Disney has struck a huge deal with Sky, which will see new streaming platform, Disney Plus, become available on Sky Q boxes.
The multi-year agreement kicks into action later this month and will make Disney Plus available for purchase to all Sky Q customers. The platform will appear as an app within the Sky Q interface for those who have purchased it, similarly to the pre-existing Netflix app, which is also available within Sky Q.
This will give paying customers access to a large library of film and television from Disney and associated brands, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic.
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Jeremy Darroch, group chief executive at Sky, said: “We’ve built a strong partnership with Disney over three decades and we’re pleased that our customers in the UK and Ireland can continue to enjoy their world-class content – all in one place on Sky Q.
“This is a great start to what is set to be another stellar year for Sky – in 2020 we’ll launch new channels and genres, start building Sky Studios Elstree and we’ve got brilliant new and returning originals coming too.”
The agreement also stipulates that Disney Plus will become available via Now TV but no date is yet agreed for the launch of that service. The current estimate says to expect that offering “in the coming months”.
This move from Sky sees the company further position its Sky Q package as a sort of entertainment hub, rather than a direct competitor to Netflix, Disney Plus and other similar streaming services. However, the company is also upping investment in original content.
A Sky press release explains: “Following the success of Sky originals like Chernobyl, we plan to double our investment in original content by 2024. We’re also developing a new TV and movie studio, Sky Studios Elstree, which is expected to lead to the creation of over 2,000 new jobs and generate an additional £3 billion of production investment in UK creative sector in the first five years alone.”
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That investment does more to suggests direct competition with streaming platforms but partnerships with Netflix, and now Disney Plus, suggest the platforms are likely to work together rather than fight it out.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
