Disney plans to license content for its upcoming video service, not just originals

While details on Apple’s upcoming video streaming service remain sparse, Disney is preparing to launch its Disney+ standalone service soon. And while Disney certainly has a giant catalog of original catalog, it sounds like Disney+ won’t be limited to the Disney’s own content.

According to a report from TechCrunch, Disney’s CEO Bob Iger confirmed that non-Disney programming will be available on Disney+ at launch. The plan for Disney+, Iger says, is to focus on quality Disney content in the long-term, with original shows and movies being licensed from outside of Disney.

Naturally, Disney+ will include original content from all of Disney’s major studios such as Pixar, LucasFilm, Marvel, and Disney Studios. Similar to what Apple is reportedly focusing on, Disney’s focus will be primarily on family-friendly content, similar to original shows and movies that air on Disney’s plethora of channels on traditional TV.

The company also announced that Capitan Marvel will be the first movie to stream on Disney+ exclusively. The company may also be looking to produce TV show spin offs of some of its more popular movies.

Disney will also produce original shows and movies for the service, including a “High School Musical” show, an animated “Monsters Inc.” series, a Marvel live-action title, and a “Star Wars” title, “The Mandalorian,” among other things.

It’ll be interesting to see how Disney plans to push its service to consumers. Unlike Apple, Disney doesn’t have a major platform such as iOS or the Apple TV app to push its content to millions of users. It’s also unclear what pricing will be like for Disney+.

Apple’s streaming service is set to debut sometime in 2019. While the company has been focusing on original content as of late, it’s unclear if Apple will follow the Disney/Netflix route and have non-original content ready at the start, possibly to entice customers with familiar shows and movies before pushing its original content on its users.

If past reports are anything to go by, Disney and Apple will have fairly similar content, focusing more on family-friendly, original content versus going for more risky titles.