Disney’s Star Streaming Service Launches In Europe
New addition to Disney+ gives adult viewers more options…
On the heels of its best-ever stock market price, today The Walt Disney company debuted the Star streaming service around the world.
Disney Plus has made good on its plans to offer general entertainment service Star in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, giving the company a new streaming outlet for more grown-up programming.
Also today, Disney+ with Star launched in Singapore, the first market where Disney+ has launched with the new Star offering. Eastern Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea are due to follow later this year. After its initial launch in November 2019, Disney+ is now in dozens of territories…
With Hulu only a domestic operation for the time being, the revamp and expansion of Star gives Disney a valuable global streaming outlet for a wider range of content, especially what it produces in-house. It took over the operations of Star, a potent 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.
Earlier this month, during the February 11th earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Chapek previewed the ever-expanding streaming capacity of the company.
“We believe the strategic actions we’re taking to transform our Company will fuel our growth and enhance shareholder value, as demonstrated by the incredible strides we’ve made in our DTC business, reaching more than 146 million total paid subscriptions across our streaming services at the end of the quarter,” said Chapek. “We’re confident that, with our robust pipeline of exceptional, high-quality content and the upcoming launch of our new Star-branded international general entertainment offering, we are well-positioned to achieve even greater success going forward.”
Deadline also noted that Rebecca Campbell, Chairman, International Operations and Direct-to-Consumer, was confident that Star would expand viewership of Disney’s vast array of programming:
Disney+ has touched the lives of nearly a hundred million people around the globe by providing a home for exceptional storytelling from the beloved brands of Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic, and today’s launch of the Star-branded international general entertainment offering marks an exciting expansion for the service.”
We’ll keep an eye on this developing story.