Netflix Acquires Exclusive Rights to Stream Disney Movies Online

According to the Los Angeles Times, Netflix has bought the exclusive U.S. rights to stream movies from the Walt Disney Studios in a deal that will take effect in 2016 .

While I know that some of you may think of movies like “Aladdin,” “Pocahontas,” and “Snow White” right off the bat, don’t forget Disney’s ownership with other large movie studios including Pixar, Marvel and the “Star Wars” franchise. According to Zap2it, this deal will include rights to “The Avengers 2” and “Star Wars: Episode VII” when they come out in 2015.

Starz currently holds the rights to broadcast Disney movies and will retain them up until movies that come out on December 31, 2015. A representative from Starz told Zap2it that this will not include “Star Wars: Episode VII” and “The Avengers 2,” as those rights will be given to Netflix. Yes, you read that line right — two of what will possibly be the most prominent movies in 2015 will be accessible through an online video platform and NOT a premium subscription T.V. channel.

Looks like Time Warner’s CEO spoke a bit too soon when he refused to regard online video platforms like YouTube and Netflix as a big threat to his business in an interview last week. Well, hopefully this news will snap him out of this delusion because it proves that the big corporate players are starting to really take online video platforms seriously. With more and more premium content providers choosing to distribute their content online, new media will continue to rise as the future in entertainment media consumption.

Source: Los Angeles Times, Zap2it