized recommendations. Subscribers may set up to seven different profiles, and parents have the ability to set Kids Profiles that have an easy-to-navigate, child-friendly interface to access age-appropriate content.
Consumers can subscribe to Disney+ directly or via in-app purchase from the following platforms and devices:
- Amazon (Fire TV devices, Fire TV Edition smart TVs and Fire Tablets)
- Apple (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple TV, and fully integrated with the Apple TV app in the UK and Germany; customers can subscribe to Disney+ via in-app purchase)
- Google (Android phones, Android TV devices, Google Chromecast and Chromecast built-in devices)
- LG Smart TVs with webOS
- Microsoft (Xbox One)
- Roku (Roku® streaming players and Roku TV™ models) in the UK and Ireland, beginning today, and in France, beginning April 7
- Samsung Smart TVs
- Sony / Sony Interactive Entertainment (Android-based Sony TVs and PlayStation®4)
Through a comprehensive distribution plan and several strategic agreements, Disney+ is also available across multiple premier distributors in Europe with regional deals including:
- Deutsche Telekom in Germany
- O2 in the UK
- Telefonica in Spain
- TIM in Italy
- Canal+ in France, beginning April 7
These providers will have the ability to include Disney+ in wholesale and retail packages for their subscribers. Specifics of those offers vary per company.
Disney also has a retail distribution deal with Sky, making Disney+ available in the UK and Ireland on Sky Q, to be followed by NOW TV in the coming months.
Pricing for Disney+ has been confirmed at £5.99/€6.99 per month, or £59.99/€69.99 for an annual subscription. Following its initial European launch markets, additional Western Europe markets, including Belgium, the Nordics and Portugal, will follow in summer 2020.
Pictured above: Disney+ home screen on Connected TV (Spain)