Disney is ending its exclusive deal with\u00a0Netflix\u00a0in favor of launching its own\u00a0streaming\u00a0service.<\/p>\n
Nearly ever content provider is thinking about starting its own\u00a0streaming\u00a0service, so Disney\u2019s decision doesn\u2019t come as a surprise. Its deal with\u00a0Netflix\u00a0runs through 2019, which is also the year it\u2019ll launch its own\u00a0streaming\u00a0service where Disney movies and content from its entities like Disney Channel will be available. Upon the launch of the Disney\u00a0streaming\u00a0service, the main titles that will be available will be\u00a0Toy Story 4<\/em>\u00a0and the sequel to\u00a0Frozen<\/em>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Before the launch of a Disney-branded\u00a0streaming\u00a0service, Disney\u2019s sports property, ESPN, will also launch its own standalone\u00a0streaming service beginning next year. It has been a tough few years for ESPN as its\u00a0cable\u00a0subscriptions have been declining. Offering its own service that goes straight for cord-cutter seems like a sound business move. It will offer 10,000 sporting events throughout the year.<\/p>\n Disney\u2019s willingness to branch on its own stems from its investment in BAMTech. The House of\u00a0Mouse\u00a0invested $1.58 billion in the company today, in the process owning a 75-percent stake in the company. The new Disney\u00a0streaming\u00a0service will be created using technology from BAMTech.<\/p>\n \u201cOur direct-to-consumer services mark an entirely new growth strategy for the company, one that takes advantage of the incredible opportunity that changing technology provides us to leverage the strength of our great brands,\u201d stated Disney CEO Bob Iger of the announcement.<\/p>\n The news is bad for\u00a0Netflix, but not a deal breaker. The\u00a0streaming\u00a0giant signed the four-year deal with Disney back in 2012, but it only kicked in last year. Now it\u2019ll lose its vast Disney-based catalogue that includes titles like\u00a0Finding Dory<\/em>,\u00a0Zootopia<\/em>,\u00a0Moana<\/em>,\u00a0Rogue\u00a0One:\u00a0A\u00a0Star\u00a0Wars\u00a0Story<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Captain America: Civil War<\/em>.\u00a0Netflix\u00a0stated that it\u2019s deal with Disney will allow it to keep all the titles through the end of the 2019, meaning it\u2019ll still get dibs on the next two\u00a0Star Wars<\/em>\u00a0movies and few other notable Marvel and Pixar movies.<\/p>\n For its part,\u00a0Netflix\u00a0has long anticipated an end in deals with big content providers, which is why it has been\u00a0investing so much money in its own original content.<\/p>\n The big loser is customers, who will now have to subscribe to two separate\u00a0streaming\u00a0services.<\/p>\n