Disney has finally set a launch date and price point for Disney+, its upcoming streaming service.
The company’s ad-free OTT play will launch on Nov. 12 and cost $6.99 a month and $69.99 a year. The announcement was made Thursday during the company’s Day at its Burbank-California studios. The service will roll out to other markets beginning in 2020.
Along with housing titles from Disney brands including Marvel, Pixar, LucasFilm, National Geographic and its own vault, Disney+ will feature a number of original productions. Disney will invest a little more than $1 billion cash in original content for Disney+ in 2020, with that number raising to “mid $2 billion” by 2024, said Disney CFO Christine McCarthy.
All of the content will be available to download for offline viewing for subscribers.
The first one will be “The Mandalorian,” the live-action “Star Wars” series helmed by Jon Favreau. Other series include a “Rogue One” prequel starring Diego Luna’s character Cassian Andor, a “Monsters, Inc.” sequel with Billy Crystal and John Goodman reprising their roles, and another series fronted by classic Disney villains like Ursula from “The Little Mermaid.”
Additionally, Marvel Studios is developing four different series centered around characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, three of which were unveiled Thursday. “Loki” with Tom Hiddleston, “WandaVision” with Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany), and “Falcon & Winter Solider” with Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier. (Sebastian Stan). Marvel Studios is also developing a series starring Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye.
Disney will not be able to feature all of its own films at launch, due to its existing licensing deals, it will be able to launch with titles including its own celebrated vault of classic films like “The Little Mermaid,” “Bambi” and “Fantasia,” as well as 2019 releases including “Captain Marvel,” “Avengers: Endgame” and “Toy Story 4.”
Disney is entering a crowded field in the streaming arena that will also see Apple and WarnerMedia launch their own subscription-based offerings, with Comcast planning one for 2020.