Disney+

Disney Plus     (often stylized as Disney+) is an upcoming online video streaming subscription service owned and operated by Disney Streaming Services (formerly BAMTech), a subsidiary of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International.

The service is set to launch in the United States in September 2019, and will be focused on film and television content from Walt Disney Studios. Original films and series based on new and existing properties are also planned, including Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars-based content.

It is set to compete with other video streaming subscription services such as Netflix, and will complement Hulu, which Disney will have 60% ownership of following its acquisition of 21st Century Fox.

History
In August 2016, Disney acquired a minority stake in BAMTech (a spin-out of MLB Advanced Media's streaming technology business) for $1 billion, with an option to acquire a majority stake in the future. Following the purchase, ESPN announced plans for an "exploratory [over-the-top] project" based on its technology (ESPN+) to supplant its existing linear television services. On August 8, 2017, Disney invoked its option to acquire a controlling stake in BAMTech for $1.58 billion, increasing its stake to 75%. Alongside the acquisition, the company also announced plans for a second, Disney-branded direct-to-consumer service drawing from its entertainment content, which would launch after the company ends its existing distribution agreement with Netflix in 2019.

In December 2017, Disney announced its intent to acquire key entertainment assets from 21st Century Fox. The acquisition is intended to bolster Disney's content portfolio for its streaming products.

In January 2018, it was reported that former Apple and Samsung executive Kevin Swint had been appointed senior vice president and general manager of the new service reporting to BAMTech CEO. In June 2018, former Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures marketing president Ricky Strauss was named president of content and marketing for the service. On November 8, 2018, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that the service would be named Disney+, and that the company was targeting a launch in late 2019.

Content
The service will be built around content from Disney's main entertainment studios, including Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm. The service will operate alongside Hulu—an existing over-the-top service that Disney will hold 60% ownership in following its Fox purchase. Bob Iger stated that Disney+ would be focused specifically on family-oriented entertainment (not carrying any R-rated content), and that Hulu would remain oriented towards "general" entertainment.

It is expected that the service will have approximately 7000 episodes of television and 500 movies. Films from the Walt Disney Studios library that will reportedly be available for streaming through the service include Disney and Pixar theatrical animated features, Disney live-action films, Marvel Cinematic Universe films and Disneynature films. Captain Marvel will be the first theatrically-released Disney film to stream exclusively on Disney+. If Disney's proposed acquisition of 21st Century Fox successfully closes, content from the Fox-owned National Geographic Channel will also be included in the service.

Original series based on Marvel properties and Star Wars were also announced, the latter including a spin-off television series that will act as a prequel to Rogue One, and The Mandalorian—a series that will be set in between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. The first six films of the Star Wars film franchise will not be available at the service's launch, as their U.S. streaming rights are held by Turner Broadcasting through 2024. The service's initial original content goal was planned to include four to five original movies and five television shows with budgets from $25–100 million. In August 2018, it was reported that The Mandalorian was expected to cost $100 million. In January 2019, it was reported that Disney will spend up to $500 million in original content for the service.