By Juliet Gillies
Coming to 6 countries in Africa soon is Disney Plus. Disney Plus also known as Disney+ has announced that its streaming service will launch this year in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia. This will provide access to movies and TV series from Disney, National Geographic, Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar.
The exact date for the launch and pricing details are yet to be announced.
In a statement, the Walt Disney Company Africa said: “As confirmed in The Walt Disney Company’s Q3 earnings call, Disney+ will launch in South Africa in winter (between 21 June and 22 September) 2022.”
Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. Launched in 2019 in the U.S., Canada and the Netherlands, it has since then been increasing the scope of its reach. As at 2021, it reported, during its Q4 results for 2021 that it had clinched 118.1 million paid subscribers worldwide.
Also, research shows that Disney+ is on its way to becoming the third most in-demand video streaming platform for original content around the world, behind Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. It hosts films and shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic. It also offers content from 20th Century Studios, Disney Television Studios, FX, and Searchlight Pictures in select markets.
Disney Plus is coming into the African market at a time when the streaming service is currently on an uptake drive and it is expected that more players both indigenous and foreign will continue to show up and build up expansion drives into the vast African market. ArisePlay, a Nigerian based streaming service has also been seen to take up a good chunk of the multi billion naira worth streaming market.
