Disney will end its distribution deal with Netflix and launch its own streaming service, the company announced today. It intends to launch the service in 2019.
The move is a real blow to Netflix, which secured a valuable streaming deal with Disney back in 2012 — before streaming had really taken off. The deal only kicked into effect last year, so Netflix is barely seeing any benefit here.
At the same time, it’s a natural step for Disney, which has a huge library of valuable movies and shows to offer. Disney already makes it hard to get a lot of its top movies — requiring people to purchase, rather than rent, a film for instance — so it makes sense that we’re seeing the company try to draw even bigger profits from streaming.
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