Disney Launches Digital Subscription Service in Europe

By Joe Flint 

Walt Disney Co. is going to start offering many of its most popular movies and television shows directly to consumers in Europe through DisneyLife, a digital subscription service.

Launching in the United Kingdom in November and other European markets in 2016, DisneyLife will initially feature primarily older content from Disney library of family-friendly TV and movies. Content will include Pixar movies as well as TV shows from the Disney Channel.

"DisneyLife is a great example of our strategy to utilize technology to connect with consumers in more direct and compelling ways," said Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger.

Disney said the service will include thousands of Disney Channel shows and hundreds of movies, albums and books. However, neither Disney's Marvel movies nor "Star Wars" titles will be available on the platform. Much of the content on DisneyLife is also available elsewhere in the U.K. Both Disney Channel and Disney Jr. are carried on British Sky Broadcasting's Sky TV.

A Disney spokesman said DisneyLife is designed to be a "complementary service" to its existing relationships.

The fee for the monthly service will be GBP9.99 or about $15. It will not include any linear streams of the Disney Channel or other Disney networks.

While CBS Corp. has launched a similar service in the United States called "CBS All Access," a Disney spokesman said there are no current plans for a DisneyLife-like service in the United States.

Write to Joe Flint at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 21, 2015 13:51 ET (17:51 GMT)

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