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Disney Pulling Movies From Netflix To Start Its Own Streaming Service
Disney mega-hit Frozen at the El Capitan theater. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)
News broke on Tuesday afternoon that Disney will pull its movies from Netflix in order to launch its own streaming platform in 2019, in addition to launching an ESPN-branded streaming platform early next year.
Disney CEO Bob Iger told CNBC that although Disney had a "good relationship" with Netflix, they would remove all Disney and Pixar titles from the service in order to create a direct-to-consumer Disney streaming platform which will feature Toy Story 4, the much-anticipated Frozen sequel and a live-action Lion King film along with other original movies, TV shows and Disney-branded exclusives.
The Walt Disney Company announced in a public statement Tuesday that it had acquired majority ownership of BAMTech, Major League Baseball’s interactive media company, and would turn the site into an ESPN-branded streaming service. The service will feature "“approximately 10,000 live regional, national, and international games and events a year", including, Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, Grand Slam tennis, and college sports, Variety reports.
Disney's statement notes that the company will end its distribution agreement with Netflix beginning with the 2019 theatrical slate; LAist reached out to Netflix for more information about the streaming site's terminated partnership with Disney, but did not immediately hear back.
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