Disney Plus fulfilled its plans to offer the Star general entertainment service in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, giving the company a new streaming channel for more adult programming.
Also today, Disney + with Star launched in Singapore, the first market where Disney + launched with the new Star offer. Eastern Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea are expected to follow this year. After its initial launch in November 2019, Disney + is now in dozens of territories.
In Europe, the Star service will cost € 8.99 per month or € 89.90 per year, with a similar price in other launch markets.
With Hulu just a domestic operation for now, Star’s redesign and expansion gives Disney a valuable global streaming channel for a broader range of content, especially what it produces domestically. He took over the operations of Star, a powerful force in linear TV and streaming in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, in 2019 as part of the $ 71.3 billion acquisition of most of 21st Century Fox.
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Thousands of hours of movies and TV shows from Disney’s General Entertainment Content are featured in Star’s new offering. Suppliers of this tent include Disney Television Studios (ABC Signature and Twentieth Television), FX Productions, 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures.
Star will premiere more than 35 new Disney Television Studios originals in international markets, with more than 35 premiere series scheduled to debut at the end of the first year. Titles vary by region. Among the streaming in selected markets at launch is the drama created by David E. Kelley Big sky; Love Simon spinoff series With love, Victor; and adult sitcom Solar opposites, co-created by Justin Roiland of Rick and Morty and Mike McMahan, who was a writing assistant for the animation hit. Drama Series Helstrom will also be available at launch.
The service also plans for originals produced locally in selected regions.
The library series at Star includes Grey’s Anatomy (a major US attraction for Netflix), 24, The x file, Lost, Family man, Atlanta, black and Scandal. The films include award winners from recent years, such as The favorite and The Grand Budapest Hotel, along with classics like Pretty Woman, Die Hard 2, The devil Wears Prada and Moulin Rouge.
As part of today’s launch, Disney + also added new parental controls. (See the explanatory video above.) Enhanced tools include the ability to set content access limits for specific profiles based on content ratings and the ability to add a PIN to block profiles with access to adult content. Controls will be available on Disney + in the United States and internationally.
When Star begins its launch, the initial link to Star assets has already proved its worth. The Disney + Hotstar streaming package offers Disney + at a low price to Hotstar subscribers in India and Indonesia. It accounted for about 30% of Disney + ‘s total reach of 94.9 million subscribers on January 2, the company said this month.
The most recent launch plans were announced last December on the day of the company’s investor. Wall Street continues to reward Disney’s pivot for streaming, which came at a time when Covid-19 was destroying its other operations, such as the launch of theater films and theme parks. The company’s stock rose 4% on Monday to a record high of $ 191.76, largely due to the anticipated launch of the Star.
“Disney + touched the lives of nearly one hundred million people worldwide, providing a home for exceptional narratives from the beloved Disney brands, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic, and today’s launch of the international general with the brand Star’s entertainment offering marks an exciting expansion for the service, ”said Rebecca Campbell, President, International Operations and Consumer Direct, The Walt Disney Co.“ With the addition of Star, we are creating even more value for consumers by adding a incredible range of high quality films and series for families, older teenagers and adults, driven by the acquisition of 21st Century Fox and our creative studios. “