Disney has issued a clarification following a misunderstanding over the offline availability of shows and movies that leave the Disney Plus library.
Earlier this week, Disney CEO Bob Iger appeared to suggest subscribers would retain access to downloaded titles, even if they were no longer available to stream online.
He had said (via The Verge): “If you’re a subscriber, you can download it and put it on a device, and it will stay on the device as long as you continue to subscribe.
“If you wanted to download 10 classic Disney films that may not have all been available at once before, you can do that, basically fill all of your hard drive on one of your devices, and you or your child can watch wherever they are.”
However, Disney has moved to clear up Iger’s comments from the Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit, claiming the quotes were misconstrued and that Iger was actually referring to titles from the Disney library that hadn’t previously been available.
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Not only would that have trumped Netflix’s policy and given Disney another feather in its cap, it would have proved a strong incentive for users to retain their subscriptions. It would have been akin to the way Microsoft and Sony keep gamers hooked on PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live in order to maintain access to the free games they’ve downloaded in the past.
Unfortunately, that’s not going to be the case, but it might not be a big deal anyway. Given Disney owns the content going on Disney Plus, it’s unlikely much of it will ever be removed from the service.
There is a strange quirk that could see some of the Disney content end up back on Netflix in 2026, according to a report by Bloomberg, but that’s not something that should immediately concern those lining up to jump in on Disney Plus when it goes live on November 12.
It’ll cost $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year, but we still don’t know when UK users will be able to jump in on all that Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar and Disney goodness.
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Editorial independence
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.
