When Did Disney Plus Come Out? It’s quite remarkable that Disney Plus has become one of the biggest streaming services on the planet, and yet it has only been available for a little over three years.
With its constant flux of new exclusive shows in the Marvel, Star Wars, and general Disney universes, as well as its ability to get cinema releases to the service in record timing, you can see why the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV have been lacking in comparison.
When Did Disney Plus Come Out?
Disney Plus was launched in the U.S. on November 12, 2019, and it cost $8.99 per month when the company was first announced. Nearly half of Netflix’s standard $12.99 plan. The subscription VOD service represents Disney’s biggest and most aggressive move into the video-streaming wars.
By pricing it well below Netflix, the Mouse House is betting it can rapidly drive up its Disney Plus customer base with a mélange of content that appeals to multiple demographics, including movies and TV shows from its Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and Disney brands.
The company announced the pricing, lunch date, and other details for 2019 at Disney Investors Day in Burbank, Calif. Asked by an analyst about why it set the $6.99 price point, Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger said, “This is our first serious foray in this space, and we want to reach as many people as possible with it.”
In 2018, Disney movies grossed more than $7 billion, selling 900 million tickets globally, and “we believe that demand will translate to Disney Plus,” said Kevin Mayer, chairman of Disney’s direct-to-consumer and international business segments. “We’re confident consumers are going to love the service.”
In the first year after its launch, Disney Plus will include 7,500 episodes of current and off-air TV shows; 25 original series and 10 original movies and specials; 400 library movie titles; and 100 recent theatrical film releases, according to Agnes Chu, senior VP of content, Disney+. That includes exclusive rights to all 30 seasons of “The Simpsons,” which Disney obtained through the acquisition of 21st Century Fox.
When Did It Launch?
Disney Plus launched first in the US, Canada, and the Netherlands on November 12th, 2019. The next rollout of Disney Plus takes place on November 19th, when it goes live in New Zealand and Australia. The third and only other announced rollout of the service takes place on March 31, 2020, in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
In April 2020, it was announced that Disney Plus original content would be licensed to pay TV and streaming operator OSN, starting on April 9, in 17 countries in the Middle East and North Africa region, with Disney noting that they had no current “plan to launch Disney Plus as a standalone service in the region in the near future”. The service launched in Japan on June 11, 2020, as part of Disney’s existing partnership with NTT Docomo, and succeeded the existing Disney Deluxe service in the region.
A few months later, Disney Plus expanded in Portugal, Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Greenland on September 15, 2020, and in Latin America and the Caribbean on November 17, 2020. The service expanded to Singapore on February 23, 2021.
On August 12, 2021, Disney announced that it would launch in the Middle East and Africa in mid-2022. Following the announcement, all the Disney+ original content has been removed from OSN, whose platform previously hosted Disney Plus original content through licensing since April 2020.
It was announced that the service would also expand to Central and Eastern Europe, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Israel, South Africa, and Turkey between 2021 and 2022. Among them, it has been confirmed that the service would launch on November 12, 2021, in South Korea and Taiwan, and on November 16, 2021, in Hong Kong. It will be available in more than 50 nations by 2022 and in more than 160 by the end of 2023.
On March 29, 2022, Disney announced that it would launch the service in South Africa on May 18, 2022; in the Middle East and North Africa (excluding Syria) on June 8, 2022; in most of the remaining European countries on June 14, 2022; and in Israel on June 16, 2022. The launch date in the Philippines was set for November 17, 2022.
Disney+ Discounts and Free Trials
- The 7-day Disney Plus Free Trial was suspended in the US in 2020 and hasn’t been back since.
- Disney Plus now offers an exclusive military discount through The Exchange: eligible U.S. service members, veterans, and their families can sign up for Disney Plus and receive 25% off the annual subscription price.
Disney+ Shows and Movies
- New releases and timeless classics
- Disney theatrical releases are available on the Disney Plus app, including Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Aladdin, Dumbo, Frozen 2, Toy Story 4, and The Lion King.
- All 30 seasons of The Simpsons are available.
- Exclusive new original movies and series
- Exciting specials and limited-time streaming events.
- Nostalgic throwbacks and past seasons of your favorite shows
- The entire Skywalker Saga and much of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
- Fox content, which Disney purchased, is available on Disney Plus or Hulu, depending on the content.
- Documentaries, unscripted series, experimental shorts, and so much more
Key Statistics of Disney Plus
- Disney Plus generated $7.4 billion in revenue in 2022, a 42% increase year-on-year.
- Disney Plus reached over 150 million subscribers in September 2022.
- The app has been downloaded over 350 million times since its launch.
Where is Disney Plus available?
Disney+ is currently available in the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Germany, Ireland, the Isle of Man, France, Belgium, Monaco, Italy, Portugal, Spain, India, Wallis and Futuna, the French West Indies, French Guiana, New Caledonia, Japan, Indonesia, Latin America, Réunion, Mayotte, Mauritius, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, and South Korea, with more countries being added this year.
2024 Disney Plus Upcoming Shows
- Daredevil: Born Again, Spring 2024
- Andor (Season 2) – TBD 2024
- Marvel Zombies – TBD 2024
- Moana: The Series – TBD 2024
- Percy Jackson & The Olympians – TBD 2024
- The Acolyte (Star Wars Prequel Series) – TBD 2024
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I watch Disney+?
Simply visit the Disney+ website to get started. Set up an account and log in to access all the TV shows and films to your heart’s content. If you’re a Sky Q customer, then you can log into the Disney+ app on your Sky Q box and watch all the content on your TV. The new app is also available to access on Amazon devices, such as Amazon Fire smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV streaming sticks, and Amazon Fire tablets, so you can watch on the go, though you might not be on the go much at the moment.
Which devices support Disney Plus?
Disney Plus is available on:
- Computer web browsers
- iOS
- Apple TV
- Google Chromecast
- Android
- Android TV
- PlayStation 4
- Roku
- Cox Contour TV and Stream Player Box
- Xfinity Flex and the X1 TV Box
- Xbox, PlayStation
- Select Amazon Fire TV devices
- Smart TVs (LG WebOS, Samsung Tizen, Android TV, Google TV, Vizio Smart Cast, Roku TV, Hisense smart TVs)
