During an interview at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2017 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference, Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger elaborated on Disney’s plans to launch a Disney-branded streaming service. First, he announced that the product would not be offered in the U.S. until late 2019. However, in some good news for many fans, he says the company has decided to make Marvel and Star Wars content part of the same app. Before today, he had said that decision was still up in the air.
Iger went on to describe what users can expect from the app, which will include both brand-new exclusive content and a library of favorites. According to Iger, the company will produce four to five studio-quality films to be released exclusively on the streaming platform. This, he says, will complement the studio’s tentpole strategy for theatrical releases by moving low-budget (but still quality) films to the new app. Additionally, new streaming-exclusive television series will be produced for the app.
In terms of a library, Iger did not share exactly how far back the service would reach. However, he did mention that the app would include a collection of shorts from the company and over 7,000 episodes of Disney television. It’s unclear if content will cycle in and out of the app a la Netflix or the “Disney Vault” or whether the offerings will just continue to grow.
Also of note, it was announced that the new app will not include ads. For more from this morning’s interview, check out our live blog.