Offering film and TV entertainment including its "Star Wars" and Marvel franchises as well as its ABC content and an extensive library acquired from 21st Century Fox, Disney+ hopes to be a major challenger to Netflix. It will launch in Canada, Netherlands, and the US on November 12, and in Australia and New Zealand a week later, the company said, and is expected to expand to most major markets within the following two years.
The entertainment giant also announced deals for Disney+ to be available on Apple, Google, Microsoft, Roku and Sony internet-linked devices.
Chief executive Bob Iger said during a recent earnings call the company would take advantage of its control of Hulu to bundle an ad-supported version of the streaming television service with Disney+ and ESPN in the US for a monthly subscription price of $12.99. Iger said Disney was "focused on leveraging Fox's vast library of great titles... for example reimagining 'Home Alone,' 'Night at the Museum,' 'Cheaper by the Dozen,' and 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' for a new generation on Disney+."