Disney+ streaming service will be available starting Nov. 12 for $6.99 a month

Disney+ streaming service will be available starting Nov. 12 for $6.99 a month · CNBC

In This Article:

  • Disney announced Thursday at the company's investor day that Disney+ will be available starting on November 12 for $6.99 per month or $69 per year

  • Disney has already confirmed a number of television series and films solely available on Disney+.

  • All films released in 2019 will also be available on Disney+ as soon as their theatrical and home entertainment windows have closed.

Disney DIS said Thursday it will roll out its much anticipated Disney+ video streaming service on November 12, drawing on its deep catalog of content and offering up new shows featuring favorite characters from "Monsters Inc." to Marvel to "Star Wars."

The service will cost subscribers $6.99 per month, or $69.99 per year, which is at the high end of what many analysts had expected.

"Today's presentation will show you where we're going, but also remind you that we are starting from a position of strength and optimism," CEO Bob Iger said during the company's investor day Thursday.

Analysts had expected the service would cost $5 to $7 per month, which is around half of what Netflix NFLX costs for its standard HD plan. Disney had signaled that it intended for the platform to be much cheaper than its rival.

Disney said it expects it will spend about $1 billion in 2020 on original content for the platform and $2 billion by 2024.

The company is also forecasting it will have between 60 million and 90 million subscribers by the end of 2024. One-third of those subscribers will be domestic and two-thirds will be international, the company said.

Analysts and investors will be keen to see if the revenue from subscribers will be able to outweigh the lost revenue from no longer licensing its content to third parties.

Disney+ will debut in the United States, but the company said it "plans to be in nearly all major regions of the world within the next two years."

Disney had also hinted that it is interested in bundling it with ESPN+ and Hulu, which it owns a 60% stake in. However, it's unclear if Disney+ will coexist with these other services, particularly considering 40% of Hulu is owned by Comcast CMCSA (30%) and AT&T (10%).

Here's what the Disney+ interface looks like on television screens:

Disney said ahead of the meeting that it would not be commenting on the recently completed quarter or the current quarter. The company is due to report second quarter results on May 8 after the closing bell.

So far, Disney has already confirmed a number of television series and films solely available on Disney+.

For its Marvel brand, Disney will have four different live-action series featuring Scarlet Witch and Vision, Loki, Bucky Barnes (the Winter Soldier) and Sam Wilson (Falcon) and Hawkeye.